Meaford Power Station
Encyclopedia
Meaford Power Station was a coal-fired power station
situated on the River Trent
at Meaford
near Stone
in Staffordshire
.
, one at either end of the station, and two 250 ft (76.2 m) tall concrete cooling towers. Generation ceased in 1974, and the station was completely demolished by 1982.
Construction work on it began in 1951, with completion and formal opening on 4 October 1957. It was of 240 MW generating capacity, comprising four 60 MW British Thomson-Houston
turbo alternators. These were initially rated at 65 MW, but later at 60 MW. Steam was provided by four Babcock & Wilcox boilers. These fed steam at 515,000 lbs per hour, with a steam temperature of 1,065 deg F (566 deg C) and 1,500 psi operating pressure. The station was built on the 'unit' or 'set' principle where one boiler fed one turbo alternator. It had one centrally placed, brick built chimney, which stood at 408 ft (124.4 m) tall. System water was cooled by three 250 ft (76.2 m) tall cooling towers. The station was of brick cladding
construction over a steel frame
, which supported the four boilers from the roof. Its design efficiency was 31.41%.
The station was initially operated by the Central Electricity Authority which shortly after the formal opening became the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), and the 'B' station was quite an efficient station for much of its life, and won a number of trophies within the Board. Investment continued in the late 1980s, principally to reduce smoke and sulphur emissions. With the cessation of the CEGB as an entity on the 31 March 1990, the B station was allocated to National Power
- the larger of the two conventional power companies formed from the CEGB at privatisation. Generation continued through 1990, until late September that year, when it was announced that B station was to close imminently: ie when the coal in the bunkers on the station had run out. This occurred with the tripping of No 2 unit at 1pm on the 28 September 1990. Formal closure didn't take place until the 1 October 1991. Demolition of the station then commenced, and was completed on the 6 June 1996 with the felling of the chimney, which made the national television news that day.
Two steam railway locomotives
and two diesel railway locomotives
are preserved at heritage railways in Northern England and the Midlands (Foxfield Light Railway
).
Site largely empty as at October 2011 apart from operational 'B' and 'C' substations for the National Grid though some 'A' station buildings are occupied for business use.
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...
situated on the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
at Meaford
Meaford, Staffordshire
Meaford is a landmark hamlet in the English county of Staffordshire.It lies at the junction of the A34 and A51 roads, north of the town of Stone. It is on the River Trent, while Meaford Lock is on the Trent and Mersey Canal...
near Stone
Stone, Staffordshire
Stone is an old market town in Staffordshire, England, situated about seven miles north of Stafford, and around seven miles south of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It is the second town, after Stafford itself, in the Borough of Stafford, and has long been of importance from the point of view of...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
.
Meaford A
Work began on the new power station in 1945, and was completed in 1948. The station was to later be known as Meaford A power station. It had a generating capacity of 120 megawatts (MW), comprising four 30 MW turbo-alternators, fed by boilers on a 'range system'. It had two brick chimneysFlue gas stack
A flue-gas stack is a type of chimney, a vertical pipe, channel or similar structure through which combustion product gases called flue gases are exhausted to the outside air. Flue gases are produced when coal, oil, natural gas, wood or any other fuel is combusted in an industrial furnace, a power...
, one at either end of the station, and two 250 ft (76.2 m) tall concrete cooling towers. Generation ceased in 1974, and the station was completely demolished by 1982.
Meaford B
Meaford B power station was located to the south of A station. The station was built using numerous Main and Sub-Contractors to include G. Percy Trentham Ltd (Excavations, roads, railway sidings, superstructure etc), Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Co Ltd (Station steel frame), P.C. Richardson & Co (Chimney), Babcock and Wilcox Ltd (Boiler Plant), British Thomson-Houston Co Ltd (Turbo-Alternators) and many contractors.Construction work on it began in 1951, with completion and formal opening on 4 October 1957. It was of 240 MW generating capacity, comprising four 60 MW British Thomson-Houston
British Thomson-Houston
British Thomson-Houston was a British engineering and heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. They were known primarily for their electrical systems and steam turbines. They were merged with the similar Metropolitan-Vickers company in 1928, but the two maintained their own...
turbo alternators. These were initially rated at 65 MW, but later at 60 MW. Steam was provided by four Babcock & Wilcox boilers. These fed steam at 515,000 lbs per hour, with a steam temperature of 1,065 deg F (566 deg C) and 1,500 psi operating pressure. The station was built on the 'unit' or 'set' principle where one boiler fed one turbo alternator. It had one centrally placed, brick built chimney, which stood at 408 ft (124.4 m) tall. System water was cooled by three 250 ft (76.2 m) tall cooling towers. The station was of brick cladding
Cladding (construction)
Cladding is the application of one material over another to provide a skin or layer intended to control the infiltration of weather elements, or for aesthetic purposes....
construction over a steel frame
Steel frame
Steel frame usually refers to a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal -beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame...
, which supported the four boilers from the roof. Its design efficiency was 31.41%.
The station was initially operated by the Central Electricity Authority which shortly after the formal opening became the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), and the 'B' station was quite an efficient station for much of its life, and won a number of trophies within the Board. Investment continued in the late 1980s, principally to reduce smoke and sulphur emissions. With the cessation of the CEGB as an entity on the 31 March 1990, the B station was allocated to National Power
National Power
- History :National Power was formed following the privatisation of the UK electricity market in 1990. In England and Wales the Central Electricity Generating Board, which was responsible for the generation and transmission of electricity was split into three generating companies Powergen, National...
- the larger of the two conventional power companies formed from the CEGB at privatisation. Generation continued through 1990, until late September that year, when it was announced that B station was to close imminently: ie when the coal in the bunkers on the station had run out. This occurred with the tripping of No 2 unit at 1pm on the 28 September 1990. Formal closure didn't take place until the 1 October 1991. Demolition of the station then commenced, and was completed on the 6 June 1996 with the felling of the chimney, which made the national television news that day.
Two steam railway locomotives
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
and two diesel railway locomotives
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
are preserved at heritage railways in Northern England and the Midlands (Foxfield Light Railway
Foxfield Light Railway
The Foxfield Light Railway is a preserved standard gauge line located south east of Stoke-on-Trent. The line was built in 1893 to serve the colliery at Dilhorne on the Cheadle Coalfield. It joined the North Staffordshire Railway line near Blythe Bridge....
).
Site largely empty as at October 2011 apart from operational 'B' and 'C' substations for the National Grid though some 'A' station buildings are occupied for business use.