Willesden Power Station
Originally called Willesden Power Station, the station was later known as Acton Lane Power Station to distinguish it from another station called Willesden power station at Taylors Lane.
1899 built by the Metropolitan Electric Supply Co Limited.
1900 Description: 16 Babcock and Wilcox boilers, 8 of which had Vicar's automatic stokers. Three 2500 IHP British Westinghouse compound vertical engines, each driving a 1500 kW 2 phase 500 volt alternator.[1]. It was intended to have 18 engines ultimately [2]
1911 The company installed a high voltage d.c. line from the power station to a sub-station at Ironbridge, a location on the main Uxbridge road between Hanwell and Willesden.
1912 A correspondent to The Times identified the Willesden Junction station as one of 6 which should be considered for bulk supply in an integrated London network; it generated 2 phase 60 Hz 10kV, with AC distribution at 100V and 200V[3].
The first production Ljungström turbine alternator, rated at 1000 kW, ran in Sweden in 1911. It was sold through the Brush Electrical Engineering Co to the North Metropolitan Electric Power Supply Co for installation at Willesden Power Station. It was ready to run in May 1913. After a period of satisfactory running steam consumption rose dramatically, it was found that the outer blades.... The turbine was returned to service with redesigned blades. A further failure occurred, but these were replaced with minimal delay, as the makers had discovered a design error and had manufactured a replacement set of outer blades in anticipation. After that it apparently gave no more trouble, running continuously for 4 years during the first world war. It was subsequently moved several times, the last time in 1940 to Beckenham, where it was still running in the 1950s. [4]. The rotors were donated to the Science Museum in 1959.
1914 BTH supplied its first Ljungstrom steam turbine [5]. [? BTH did not have a licence until 1917]
1915 STAL supplied their first 5000 kW turbine alternator to Willesden.
1924 Purchased from Metropolitan Electric Supply Co together with main transmission lines by the London Electricity Joint Committee[6]
1925 This was one of four stations (the others being Bow, Deptford East and Grove Road, St John's Wood) which continued in operation following the formation of the London and Home Counties Joint Electricity Authority in 1925; many other, smaller stations in central London were closed.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Wikipedia [1]
- The Engineer 1900/05/04