Difference between revisions of "Ironbridge power station"

History

Ironbridge A power station was opened on 13 October 1932, located to the north of Buildwas railway station, being served by a large number of sidings. This power station closed in 1981.

Following the closure of the Severn Valley line, construction began on the larger Ironbridge B power station in 1963, which engulfed the former site of Buildwas station. The line from Coalbrookdale over the Albert Edward Bridge was used by coal, oil, and biomass trains serving the power station.

Ironbridge B power station was switched off on 20 November 2015 after 46 years of service^[1].

Demolition

From 2016 the future of the redundant cooling towers and station site was uncertain, with discussions continuing between local authorities and Uniper, which was overseeing its decommissioning.^[2] By February 2017 decommissioning work at the plant was in its final stages and plans for its demolition had also been drawn up. Owner Uniper said it decided to seek a buyer after concluding "it wasn't suitable for any future conventional power generation projects".^[3] In May 2017 an application to begin removing the coal processing conveyors was submitted with demolition started in the September.^[4] Plans for the demolition were submitted to Shropshire Council in September 2017 and approved in the November, with work expected to begin in Spring 2018 and taking about three years.^[5][6]

On 19 June 2018 the Harworth Group announced that it had bought the Ironbridge power station site for an undisclosed sum. The company plans to "...remediate the site ready for future development and to promote the site through the planning process, targeting the delivery of a new mixed-use development of several hundred new homes alongside commercial development, leisure uses and significant public open space."^[7]

Aerial view

Aerial view of Ironbridge power station. See text for description

An aerial view of Ironbridge B power station, looking West towards Shrewsbury. The line from Coalbrookdale enters at bottom right over the Albert Edward Bridge, with Buildwas station being located along the sidings towards the top. The Shrewsbury and Much Wenlock lines diverged towards the top of the image, whilst the line to Bridgnorth would have passed through the nearest cooling tower. Ironbridge A power station was situated in the top right corner of the image.

Locomotives

Three of the locomotives used at the power station have survived into preservation.

• Ironbridge No 1, Peckett 1803/1933, now preserved at Foxfield Light Railway
• Ironbridge No 2, Peckett 1893/1936, later also worked at Stourport Power Station, now preserved at Coleford GWRGreat Western Railway Museum
• Ironbridge No 3, Peckett 1990/1940, now preserved at Telford Steam RailwayTelford Horsehay Steam Trust Limited, a Charitable heritage railway located at Horsehay, Telford with proposals for running heritage trains into the Ironbridge Gorge and onto the former GWR Severn Valley branch.

Gallery

• 

  Poster advertising an open day at Ironbridge Power Station in 1962

References

1. ↑ Shropshire Star Retrieved 23 November 2015
2. ↑ Shropshire Star 30 December 2016 (retrieved 6 January 2017)
3. ↑ 'Plans to put ex-Ironbridge power station site up for sale', BBC, 13 February 2017 (Retrieved 13 February 2017)
4. ↑ Shrophire Star 6 September 2017
5. ↑ Shropshire Star 30 September 2017 (retrieved 30 September 2017)
6. ↑ Shropshire Star 8 November 2017 (retrieved 8 November 2017)
7. ↑ Press release, June 2018 (retrieved 22 July 2018)

See also

Locomotives names with local connections