Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

Found this if it's any good http://www.lmars.co.uk/images/whitebirk/21.JPG.................and just realised was put up earlier LOL !!!:p

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

I worked at the Power Station from 1950 until I left in 1967. It had 12 Simon Carves chain grate boilers, one 30 Mw and three 40Mw turbo generators.. The coal weas delivered by barge and rail, coming from Bank Hall Collery, Burnley and Bickershaw Collery in the Wigan area.

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

Coal was also delivered by road, I took many tons in there from Bank Hall as well as the other pits you mention. We turned down a lane on the left of the Rishton road just after the Whitebirk crossroads to get to the coal stack. Gilbraith and Gilmartin might have had as many as a dozen tippers on the job at once. This was in the late 60's.

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

A few more bits and bobs...

I used to travel on the train to school between Accrington and Blackburn in the late Fifties and much of the Sixties. Coal trains from Yorkshire used to supply the power station, and also barges (I presume from Wigan) on the L&L canal. I remember them being frozen in every winter.

As an aside, though built by Blackburn Corporation, the power station was outwith Blackburn County Borough, and as such provided a huge chunk of rates to the neighbouring local authority - presumably Rishton or Great Harwood.

Closer to Blackburn town centre, on the other side of the so-called arterial road, was a peculiarly evil gasworks. I seem to think it was called Greengate or similar. The industrial / retail park covers it now, but goodness only knows what's in the ground.

Rgds

John45378

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

I think it was called Greenbank, there was a large railway sidings there as well.
I picked up coke from the gas works when I was on a tipper and delivered it to coal merchants.

I think the main central Police Station is there now.

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

Which is called "Green Bank"
We were talking about the railway bridge over the ring road when it was a single arch

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

My dad was the rating and valuation officer at Rishton urban district council back in the '50's, and I remember him telling me that Blackburn council had to pay rates to Rishton for the land on which the power station stood because it had been built on the Rishton side of the boundary by mistake.

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

That was right clanger, building a power station on the wrong site by mistake. Mind you it was good for the income of Rishton.

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

Bet Ken Moss deosn't know that :D, now he will be on a new campaign to get a bigger share of the business taxes paid to the Hyndburn Borough general fund from the shopping area to be spent in his "village" ;)



sorry maybe it's me , but to keep calling Rishton a village is plain wrong , it's nowt like a village, a typical village is supposed to have a bit of charm :D :D

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

Aw, Steely, I spent the first 26 years of my life in Rishton and have lots of happy memories, even if they were a bit insular.:)

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

Its quite easy to make that statement when your across the pond SJ, out of the reach of Mossy:D

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

And now they want to revamp the Peel Retail Centre (Whitebirk Retail Park).

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

Come on Bee your slipping wheres the link;)

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

What year was the Whitebirk Retail Park built?.

Re: Whitebirk Power Station
 

Must have been there same time ('62-'66), control room & efficiency office, can lay claim to stealing 6,000 tons of coal during that time, at least it wasn't there when they shut it down and did the final stocktake.
Parker was the super followed by Keogh. Harry Mitchel deputy and John Prentice ops super. I went to Fleetwood, Roy Ashworth went to Wylfa.
Other names spring to mind, Alan Kershaw, Charlie Small, Sid Carr,Bill Heys.
The plant was built in two halves, turbines 3 & 4 with boilers 10 to 15 then after the war 5 & 6 with 16 to 20.
T/A 6 was connected to the 132 Kv Grid the rest to the Blackburn area network and another Grid connection. At a good push it could send out 150Mw but not for long.