real time web analytics
Report - - Tilbury 'A' Power Station - Essex - 2012-2015 | Industrial Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Tilbury 'A' Power Station - Essex - 2012-2015

Hide this ad by donating or subscribing !

Speed

Got Epic?
Regular User
Towards the end of 2011 i made a discovery that blew me away, the remains of the former Barking power stations on the banks of the Thames just outside London really stand out to me as one of my best ever finds. The dust had not even settled on that saga and i was out searching for more. I had recently bought a book that contained a list of every UK power station ever built. I sat down and started to run down the list checking each one for what might survive. Back then i was still primarily living in Suffolk so the i started with the local stations ticking them off as i went. The first one to show any promise was Tilbury.

At the time the B Station was still in full operation having recently been converted to burn Bio Fuel but what caught my attention was the 'little' brick building next door. Obviously older, this block turned out to be the remains of the A station. Built in the late 1950s. The A station had run for only a few years until it was mothballed in 1981. The place had sat there untouched until 1999 when the turbine halls and boiler house were demolished. HOWEVER when the B station was built in the early 1960s it was deemed unnecessary to provide it with its own stores and workshops so the stores and workshops of A were retained and continued to serve the site until B's fire and subsequent final closure a couple of years back. The good news for us is that to retain the stores and workshop buildings they essentially had to keep the entire 'non generating' side of the plant. There may be no turbines to see here but virtually everything else was retained and a lot simply abandoned. Admin, Labs, Canteens, Bath Houses, Switching Equipment and of course a Control Room!... Or so i assumed because at the time that i rocked up here for my first recce visit in early 2012 i wasn't rally sure what i would find. With the B station still generating A was still quite active too, power was on, CCTV was on. I had a bit of a poke but without taking a big 'bylaw contravening' risk it didn't seem like it was really going to happen and i put it firmly on the back burner. When the B Station closure was announced i started to put wheels in motion for a return visit but alas that year wasn't really a good on for me, way to busy with other things in life and fb and co moved in for the kill on the B side before i knew what was happening. Roll forward to 2014 and time was back on my side a bit, i went back for another recce and was pleasantly surprised to see the A side of the site as good as dead, no power on anymore and the place looking a lot more do-able. Within a few months i was back on the banks of the Thames uncovering the secrets of another stunningly intact piece of CEGB epic.

16356830242_d149ff6ec1_b.jpg


15735238094_c421596842_b.jpg

Control Room

Well this is what i went to find to be honest, i knew where it would likely be and walking up the stairs and catching a glimpse of the wonderfully intact 'penthouse suite' was definitely that 'mission accomplished' moment!


16331779646_0a52650051_b.jpg


16356080391_9bb0456ef9_b.jpg


16171605229_441bca7695_b.jpg


16356868052_609033c868_b.jpg


16355998001_43ec3204de_b.jpg


16355999071_c30ebe1977_z.jpg
16355926461_a65d8ecd91_z.jpg


16171542369_58c85648dc_b.jpg


16355996591_beac2d4052_b.jpg


15737775433_522123eff7_b.jpg


16170388140_5393bdceb4_b.jpg


15735301544_ef4211b0ab_b.jpg


15735300254_016bd65ba0_b.jpg


16171530279_f3aae1fe52_b.jpg

Labs

First sign that i was not only onto something good but something special was the labs, This place was far from a stripped shell i had been worried about finding.

16356030041_7249827afd_b.jpg


16356000841_4bc2d5fc0b_b.jpg


16357764385_f2c367a024_z.jpg
16170157858_1ae3ed2bd6_z.jpg


16171591939_0be809d6f8_b.jpg


16170437980_62e68da9ab_b.jpg


16356056551_2d7f45bc6a_b.jpg


16331837396_8b88923472_b.jpg
 
Last edited:

Speed

Got Epic?
Regular User
Paperwork and Plans

One thing that shocked me was the amount of paperwork left behind. A plan chest in the control room contained a decent array of blueprints and heading down into the lower floors rooms stacked high with stuff appeared. Equipment manuals, stores ledgers, archive photos, even the entire tender archive for the B station. I could spend hours in there rummaging!

