Longannet Power Station
Now I know a lot of people got very excited over Longannet, I however wasn't one of that crowd, yeah it's got a set of four rather nice English Electric 600MW Cross Compound machines slapped in there, but for me, the stations just too modern, too clinical and devoid of character. Sure she's one hungry mother been the UK's second largest Power Station after Drax, but the size of a station is of little interest to me, it's all about their character, of which each has a different one. Almost like a living breathing machine if you wanted to put it that way.
Anyway, I was always going to go here, there's no way I wasn't, it's a coal station and so it had to be checked off the list regardless of my opinion toward her, besides those EE's are pretty cute. Sadly I can say that after visiting on two occasions Longannet really did fail to impress me personally, the parts I enjoyed been the workshops and the turbines with a pretty band boiler house and control room, so bland in fact I didn't realise how few images I'd taken of those areas until I got home...
There are nicer stations in Scotland, and they'll be up soon so keep an eye out!
History:
Longannet was began generating in 1970, becoming fully operational by 1973 at which time she was the largest generating station not only in the UK but Europe too equipped with x4 English Electric 600MW Cross Compound Units, a record she would eventually loose to Drax and her x6 660MW Parsons Units. The station was designed by Robert Matthew, Johnson Marshall and Partners and was fitted with four Forster Wheeler John Brown boilers to power those mighty EE machines. Coal was supplied via direct conveyor link from Longannet Colliery and also by rail, the site having enough capacity to store a whopping 2,500,000 tonnes of coal at any one time. Each of the four units is fitted with 8 P.H.I. Engineering Ltd 40 tonne per hour pulverising fuel mills. Rather mega.
The land on which the power station has been constructed is made up of concrete and ash from the now long gone Kincardine plant, I often think about those rather lush Parsons Ramshorn units that used to live next door, I was born too late...
The power station was operated by the South of Scotland Electricity Board until privatisation of the electricity industry in 1990, this is when Scottish Power took over operations until closure on the 24th of March 2016.
Pictures:
Starting with an external of the power station from my first of two visits, this one in February 2017.
Heading inside, first stop the turbine hall...
Lego bricks galore... Takes one bloody wide lens to get this lot in, not my style either much more of a nifty fifty man...
Much more like it...
They where fast moving with the process of decommissioning right from day one here, relatively early days and the exciters where already removed...
Each unit was allocated one English Electric Boiler feed pump and two AEI Feed Pump turbines, the pumps been made by G&J Weir and Vickers...
X1 EE
X2 AEI
Batteries...
Sadly, these days, you'll find a distinct lack of any turbine...
Our most recent visit in December showed the demolition well and truly under way.
Gutted mate.
Oh well, Boilers it is then?
Under the Plynths heading to the boilers
Forster Wheeler, John Brown Ltd Plate
Boiler Bottoms...
Mills, 8 per unit.
The upper sections of the boilers weren't all too inspiring...
Some nice views of the stack and Substation from the roof though...
The mighty Grangemouth can be seen too.
Switch station.
Coal Prep Plant and some lovely scenery...
The Control Room was pretty poor, but here's two for completion...
Moving on now to the Admin Block and the Engineers Workshops, one of the better parts in my opinion.
Some nice H&S Posters dotted about and a rather nice lathe too...
Shitdown indeed!
Next up, the Canteen...
Team Longannet!
The memories wall...
And finally, The Station Medical Room, standard.
And with that, another one bites the dust!
Cheers for reading,
TAW
Anyway, I was always going to go here, there's no way I wasn't, it's a coal station and so it had to be checked off the list regardless of my opinion toward her, besides those EE's are pretty cute. Sadly I can say that after visiting on two occasions Longannet really did fail to impress me personally, the parts I enjoyed been the workshops and the turbines with a pretty band boiler house and control room, so bland in fact I didn't realise how few images I'd taken of those areas until I got home...
There are nicer stations in Scotland, and they'll be up soon so keep an eye out!
History:
Longannet was began generating in 1970, becoming fully operational by 1973 at which time she was the largest generating station not only in the UK but Europe too equipped with x4 English Electric 600MW Cross Compound Units, a record she would eventually loose to Drax and her x6 660MW Parsons Units. The station was designed by Robert Matthew, Johnson Marshall and Partners and was fitted with four Forster Wheeler John Brown boilers to power those mighty EE machines. Coal was supplied via direct conveyor link from Longannet Colliery and also by rail, the site having enough capacity to store a whopping 2,500,000 tonnes of coal at any one time. Each of the four units is fitted with 8 P.H.I. Engineering Ltd 40 tonne per hour pulverising fuel mills. Rather mega.
The land on which the power station has been constructed is made up of concrete and ash from the now long gone Kincardine plant, I often think about those rather lush Parsons Ramshorn units that used to live next door, I was born too late...
The power station was operated by the South of Scotland Electricity Board until privatisation of the electricity industry in 1990, this is when Scottish Power took over operations until closure on the 24th of March 2016.
Pictures:
Starting with an external of the power station from my first of two visits, this one in February 2017.
Heading inside, first stop the turbine hall...
Lego bricks galore... Takes one bloody wide lens to get this lot in, not my style either much more of a nifty fifty man...
Much more like it...
They where fast moving with the process of decommissioning right from day one here, relatively early days and the exciters where already removed...
Each unit was allocated one English Electric Boiler feed pump and two AEI Feed Pump turbines, the pumps been made by G&J Weir and Vickers...
X1 EE
X2 AEI
Batteries...
Sadly, these days, you'll find a distinct lack of any turbine...
Our most recent visit in December showed the demolition well and truly under way.
Gutted mate.
Oh well, Boilers it is then?
Under the Plynths heading to the boilers
Forster Wheeler, John Brown Ltd Plate
Boiler Bottoms...
Mills, 8 per unit.
The upper sections of the boilers weren't all too inspiring...
Some nice views of the stack and Substation from the roof though...
The mighty Grangemouth can be seen too.
Switch station.
Coal Prep Plant and some lovely scenery...
The Control Room was pretty poor, but here's two for completion...
Moving on now to the Admin Block and the Engineers Workshops, one of the better parts in my opinion.
Some nice H&S Posters dotted about and a rather nice lathe too...
Shitdown indeed!
Next up, the Canteen...
Team Longannet!
The memories wall...
And finally, The Station Medical Room, standard.
And with that, another one bites the dust!
Cheers for reading,
TAW
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