Wednesday 20 February 2013

Unusual cargo...

Stafford is home to Alstom which makes large electrical generators. So it isn’t unusual whilst driving along the local roads to be met with a ‘convoi exceptionnel’, complete with a stack of police outriders. Usually, it has to be said, this is at some kind of peak driving time and is always followed by an even longer convoy of irate motorists!

So I wasn’t surprised to meet a convoy yesterday on a journey along the A51 to Stone. As it approached Rhiannon realised that it wasn’t a generator but something altogether different.

Without any hesitation Rhiannon was ringing her father and telling him to drive out to the end of our lane with his camera.

This is what he saw…









It turned out to be an old Hercules transport aircraft on its way to the ‘knackers yard’. Tim did some research and found some interesting information and photographs of Hercules 301 in service on the Touchdown Aviation website. 


8 comments:

  1. Hello Gaynor:
    What an extraordinary sight! But we can well imagine no fun whatsoever for those stuck in the slow traffic behind.

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    1. Completely unexpected, although our cleaner did tell Tim that a company specialising in aircraft salvage had opened up on the small airfield near to where she lives.

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  2. Well done in the speed of response with the camera. What a fascinating collection of images. In France, we are used to seeing some spectacularly large, shrink wrapped boats being driven from Carcassonne to Homps....but this is amazing. Jx

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    1. Tim will go to some length to view any kind of aircraft!

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  3. I wonder what stories that old plane could tell. Pauline

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  4. How very sad that it was on its way to the knacker's yard. I am sure it could be used for something. Keep well Diane

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  5. I always think a half disassembled plane such as this is such a sad sight. Big, for sure, but sad. Well captured though!

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