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Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Varche on 18 August 2019, 13:20:49

Title: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: Varche on 18 August 2019, 13:20:49
Latest change to UK skyline as more cooling towers have been demolished.

It got me thinking about the changing face of England. I remember some of the coal fired power stations cooling towers being built. Impressive stuff at the time. When I could see Ferrybridge looming I knew I was about halfway home. Same with the iconic slag heaps alongside the A1. Now they are green spaces ,landscaped to an extent and even have trees.

Anyone else have memories of these dinosaur landmarks ?
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: Lizzie Zoom on 18 August 2019, 13:29:24
Yes.  As a child I was fascinated by the local town gas works that looked and smelt so interesting, that I often asked to be walked past it.  The local brick works were the same; so interesting.  In both cases the railway served them, with coal trains often headed by a 9F coming into the gas works, and wagons being loaded, just down the line, with the produce of the brick works.

All gone now, like the cooling towers of Didcot that I passed at a distance so often on the A34, consigned to history! :'( :'( :'(
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: Varche on 18 August 2019, 14:28:30
Forgot about gas works. Dad used to take us to the one at Scarborough for a load of coke to power his greenhouse heaters. That area now is car dealers, pc world , carpet warehouses and so on. The football pitch and stands opposite is now a Lidl.
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: ronnyd on 18 August 2019, 15:54:31
Has been reported that when they blew the towers there was a massive power cut in the area. The buggers getting their own back whilst in their death throws?  8)
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: Entwood on 18 August 2019, 17:06:47
According to the local news, ... a massive amount of dust struck high tension wires in the vicinity causing large "flares" which ignited the actual pylons (?) so they burned down !! thus causing the high tension wires to touch the ground and short out. Power was off for around an hour until damaged area bypassed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-49375917

According to a local paper ... a drone launched to film the demolition struck the high tension wires causing them to short .....

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/17844679.didcot-power-station-towers-demolished---video/


Which is correct ??? who knows but someone is making things up !!

:)
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: Kevin Wood on 18 August 2019, 17:11:30
Quite how a drone can "short out high tension wires" remains to be seen. ::)

 ;)
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: biggriffin on 18 August 2019, 17:42:22
Arlesey brickworks, could see the chimneys for miles, and the bright red AEC/fodens of LBC trundling along.
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: Sir Tigger KC on 18 August 2019, 18:15:42
So we shut down the coal fired power stations which have reliably delivered power for decades, and now we're having blackouts......  ::)
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: dave the builder on 18 August 2019, 19:59:02
So we shut down the coal fired power stations which have reliably delivered power for decades, and now we're having blackouts......  ::)
Yep  :y
lets encourage everyone to buy electric cars too
and discourage fitting natural gas boilers in favour of air source heat pumps because they are more efficient (but electricity costs 4 times more, if there is any left in the grid  :-X)
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: Toledodude1973 on 18 August 2019, 19:59:42
I work for cadent gas and all the disused natural gas holders are being demolished within the next couple of years so all the local landmarks will be gone along with any memories :-\
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: TheBoy on 18 August 2019, 20:20:10
Quite how a drone can "short out high tension wires" remains to be seen. ::)

 ;)
Unless it was the size of a light aircraft ;D.  You've seen (and flown IIRC) the multirotors I fly, and that couldn't short out an 11Kv wire/pylon, let alone a 400Kv one.

Yeah, the media are full of crap :(
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: dave the builder on 18 August 2019, 20:27:16
crash the drone into the disconnecter cap (explosive charge )
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: Kevin Wood on 18 August 2019, 21:20:22
Quite how a drone can "short out high tension wires" remains to be seen. ::)

 ;)
Unless it was the size of a light aircraft ;D.  You've seen (and flown IIRC) the multirotors I fly, and that couldn't short out an 11Kv wire/pylon, let alone a 400Kv one.

