"John Rowland" wrote in message ...
"CIG_BIG_CIG" wrote in message
m...

Has the Hook underpass always had the layout it has
now where lane 1 diverges off from the rest of the road?

Could you elaborate for those of us who don't know it intimately?

I dont know it intimately, although having once had a few too many in
the Cap in Hand pub on the roundabout there its possible I suppose!!

What I mean is that coming from Tolworth the outer lanes diverge and
then only 2 lanes each way go underneath the roundabout.

Also, has it always had the slip roads to/from the A3 on the
London side only? i.e. have you always had to drive from Hook
to Esher to go towards Pompey if you were not already on the A3?

The Hook underpass predates the Esher Bypass by some years, so your question
doesn't entirely make sense. But I believe it has been the way it is now
since the Esher Bypass was built. As a child in the 1970s I noticed from
maps that the Hook junction was the only "wrongly designed" junction in
London, because it was blindingly obvious that the Esher Bypass should have
access to and from the Hook roundabout, and the Esher road (A309) should
lose access to (and possibly from) the Hook underpass. I have never found
out why it is the way it is.

What I meant by this question was if I was at the roundabout I can
only go towards London on the A3 there is no direct access to the
southbound A3 you have to go to Esher first. Has it never been
possible to get directly from Hook to the A3 southbound?

"Martin Underwood" wrote in message

"Troy Steadman" wrote in message
news:fdc7a8b752b707a4555becb9c9f5bbf9.125090@mygat e.mailgate.org...
"Paul Terry" wrote in message


Ah! Was it road heating to stop ice formation?

Yes indeedy powered by two generators one either side of the road.

Ah! So it wasn't the device itself (the road heating) that was noisy. It was
merely the means of powering it. I was going to suggest something along
these lines but I thought "that's not noisy". If they'd powered it from the
National Grid then it would have been silent.

If it had been on the National Grid it wouldn't have been such a
bleedin' stupid idea. Presumably the generators were behind doors at the
roadside (I can't be bothered to drive the massive round journey to have
a quick glimpse), in which case whoever had the job of switching them on
would have to park in the underpass twice.

Or is there a pedestrian access?

(My info so far is from "Hook Remembered" and "Hook Remembered Again" by
Mark Davison).



--
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In message , CIG_BIG_CIG
writes

What I meant by this question was if I was at the roundabout I can
only go towards London on the A3 there is no direct access to the
southbound A3 you have to go to Esher first. Has it never been
possible to get directly from Hook to the A3 southbound?

Yes, as has already been explained, before the Esher by-pass was built
the road that is now the A309 heading towards Esher *was* the southbound
A3 - so in those days there was indeed direct access from the Hook
roundabout.

It was only after the A3 got "moved" (due to the opening of the Esher
bypass) that the former direct access became instead direct access to
the A309.

--
Paul Terry

"Stuart" wrote in message


Troy Steadman wrote:

It isn't a tunnel, it's a roundabout on top of the A3 in a cutting,
nowadays a very ordinary intersection but in it's time quite something.
As was the "Ace of Spades" roadhouse on the old roundabout which had not
only a swimming pool but also an airfield.

An airfield!? Where was that then?

Farmer Brooms fields behind Kelvin Grove (just across the A3)? There is
a picture in HRA of a 5/- a flight bi-plane in the 1930's. Don't suppose
the pub owned the airfield but it was certainly very close to it, and a
picture in the Cap in Hand makes the connection. Douglas Bader used the
Ace but *didn't* fly to it AFAIK.


--
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CIG_BIG_CIG wrote:

What I meant by this question was if I was at the roundabout I can
only go towards London on the A3 there is no direct access to the
southbound A3 you have to go to Esher first. Has it never been
possible to get directly from Hook to the A3 southbound?

Yes, before the Esher By-pass was built you could go onto the southbound
A3 from the Hook Roundabout

Troy Steadman wrote:


Farmer Brooms fields behind Kelvin Grove (just across the A3)? There is
a picture in HRA of a 5/- a flight bi-plane in the 1930's. Don't suppose
the pub owned the airfield but it was certainly very close to it, and a
picture in the Cap in Hand makes the connection. Douglas Bader used the
Ace but *didn't* fly to it AFAIK.

Interesting, so behind Kelvin Gravoe would be what is now the King
Edward Recreation Ground then?

What is HRA and what is 5/-??

In message , at 19:04:03
on Sun, 31 Oct 2004, Stuart remarked:
Has it never been
possible to get directly from Hook to the A3 southbound?

Yes, before the Esher By-pass was built you could go onto the
southbound A3 from the Hook Roundabout

And you can still do that, although the road has since been renumbered
the A309 :-)
--
Roland Perry

"Stuart" wrote in message

Troy Steadman wrote:

Farmer Brooms fields behind Kelvin Grove (just across the A3)? There is
a picture in HRA of a 5/- a flight bi-plane in the 1930's. Don't suppose
the pub owned the airfield but it was certainly very close to it, and a
picture in the Cap in Hand makes the connection. Douglas Bader used the
Ace but *didn't* fly to it AFAIK.

Interesting, so behind Kelvin Gravoe would be what is now the King
Edward Recreation Ground then?

What is HRA and what is 5/-??

Suppose so.

HRA is "Hook Remembered Again" by Mark Davison which I've already
mentioned.

5/- is 5s 0d AKA 2 x 2/6 ie "half a crown" (which is what children could
pay if two of them were able squeeze into the single seat of the
bi-plane), nowadays 25p.



--
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Stuart wrote to uk.transport.london on Sun, 31 Oct 2004:

What is HRA and what is 5/-??

I don't know HRA, but 5/- is our old currency, what used to be called
"five shillings". Now 25p, but in those days it was a lot of money!
Maybe the equivalent of £50 or thereabouts.
--
"Mrs Redboots"
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/
Website updated 31 October 2004

In message , Mrs Redboots
writes

Stuart wrote to uk.transport.london on Sun, 31 Oct 2004:

What is HRA and what is 5/-??

I don't know HRA, but 5/- is our old currency, what used to be called
"five shillings". Now 25p, but in those days it was a lot of money!
Maybe the equivalent of £50 or thereabouts.

Not that much! 5 shillings in 1930 was worth about 12 pounds today - so
not bad for a short flight.

--
Paul Terry