The Five Sisters, still towering over the Derbyshire countryside 20 years after the power station was demolished... Hopefully they stay for many years to come...
The History -
Been covered many times before, so I'll try and keep it brief
Willington Power Station was a coal fired power station consisting of 2 units, Willington A and Willington B. It had a generating capacity of 804MW, with construction on the A station beginning in 1954, and the B station in 1959.
The A station was fully commissioned in 1959, and the B station in 1962. When running at full capacity, the boilers would burn through ~8000 tons of coal per day, which was delivered via a rail link to the nearby Derby-Birmingham Line.
The layout of the facility was unique among UK power stations due to cost cutting measures taken during construction. The boilers were arranged in a square formation, flanked on two sides by their respective turbine houses. This was done to allow access for a special lifting rig to install the 160 ton generator stators in each turbine house, rather than the conventional method of using the structure and overhead cranes in the turbine houses. This meant that the turbine houses only needed to support overhead cranes at a 50 tons capacity, thus significantly reducing construction costs.
The A station closed in 1995, and the B station followed in 1999. As is typical with old power stations, demolition very quickly followed. The cooling towers are all that remain, and with the site still in limbo, it would seem nobody is willing to pay for their demolition 20 years on.
The Explore -
One of the first explores I did, I talked a work colleague into accompanying me for the long drive up after seeing a hint about where to find access in another report. The hint was spot on, so we were in very quickly!
Wandered down through the undergrowth towards the remains of the power station, emerging on the remains of some of the 15 miles of Railway track that used to be around the site.
Checked out a tower with the internals still in situ, and one that had been gutted. Had a bit of fun messing round with the echo effects in the empty tower.
Intact Tower -
Empty Tower -
We walked around the rest of the site to see if there was anything left, but other than the active substation, and a couple of reservoirs, there's not much to see bar foundations. All in all, a nice relaxing mooch.
The Five Sisters -
Made a revisit as I was passing by in August on my way back South, checked my access point and it's been well sealed with new palisade fencing. Wasn't concerned with finding another though, only went back so I could take some shots with the drone. Was pretty impressed with the range it achieved, but couldn't do anything fancy due to being so far away
Thanks for looking!
The History -
Been covered many times before, so I'll try and keep it brief
Willington Power Station was a coal fired power station consisting of 2 units, Willington A and Willington B. It had a generating capacity of 804MW, with construction on the A station beginning in 1954, and the B station in 1959.
The A station was fully commissioned in 1959, and the B station in 1962. When running at full capacity, the boilers would burn through ~8000 tons of coal per day, which was delivered via a rail link to the nearby Derby-Birmingham Line.
The layout of the facility was unique among UK power stations due to cost cutting measures taken during construction. The boilers were arranged in a square formation, flanked on two sides by their respective turbine houses. This was done to allow access for a special lifting rig to install the 160 ton generator stators in each turbine house, rather than the conventional method of using the structure and overhead cranes in the turbine houses. This meant that the turbine houses only needed to support overhead cranes at a 50 tons capacity, thus significantly reducing construction costs.
The A station closed in 1995, and the B station followed in 1999. As is typical with old power stations, demolition very quickly followed. The cooling towers are all that remain, and with the site still in limbo, it would seem nobody is willing to pay for their demolition 20 years on.
The Explore -
One of the first explores I did, I talked a work colleague into accompanying me for the long drive up after seeing a hint about where to find access in another report. The hint was spot on, so we were in very quickly!
Wandered down through the undergrowth towards the remains of the power station, emerging on the remains of some of the 15 miles of Railway track that used to be around the site.
Checked out a tower with the internals still in situ, and one that had been gutted. Had a bit of fun messing round with the echo effects in the empty tower.
Intact Tower -
Empty Tower -
We walked around the rest of the site to see if there was anything left, but other than the active substation, and a couple of reservoirs, there's not much to see bar foundations. All in all, a nice relaxing mooch.
The Five Sisters -
Made a revisit as I was passing by in August on my way back South, checked my access point and it's been well sealed with new palisade fencing. Wasn't concerned with finding another though, only went back so I could take some shots with the drone. Was pretty impressed with the range it achieved, but couldn't do anything fancy due to being so far away
Thanks for looking!
