...across the fields... So, our pipeline has crossed into the Crown Estate land to the east of the depot. If our pipeline is to go south to Heathrow then it must logically cross the next road south, unless it snakes back across Green Lane and towards the built up areas of Hemel(for some inexplicable reason) which it doesn't, because there are no markers across Green Lane south of the roundabout. However, if you are driving on the M1 and leave at junction 8 for Hemel Hempstead to get on the A414, the link road off the motorway [shown on map2] is crossed by the pipeline at the point shown on map3. I don't have any pictures of this yet. However, as I mentioned previously they are presently widening the M1 from junction 8 upto Luton airport at J10a. There appears to be a small village of temporary accommodation for the workers in the Crown Estate land. They have built a brand new access road to this 'village' from the roundabout off Green Lane. Also, a new access road to the Breakspears Farm road has been constructed.

Aha! So we know that the pipeline crosses that land, so each of those new roads must run perpendicular to the pipeline - and thus should be marked you would have thought. In fact, these should be the two newest additions to the pipeline marker family.

So I snuck up the first service road, off the first roundabout in Green Lane, which was covered in the mud from heavy plant machinery. And low and behold:

pic4

Bless 'em a brand new aerial marker post! [see map3]










pic 5

and on the other side of the road a little sign, but no marker post as such. Note the pink/red post painted and whacked into the ground to mark the pipelines. No details of what is actually down there - but you are left in no doubt that there is something there!







So onto Breakspear Farm - bit further up the path, and I marked on my map the exact spot on the earth's surface thanks to the ol' Sat Nav. Felt very cheeky driving up this path, however you are not really overlooke d by the Farmhouse, it was early, and I saw no one else.


As I said earlier the track to the Farm has been widened I think recently and another yellow sign attached to the new fence. This time if you look carefully, the information which is normally on the little marker posts is written on the sign.

14" TM/1 --> 6"+8" WLPS.


pic6






pic 7

The same information is written on the sign across the road on the southern side. But the most 'interesting' (and remember this is the dour world of pipelines for goodness sake) is what you can see in the background. If you look closely, you can see a gap in the hedgerow and another yellow sign (facing into the field). This is the link road off j8 of the M1 and it is the point at which the pipelines cross that road.




pic 8

I took another shot of the distant yellow sign - it is not going to win any awards but I think it is a bit clearer than the last one. Click on the picture to see it in greater detail (if you dare).









map 3 - showing the path of the pipeline across the field.









Thus the first section of our journey is complete, we see where the pipeline leaves the depot, and the direction of travel out south east across the fields and over the link road from the M1.

Where does it go next....? The suspense must be driving you mad (not).  ¶ 12:57 pm 0 comments

  And so...the journey begins... Last Sunday 10th September, along with Pipeline Pete jnr (who grumbled most of the way) I went to start tracing the pipeline as properly as I could, trying to plot the exact location of where the line crosses roads and paths with the Sat Nav, and taking pictures where I could. So, where best to start but Buncefield itself.

We drove up to the depot first thing in the morning, it was shrouded in mist, and I must admit I did feel a bit dodgy, parking up and taking pics there. To be honest I always feel a bit furtive and dodgy doing this. What must people think this bloke standing there with his camera and his sat nav, taking pics of marker posts? More of this later.

So, here's the main entrance to the depot [pic1] , and there are two others on the western side I think. Note the security cameras (not pointing at me) and the depot was open, but no one was about. The map shows a left turn at the top of the depot, but this was blocked off [as shown in map1] For more about the depot itself please see this emergency plan document.









Map 1.

