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Report - - Hydroelectric Power Station and Pumping Station, Reading | Industrial Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Hydroelectric Power Station and Pumping Station, Reading

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Dragon_Urbex

Guest
Guest
So, yesterday (Sunday, 2nd of February), I met up with a friend of mine and we went exploring. We tried a few places but only had success at two: first was the old Environment Agency lab site near Fobney Island Nature Reserve (utterly trashed, wouldn't recommend it now... waste of time! But did explore it back in 2017 when it was in much better condition:
) and then quite by chance, we saw that an old unused and derelict pumping station building was accesible. There was another person inside it doing sound recording but he'd just finished so we had a look around. As far as I know, the building was built in 1872 by the Reading Waterworks. Really interesting building! There were three vertical turbine shafts, indicating this place generated electricity as well as pumping water. Enjoy the photos!



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Dragon_Urbex

Guest
Guest
I think what you are refering to as turbines are the pumps no?
Nah, the turbines were set about 5 feet in front of those blue things which I think are pressurizers for pumps.
 
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Dragon_Urbex

Guest
Guest
An old water powered turbine house which used to be part of Thames Water's water treatment works which still operates on a large site nearby. Not too clear in this shot but the thing looking like a black and white square in the middle here is a weir for the water that used to run the pumps.
Securely boarded up and locked, the building hasn't yet fallen into advanced dereliction. The roof looks to have been repaired recently.
Thought you said it wasn't abandoned and was still in use...? :)
 

Yorrick

A fellow of infinite jest
28DL Full Member
now open for the metal thieves
Did you consider that it might have been opened by the metal thieves?
An old water powered turbine house which used to be part of Thames Water's water treatment works which still operates on a large site nearby. Not too clear in this shot but the thing looking like a black and white square in the middle here is a weir for the water that used to run the pumps.
Securely boarded up and locked, the building hasn't yet fallen into advanced dereliction. The roof looks to have been repaired recently.
Yeah, I too read that on someone's random Geograph photo...with no citation or backup anywhere. I've got to say it seems pretty unlikely.
Nah, the turbines were set about 5 feet in front of those blue things
Did you not get any photos of them?
 

Speed

Got Epic?
Regular User
Its either going to be pumps or turbines. You dont pump into or out of turbines so considering it says pumps on the panel I'd suggest that's what it is. Looks like the pump motors have gone (would have been where the scaffold is) the pumps are/would have been below.
 

urbanchemist

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Looks like a water turbine powered pumping station to me - someone should have a look at the turbines if they are still there under the floor.

edit: there's another one in the riverside museum in town which might make an interesting comparison.
 
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Dragon_Urbex

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Guest
Did you consider that it might have been opened by the metal thieves?

Yeah, I too read that on someone's random Geograph photo...with no citation or backup anywhere. I've got to say it seems pretty unlikely.

Did you not get any photos of them?
Not really much point to be honest. The pits were filled with water right to the top so I couldn't see anything down below.
 

Yorrick

A fellow of infinite jest
28DL Full Member
Not really much point to be honest. The pits were filled with water right to the top so I couldn't see anything down below.
Fair enough. That makes sense of the sluice mechanism too. Didn't twig that last night.
 
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Dragon_Urbex

Guest
Guest
Fair enough. That makes sense of the sluice mechanism too. Didn't twig that last night.
Yep. It would have been possible to actually open those sluices with a windlass used to operate lock gates - I was visiting my parents for the weekend from uni and they live on a boat. We've been through the lock by the site loads of times.
 

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