15735322294_7baae02e77_b.jpg


15735345354_9cded95bbb_b.jpg


16171560469_84197cd807.jpg
16357757285_899062902a.jpg


16171873667_048233d514_b.jpg


16170408770_ecc98a2832_b.jpg


15735319774_90b57646ff_b.jpg


15735326804_3597a67450_b.jpg


16171549429_33ed378784_b.jpg


16171546649_5d229fce1f_b.jpg


16356021001_2fb8ceb7b3_b.jpg
 
Last edited:

Speed

Got Epic?
Regular User
Admin

Plenty of offices to see, some empty some filled with old equipment. The wages safe was virtually untouched but unfortunately the same couldn't be said for the managers office which had had its wood paneling ripped out and was well past it.

16171553909_2d3e293dbb_m.jpg
16357781995_183876ffa7_m.jpg
16170173588_425e751c76_m.jpg
15737804473_28471e8e56_m.jpg
15737798383_61585dfd42_m.jpg
15735323984_c033e9172a_m.jpg


16357706675_8a351d6be7_b.jpg


15735278124_fb289716de_b.jpg


16357819045_b8e5907d48_b.jpg


16331782796_91038b87c3_b.jpg


15735367254_17253165d3_b.jpg


16171595599_ca1eb6d73d_b.jpg


16357796835_6327059644_b.jpg


15735369634_ed840bc238_b.jpg


16171936727_e9caf4ba2f_b.jpg


15737825393_c7da2563b3_b.jpg


15735383954_da7b19f348_b.jpg


15735382424_8741525857_b.jpg


16170170848_fb31eb0730_b.jpg


16171891947_c55896588d_c.jpg


16170155038_1c900812a5_b.jpg


16356891962_67ba933805_b.jpg


16171885207_b7d4acd164_z.jpg
16170167348_8e801044a4_z.jpg


15735341084_c08a36915d_b.jpg


16171571019_fd03cdea31_b.jpg
 

Speed

Got Epic?
Regular User
Canteen and Locker rooms

Top floor houses Staff and workers canteens and associated kitchens. Plenty of locker rooms too.

16171802067_eb8b1830c7_b.jpg


15737832803_7bb6148f63_b.jpg


15735257964_539db0a15a_b.jpg


16170329040_bd4635eab5_b.jpg


16356002011_e2ac594b36_b.jpg


16356914842_a5d4cd08de_b.jpg


16170166708_daf9fe3885_b.jpg


15735244094_b7818395ee_b.jpg


15735342124_ff2dcaa409_b.jpg


16171878497_ec7aa0bea1_b.jpg


16171828967_4e37d892f7_c.jpg




Workshops and Stores

The main electric and mechanical workshops had been converted to stores at some point. They were bricked off from the main bulk of the building but a bit of monkeying about got us access to at least some of them. The motor transport works was also open but quite a bit was locked and vehicles still move between tips so one would assume its not totally dead in this area, certainly still some bits to be seen.

15737742213_b3777cd2e5_b.jpg


16171529489_a1c39bfe0a_b.jpg


15735295664_f20a745b49_b.jpg


16170369890_a404ff9cd0_b.jpg


15737763213_5ba4993887_b.jpg


16171600329_664989b680_b.jpg


16357806835_6dc7a1792e_z.jpg
16356050491_5782dfbfb8_z.jpg


16357800005_c4ff50964c_b.jpg


15737766313_857c17511e_b.jpg


16171517759_9896b26528.jpg
16355990021_32519e5622.jpg


15735293264_4b20eff6f4_b.jpg


16357724875_f064926d7e_b.jpg


16356829092_318b4d6457_b.jpg



Next Up!

16171477089_9dcd14f345_b.jpg
 

The Lone Ranger

Safety is paramount!
Staff member
Moderator
Very nice report and photos :thumb

I have spent a fair bit of time working here in the past, so good to see the place again, especially Tilbery A.
 

slayaaaa

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Ah mate, major props to you, nice shots as well. I went into the B station a while back, will have to find my pics I think. Really enjoyed this, cheers Speed. :thumb
 

Els

Obsessed with BS7671
Regular User
I much prefere the bird shit bespattered 1950's retro shit to the modern stuff tbh. It gives me a right hard on.
 

Speed

Got Epic?
Regular User
Ive not done B yet, This was more important so didn't want to jeopardise getting round all of it. Will have pop when i get time, looks quite a fearsome entrance so need to get organised for a whole day in there, dont want to do it twice really!
 

clebby

( . Y . )
Regular User
It really is a sensational place. Weird to think that it was derelict when Battersea was still in operation ffs.

Go here!
 
Top