This week's installment from the archive is topical as the building is due to be demolished. Built by ICI to power it's Lostock plant, which is part of the greater works of Burnner Mond Alkali works. At the time of my visit I didn't really know that much about Brunner Mond or soda ash, or in fact power stations. I cannot recall where we were going but I believe this was a "stop off" on the way to something more exiting. It was well known in the exploring community at the time for having a "steamy" staircase, where a steam pipe from the working part of the site had a bleed / leak filling the staircase with steam!
When I look back at the photos I now understand a lot more about what was going on. The station powered the works which is still in fact in operation, one of the last parts of the once mighty ICI operations in the region. The boilers, turbines and control room was all fairly intact, all housed in a very typical 1950's building. I'm not entirely sure when the station closed but it had escaped any real modernization up until closure.
I thought I would stick a few photos up so people can see what it looked like a decade ago before it's gone forever... Apparently a new power station is to be built in it's place.
And one for Speed....
When I look back at the photos I now understand a lot more about what was going on. The station powered the works which is still in fact in operation, one of the last parts of the once mighty ICI operations in the region. The boilers, turbines and control room was all fairly intact, all housed in a very typical 1950's building. I'm not entirely sure when the station closed but it had escaped any real modernization up until closure.
I thought I would stick a few photos up so people can see what it looked like a decade ago before it's gone forever... Apparently a new power station is to be built in it's place.
And one for Speed....