Here's the depot. Where do the pipes come in and out? You would think that there would be some sort of sign saying "the start of the trek to Heathrow" - but no. Actually, the first pipeline marker you come across isn't our one at all, but the one I previously referred to, which is bringing oil in from the refinery at Killingholme. [pic2]. Slightly further up the road [see map 2] our pipeline starts. And whilst the Total line coming in to the depot, makes a bit of a song and a dance about it (that is as much of a song and a dance as you get in the dour world of oil pipelines) our one is just marked with one pink- capped aerial post and no marker posts that I could see.


map 2













pic2 - Killingholme to Buncefield pipeline coming in to the depot.













pic 2a - same pipeline, but the other (western) side of the road - not the directional indicator, ie the flow of the oil is away from the viewer, that the pipe is 10" wide and that this leg of the journey is 104.6km long. I'm not sure about the S at this stage, but the L- marking indicates that the pipeline contains liquid.







pic3 - finally, a bit further south we come across our pipeline for the first time. I'm not getting misty-eyed or anything, it was 8:30 in the morning and September, so it was misty on that morning. Note the cobwebs with the dew on them too. This is not marked on the other side of the road like the total one was and is more or less opposite the depot entrance shown in pic1.







So - the pipeline has left the depot (I mean pipeline as a generic term for the three pipes: two marked WLPS bound for Heathrow an one marked UKOP which may or may not be going to Kingsbury or coming from Kingsbury, don't know yet) , which is on the eastern side of Hemel and has entered Crown Estate farmland to the east of the depot, and is presently running east. That pipeline has got to go to Heathrow first (the Kingsbury one doesn't but bear with me for now until we get to Bovingdon where things get 'interesting'), so I guess it had better turn south, which it must do pretty sharpish, as the next road incursion [map3] has it going virtually north-south across the roads.

[As ever: my thanks to the ordnance survey for their wonderful maps, and to multimap for showing them for free. Also, I am no expert on pipelines to any degree whatsoever, all I know is what I have picked up from the internet and what I have spotted whilst out and about. Please, if you are involved in the oil industry, or have any knowledge of the WLPS please leave a comment and point out any glaring errors or areas of over-asumption I may have made!!]  ¶ 1:05 pm 0 comments

  Where did you say you lived?

There you go (you might have to click on the map to see it in detail) we are just under 8 miles south of the Buncefield depot (correct name: Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd)- 8 miles might seem a fair distance, but the blast was extrordinarily loud and blew our loft hatch open. If you are interested in the blast and fire itself, here is an excellent website. There was a big impact locally, my son's school was closed for two days as was the library and we had a marvellous (if that's the word) view out of our bedroom window. Thank God no one was killed.

Some pictures of the fire. What a bloody mess.

Anyway, that's enough of the blast itself - back on to the world's most intruiging subject (not) where do the pipes run that go out of Buncefield and onto Heathrow?

  ¶ 10:06 pm 0 comments

  So why didn't I just write to the pipeline owners for a map? That would be too easy - but it is something I may still do. For obvious reasons I don't think these pipelines are shouted about from the rooftops, but some of the oil companies who operate the lines are quite open about their location. Total for example are quite explicit about where their Killingholme - Buncefield pipeline runs. As this map shows. Out of interest you can see the markers for this particular pipeline if you drive up the M1. It is easier if you are passenger of course, but whilst the roadworks are ongoing and if you are stuck in traffic you can pick out the route and follow the markers. The planners must have had fun with working out how to widen the motorway with the pipeline sitting there.

The first leg of the journey of the WLPS is affected by the carriageway widening too, but more of this later...  ¶ 1:36 pm 0 comments

  Strange things by the side of the road
When you drive through the countryside you may occasionally spot what looks like a small pink or red roof on a stick by the side of the road. I had always spotted these but never checked out what they were there for. They are actually oil or gas pipeline markers which show where the pipeline crosses the road or path that you are on. I understand that the pink or coloured 'cap' is so that the markers can be identified from the air, as the routes of the pipelines are flown periodically to check for breaches of the pipelines.

By the side of these marker posts there are usually small signs which give details of the operators of the pipeline, the direction the oil is flowing, how far this section of the pipeline is and the width of the pipeline. This is to encourage reponsible contractors who might be digging up the road nearby to check with the pipeline operators to check exactly where the pipeline runs. Despite these obvious markers, sometimes the pipelines do get hit by dim-witted contractors (scroll down the page if you click on the link)

I used these marker posts to identify the route and I'll explain the logic of working out where they are later on.  ¶ 12:07 pm 0 comments