Forth Banks Power Station
Encyclopedia
Forth Banks Power Station refers to a now-demolished coal-fired power station
in North East England
. It was situated in the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne
on Forth Banks, a street to the rear of Newcastle's Central Station
. Put up in a disused factory building in 1890 by the Newcastle and District Electric Lighting Company
(DisCo), it is notable as the first power station in the world to use turbo alternator
s, as well as being one of the first municipal power stations in the United Kingdom.
In its seventeen year operating history, the station used various pieces of generating equipment and so had various generating capacities. It ceased to be used following an expansion of the nearby Close Power Station in 1907.
(DisCo), established by Sir Charles Algernon Parsons and Lord Crawford, was registered as a company on 14 January 1889. While anticipating the obtainment of the necessary powers from the Board of Trade
, which they were granted without opposition in 1891, the company set about acquiring their first site in Newcastle's Forth Banks area, as well as ordering machinery and obtaining a sufficient number of customers to justify commencement. In January 1890, Forth Banks Power Station was commissioned, in a building which had originally been used for manufacturing purposes. In opening the station, DisCo became the first electric company to ever trust completely in steam turbines. This was the first time steam turbine and turbo alternator machinery of any kind had been employed in a power station, and the units DisCo ordered for the station were the largest to have ever been built at that time, as well as the first to have been built for a particular purpose.
of Gateshead. These were provided with steam by three Lancashire boilers built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company
, which fed saturated steam into the turbines at a pressure of 140 lb. The turbo alternators operated at 4,800 revolutions per minute, producing single-phase electric power
at 1,000 volts (V) and 80 cycles. They were also fitted with exciters at the end of their alternator shafts.
In 1892, DisCo decided to improve the economy of the station by operating the turbines in conjunction with a condenser
. Steam from the turbines was taken to a condenser via a wrought iron galvanised pipe 2 foot (0.6096 m) in diameter. The condenser had a cooling surface of 1512 square feet (140.5 m²) and was composed of 790 brass tubes each 9 foot long and 0.75 inches (1.9 cm) in diameter. The condenser and its pumps were placed in a pit, and driven by a tandem compound pumping engine, supported on beams above the pit. the engine ran at 60 RPM.
Various turbo-generators spent time working at Forth Banks, and two 410 kW Parsons machiness which spent time at the station were installed in DisCo's Lemington Power Station
by 1907. By 1907, some of the original turbo alternators operating at Forth Banks had been discarded and new ones had been added due to rapid developments in the size, power and efficiency of turbo alternators. By then, the station was operating three 500kW and six 150kW AC
turbo generators, giving a total generating capacity of 2,400kW. The station's boiler room contained eight Lancashire boilers, each with a capacity of 200HP, and three Green economisers.
. This in turn fed into small hoppers in the boiler room, while condensing water for the station was taken from the nearby River Tyne
.
have since been built on the site.
Fossil fuel power plant
A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...
in North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
. It was situated in the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
on Forth Banks, a street to the rear of Newcastle's Central Station
Newcastle Central station
Newcastle railway station , is the mainline station of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line. It opened in 1850 and is a Grade I listed building...
. Put up in a disused factory building in 1890 by the Newcastle and District Electric Lighting Company
Newcastle and District Electric Lighting Company
The Newcastle and District Electric Lighting Company was a pre-nationalisation, private electricity supply company, based in Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. The company was set up in 1889 by Charles Algernon Parsons...
(DisCo), it is notable as the first power station in the world to use turbo alternator
Alternator
An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current.Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field but linear alternators are occasionally used...
s, as well as being one of the first municipal power stations in the United Kingdom.
In its seventeen year operating history, the station used various pieces of generating equipment and so had various generating capacities. It ceased to be used following an expansion of the nearby Close Power Station in 1907.
History
The Newcastle and District Electric Lighting CompanyNewcastle and District Electric Lighting Company
The Newcastle and District Electric Lighting Company was a pre-nationalisation, private electricity supply company, based in Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. The company was set up in 1889 by Charles Algernon Parsons...
