2-854-171 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

A team of men installing the Barlaston pipeline against a steep and unstable embankment beside the A34 dual carriageway. The contract for the Barlaston gas pipeline was awarded to Laing Pipelines in January 1970. The pipeline ran for approximately 29 miles from Uffington, near Shrewsbury, to Barlaston in North Staffordshire. Along the route there were 61 crossings, including under the M6, the main electric railway from Euston to Crewe, two canals and six rivers, and a steep climb alongside the A34 dual carriageway near Barlaston. This photograph shows where the pipeline emerges from beneath the road and then bends at a 45 degree angle to climb up the embankment.