Castle Meads Power Station
A coal-fired power station at Gloucester
1940 the Electricity Commissioners in agreement with the Central Electricity Board proposed a programme of new generating capacity to mitigate war risks and the growth in demand associated with the development of munitions factories. The programme entailed the installation of 180 MW of plant in four existing stations and two new stations one at Earley east of Reading and the other at Castle Meads, Gloucester, which would replace the electricity supply from Gloucester Corporation's works on Commercial Road.
1940 Construction of the station began
1942 The station was equipped with comprised two 20 MW British Thomson-Houston turbo-alternator sets, powered by steam from five Yarrow boilers. The first set was commissioned in December 1942. The station was owned and run by Gloucester Corporation[1]
When the electricity industry was nationalised in 1948 the station passed to the British Electricity Authority.
1973 The station was decommissioned
Within the station, coal was transported to the boilers by a Barclays fireless locomotive, one of only 162 ever built in Britain.
After the closure of the power station, the locomotive was preserved at the National Waterways Museum in Gloucester.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Engineer 1947