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It's been a while. When construction of this industrial city started in the 1840s, some of the first things to be built were a dam and canal to power the mills along the river. There's a lot worth seeing along this canal, but this one building caught my eye on the map. I couldn't find out anything about it, but it looked like it could be a hydroelectric plant, so Saladking and I went off down the railroad in search of that building and other delights. 01: Dams, tracks, and bridges Our trip began on the railroad tracks near the dam. Across the river, a 2.3 megawatt hydro plant is still operating.
02: Canal Head The small building marks the start of the canal. There used to be sluice gates inside.
03: Tracks Rail service on this line was suspended. This picture makes the rails look shiny, but they hadn't seen trains in a while. On one side of the tracks is the canal, on the other side is the river.
04: Beth Steel, 1992 The famous and infamous.
05: That looks like a power plant
06: It is a power plant!
07: Down Canal Uphill from the building, the canal continues on.
08: Wasted power Water overflows down this little spillway.
09: Yes, there's a turbine! a big one.
10: Turbine Hall The big oval penstock, and the turbine under the catwalk, take up most of the building. Saladking examines the electrical panel in the background.
11: Genny The rest of it was occupied by the generator, which still had all its copper.
12: Belly of the Beast The access hatch on the turbine was open, so of course we had to go inside to see all the works. The bottom of the pressure casing was not in great shape, in places you could see the river below. The penstock was sketchy too. This turbine was made by the Rodney Hunt co, and available evidence shows that the plant was built between 1911 and 1921. Sadly I don't think it will ever be refurbished.
13: Penstock Do not adjust your monitor, this penstock actually is oval.
14: Green Forebay On the other side of the closed sluice gates, the canal is still full of water.
15: Unfinished Work That cracked bearing block is supposed to connect to the lever tied up on the right. Normally it rotates the wicket gates to control the flow of water, but when it's cracked, not so much. This might be one reason why it was abandoned, maybe it was just too expensive to fix this and other problems. It probably stopped operating in 2015.
16: Wickets and Runners This was a cool chance to see a turbine up close. The wicket gates around the outside rotate to control the flow of water. Under those is the turbine runner, the part that spins.
17: Meters one of them was drawn by hand.
18: Parts and Circuits except the main breakers and busbars, most of the plant hadn't been scrapped out.
19: Spillway Under the Railbridge A nice spot for a sit and a snack. In the background, under the hydro plant, is the outflow pipe from the turbine.
20: Up River Back the way we came.
21: Namesake The south end of the canal was very green. The canal used to keep going for nearly a mile, but almost all the rest has been filled in and built over.
That's all, for now.
I come and go like a comet; we are wanderers. Reports of our eradication have been somewhat exaggerated. | |
I really like these! Also, that duckweed is intense. It's a shame the dam is still there. They really should remove it for the health of the river. I know that is an expensive project though... And I do love that you got to go in and get these shots.
The #1 rule about poking things with sticks is never use your finger. | |
Cool find! Very interesting.
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Posted by corvidcache It's a shame the dam is still there. They really should remove it for the health of the river. I know that is an expensive project though...
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Other dams on this river did get removed. They probably kept this one because of the hydro power plant (and until ~2015, two plants) still operating. Everybody needs power, after all...
There is apparently a fish ladder at the dam. How effective it is, I've got no idea. The health of the river has improved a lot over the past few decades, as a lot of heavy industry has moved out and the ones that are left are treating their waste better.
I come and go like a comet; we are wanderers. Reports of our eradication have been somewhat exaggerated. | |
Glad to see you around, it has been a while. Really cool spot, great pictures and a great write-up as always. This really is an incredible find.
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Really cool that the dam is almost completely untouched. Thanks for the background info/possible reasons it might have been abandoned. Really adds to it.
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