(DisCo), established by Sir Charles Algernon Parsons and Lord Crawford, was registered as a company on 14 January 1889. While anticipating the obtainment of the necessary powers from the Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
, which they were granted without opposition in 1891, the company set about acquiring their first site in Newcastle's Forth Banks area, as well as ordering machinery and obtaining a sufficient number of customers to justify commencement. In January 1890, Forth Banks Power Station was commissioned, in a building which had originally been used for manufacturing purposes. In opening the station, DisCo became the first electric company to ever trust completely in steam turbines. This was the first time steam turbine and turbo alternator machinery of any kind had been employed in a power station, and the units DisCo ordered for the station were the largest to have ever been built at that time, as well as the first to have been built for a particular purpose.
Design and specification
The equipment initially installed in the station was two 75 kilowatt turbo alternators, built by Clarke, Chapman, Parsons and CompanyC. A. Parsons and Company
C. A. Parsons and Company was a British engineering firm which was once one of the largest employers on Tyneside.-History:The Company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1889 to produce turbo-generators, his own invention. At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the company was producing...
of Gateshead. These were provided with steam by three Lancashire boilers built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company
Hawthorn Leslie and Company
R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilding and locomotive manufacturer. The Company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982.-History:...
, which fed saturated steam into the turbines at a pressure of 140 lb. The turbo alternators operated at 4,800 revolutions per minute, producing single-phase electric power
Single-phase electric power
In electrical engineering, single-phase electric power refers to the distribution of alternating current electric power using a system in which all the voltages of the supply vary in unison. Single-phase distribution is used when loads are mostly lighting and heating, with few large electric motors...
at 1,000 volts (V) and 80 cycles. They were also fitted with exciters at the end of their alternator shafts.
In 1892, DisCo decided to improve the economy of the station by operating the turbines in conjunction with a condenser
Shell and tube heat exchanger
A shell and tube heat exchanger is a class of heat exchanger designs. It is the most common type of heat exchanger in oil refineries and other large chemical processes, and is suited for higher-pressure applications. As its name implies, this type of heat exchanger consists of a shell with a...
. Steam from the turbines was taken to a condenser via a wrought iron galvanised pipe 2 foot (0.6096 m) in diameter. The condenser had a cooling surface of 1512 square feet (140.5 m²) and was composed of 790 brass tubes each 9 foot long and 0.75 inches (1.9 cm) in diameter. The condenser and its pumps were placed in a pit, and driven by a tandem compound pumping engine, supported on beams above the pit. the engine ran at 60 RPM.
Various turbo-generators spent time working at Forth Banks, and two 410 kW Parsons machiness which spent time at the station were installed in DisCo's Lemington Power Station
Lemington Power Station
Lemington Power Station is a small, now defunct coal-fired power station, located in North East England. It is situated on the Lemington Gut, a backwater of the River Tyne, at Lemington, west of Newcastle upon Tyne...
by 1907. By 1907, some of the original turbo alternators operating at Forth Banks had been discarded and new ones had been added due to rapid developments in the size, power and efficiency of turbo alternators. By then, the station was operating three 500kW and six 150kW AC
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
turbo generators, giving a total generating capacity of 2,400kW. The station's boiler room contained eight Lancashire boilers, each with a capacity of 200HP, and three Green economisers.
Operations
Coal was delivered via a high level railway behind the station, from where it was dumped and then shoveled into hoppers that fed a conveyor beltConveyor belt
A conveyor belt consists of two or more pulleys, with a continuous loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley...
. This in turn fed into small hoppers in the boiler room, while condensing water for the station was taken from the nearby River Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
.
Closure
Because the station's buildings hadn't been constructed specifically as a power station, and were already old at the time of its opening, the power station was recorded as being in a "rather dilapidated shape" 1907, and it would have had to be rebuilt if operations were to continue. This, combined with the fact that the station only generated electricity in single phase A.C. current, the station was abandoned by DisCo in 1907, once the nearly adjoining Close Power Station had been completed. The station has since been demolished, and a chinese restaurant and part of the Queen Elizabeth II Metro BridgeQueen Elizabeth II Metro Bridge
The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge carries the Tyne and Wear Metro between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead over the River Tyne in northeast England. The line is in tunnel on either side of the river and only emerges into open air to cross the bridge.-History:...
have since been built on the site.