[bignickb]

Hartshead Power Station! 20-09-09

It was commissioned in 1926 and cooling towers were added in the 1940’s.
The output was 64 Megawatts and it was a coal fired power station – supplying current to most of Tameside, Manchester.
Coal was brought by rail and dropped at the Millbrook railway sidings (A site I photographed as well) and delivered via a huge conveyor belt that took it across the Huddersfield canal and on to the main works.
It closed in 1979 but parts still act as a substation, there is very little left but for the control tower and a staff building. Interestingly – a nearby pylon flanks the Huddersfield canal; built when it was closed for maintenance work. This is the only known place on earth where this occurs.
Nature has very much taken over the site and trees envelope the buildings.
After a reccy that took me an hour or so to complete (Having avoided nosey people and cars by taking pics of the substation and nearby burnt out cottage) I finally got in and it was worth every thorn scratch I received.
The construction of red brick and concrete had a cold war feel to it!

Staff building! There were signs of a kitchen but the graffiti was so graphic – I had to leave the pic out.


The control tower, like I said – nature is really taking over!


Staff area 1.


Staff area 2.


Some washroom.


Peeling paint! Love it!


See what I mean about the cold war feel to the place?


The coal conveyor belt and the roof of Millbrook sidings. (Look at my earlier explores to see more pics of these).


The main entrance that I missed on the way in because I was clocked by a dog walker. It would have saved me lots of scratches if I had!


An entrance hall. All the windows were high level for some reason!


A plant room with piping leading to the switch room upstairs.


Switch room1.


Identification of districts powered. One switch could cut them off, see how vulnerable we used to be?


Small timers and fuses on the switchboard.


Far end switchroom – notice again – high level windows! Behind the enclosures were deep concrete trunking for the huge cables to connect and be distributed. Long gone now of course!