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Rugeley power station cooling towers demolished
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RailUK Forums
LNW-GW Joint
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It was quite a loss in terms of landmarks when those at Meaford (Barlaston) vanished, in 1991.
Plus all the pit winding gear through the Potteries, and Shelton steel works.
The view out of the window in Staffordshire has certainly changed over the years (and HS2 will change it again).
The giant new JCB warehouse at Chatterley (at the south end of the Harecastle deviation) is impressive (not rail connected of course).
And there's still the old Jones & Shuffs warehouse alongside the line at Stoke Jn, and the pot banks at Longton (alongside the Derby line).
The towers at Fiddlers Ferry will no doubt go soon, now the power station has closed; they dominate the Mersey landscape for miles, including the WCML through Warrington.
Meanwhile the view over Beattock is now dominated by the 206 turbines of the Clyde Wind Farm (522MW).
Nothing similar over Shap or Grayrigg yet, maybe the national park will keep them away.
Plus all the pit winding gear through the Potteries, and Shelton steel works.
The view out of the window in Staffordshire has certainly changed over the years (and HS2 will change it again).
The giant new JCB warehouse at Chatterley (at the south end of the Harecastle deviation) is impressive (not rail connected of course).
And there's still the old Jones & Shuffs warehouse alongside the line at Stoke Jn, and the pot banks at Longton (alongside the Derby line).
The towers at Fiddlers Ferry will no doubt go soon, now the power station has closed; they dominate the Mersey landscape for miles, including the WCML through Warrington.
Meanwhile the view over Beattock is now dominated by the 206 turbines of the Clyde Wind Farm (522MW).
Nothing similar over Shap or Grayrigg yet, maybe the national park will keep them away.
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C J Snarzell
Established Member
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Fiddlers Ferry is a significant landmark and can be seen across most of the North West from any elevated vantage points. I believe most power stations go through a decommissioning period prior to demolishion. I understand the FF site won't go until 2023 at the earliest.
CJ
CJ
Strathclyder
Established Member
Video of the demolition/implosion from the contractor's YT channel (skip to 0:27 for the main event).
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nlogax
Established Member
Lovely footage. Weird how during demolitions cooling towers take on the appearance of soggy cardboard.
Strathclyder
Established Member
Just the way that kind of structure behaves when demolished in such a manner, I suppose. Demolitions (to be more specific, implosions/blowdowns) have always been a interest of mine, strange as it sounds. The amount of preparation, effort and planning that goes into it to ensure it goes off without a hitch is truly fascinating.
Somewhat OT, but linked below is a video (from one of the contractors' YT channel) of a 1,000' chimney/windscreen (part of a former coal-fired powerplant) in Georgia, USA being felled back in October 2016; this set a world record for the tallest chimney/windscreen to be successfully felled through the use of explosives. The noise it makes when it hits the ground (at least from some angles) is akin to a bomb going off; not surprising considering the scale of the structure involved. This is one demolition vid I find myself coming back to time and again.
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