Yeah, the media are full of crap :(

.. and drone=bad, so if there was one there, then it did it. ::)
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: BazaJT on 18 August 2019, 21:27:16
Yes I remember being fascinated by the gasometer at the bottom end of the town I grew up in the way it gradually deflated as the gas in it was used up and then gradually inflated again as more gas was fed into it. Pit heads and slag heaps were part of the natural scenery of the area along with the huge Manvers coking plant at the edge of town and a tar works at the other side of town.Grandad[and later dad] had a scrap yard at the bottom end of town and in one corner of the yard was a kiln[don't know how old it was/is]which had at one time been part of the Rockingham pottery.The yard as such is long gone-it's small industrial units now-but the kiln remains.
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: aaronjb on 19 August 2019, 08:39:25
Quite how a drone can "short out high tension wires" remains to be seen. ::)

 ;)
Unless it was the size of a light aircraft ;D.  You've seen (and flown IIRC) the multirotors I fly, and that couldn't short out an 11Kv wire/pylon, let alone a 400Kv one.

Yeah, the media are full of crap :(

.. and drone=bad, so if there was one there, then it did it. ::)

Just another excuse to call to ban TBs hobby..
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: TheBoy on 19 August 2019, 18:03:00
Quite how a drone can "short out high tension wires" remains to be seen. ::)

 ;)
Unless it was the size of a light aircraft ;D.  You've seen (and flown IIRC) the multirotors I fly, and that couldn't short out an 11Kv wire/pylon, let alone a 400Kv one.

Yeah, the media are full of crap :(

.. and drone=bad, so if there was one there, then it did it. ::)
Pretty much.

Although the media seem to confuse drone and multirotor, and assume that a drone is a multirotor (rather than a multirotor being a drone), so I get earache from the uninformed trailer trash of society when I fly a multirotor, but nobody bats an eyelid if I fly a drone with wings on.
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: Kevin Wood on 19 August 2019, 20:29:35
Apparently, they had a bright idea to use metal mesh to wrap parts of the towers, and it fell on a nearby 33 kV line when the towers came down.

The weakest link in the, now shorted, line was where all the unofficial spectators had gathered, since the contractor did nothing to accommodate them safely elsewhere.

My mate was standing underneath the line as it started to go radio rental. His underwear is apparently in the wash. ;D

This is a guy who repairs valve amps for a living, so not scared of a few volts. 33kV was apparently sufficient, though. :o
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: BazaJT on 19 August 2019, 20:51:59
Fred Dibnah would have brought them down without problem!
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: Lizzie Zoom on 19 August 2019, 21:47:52
Fred Dibnah would have brought them down without problem!

Yes, with a sledgehammer, pit props, and a bloody good fire! :D ;)
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: Andy B on 19 August 2019, 22:18:01
Fred Dibnah would have brought them down without problem!

Yes, with a sledgehammer, pit props, and a bloody good fire! :D ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CV2GuK6CmY Did tha like that?  ;D
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: BazaJT on 20 August 2019, 07:45:59
Used to love watching his programmes and have his biography in my book collection.
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: TheBoy on 20 August 2019, 07:49:20
Surely, on the day of demolition, if high voltage, overhead power lines are that close, that section would be isolated? Or am I being too cautious?
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: aaronjb on 20 August 2019, 07:53:37
Surely, on the day of demolition, if high voltage, overhead power lines are that close, that section would be isolated? Or am I being too cautious?

An Engineer somewhere probably suggested that. Then gave up after trying to wade through 85 levels of management misdirection and 12 Indian callcentres.
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: TheBoy on 20 August 2019, 08:02:06
Surely, on the day of demolition, if high voltage, overhead power lines are that close, that section would be isolated? Or am I being too cautious?

An Engineer somewhere probably suggested that. Then gave up after trying to wade through 85 levels of management misdirection and 12 Indian callcentres.
Ah, excellent, great to know its not just our industry then ;D
Title: Re: Didcot cooling towers demolished
Post by: aaronjb on 20 August 2019, 08:21:44
Surely, on the day of demolition, if high voltage, overhead power lines are that close, that section would be isolated? Or am I being too cautious?

An Engineer somewhere probably suggested that. Then gave up after trying to wade through 85 levels of management misdirection and 12 Indian callcentres.
Ah, excellent, great to know its not just our industry then ;D

I've come to the conclusion that it's everywhere .. not sure what the implications are for remaining gainfully employed for the next ~30 years prior to retirement without losing my marbles and "going postal", though ;D