What remains of Agecroft Power Station
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- čas přidán 11. 01. 2020
- In this video we explore the remains of the once mighty Agecroft Power Station in Salford/Manchester. We initially started out Photographing The Thirlmere aqueduct and this led to us getting a tour around the now abandoned former Power station in Manchester / Salford. In this Urbex, Urban explore we get to see the remains of this once Industrial giant. Agecroft was linked to Agecroft Colliery and took its coal from there. We looks at the shunting steam locomotives, Industrial Locomotives. That resided there and see some old photos of the Turbine hall and the old control rooms. We finally get into one of the control rooms of the power station and see the urban decay that has taken place. Agecroft was opened in 1925 and was finally demolished in 1994 in a controlled explosion that felled the cooling towers and the chimney stacks.
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Legend has it that Martin is never more than 300 yards from the River Irwell
Corrections: Rivers Irwell OR Medlock
Haha that's right haha
Eeerm...
Definetely, huge history around the ship canal. Well worth taking the 6hour cruise up or down it.
Martin doesn't even know there are places that exist beyond the sound of the waters of Irwell.
Filled with pride when the control/operations room was shown and especially the Turbines. My Dad gave over 30 years committed service to Agecroft Power Station. He worked on the Turbines. He loved his job and worked alongside some amazing colleagues. So proud of him. X 👷🚜🏭
Thank you Martin for making this film and enabling us to see some interesting history of an amazing place.
With a username like yours, I assume your dad is Charlie? 👍🏻
He probably knew my Dad too. He was an electrician there for many years til the day it closed.
@@davestarkie2794 What's your dads name? Some names he'll probably know are Nigel. B, Dean. W & Trevor. B (Foreman).. all electricians.
My Dads name is Albert. I remember going to the Christmas parties and the open day as a kid. Last couple of years have brought back a lot of agecroft memories for the wrong reasons (see my comment yesterday).
@@davestarkie2794 I've got a photo of your mum & dad at Gerry Slaters wedding in Walkden.. Small world mate. He deffo knows the names I mentioned as a couple of them are on the photo too.
Hi Martin. The first building you entered was the former North Western Regional Training Centre for the CEGB. It's primary function was to train instrument/mechanical and electrical apprentices. It closed in the 90's.
There's a pic' of a bloke in white overalls in 'C' station control room (the green one) holding a clipboard .. it's Brian Hill (unit operator).
Also the head loco driver (who's featured in a couple of pics) was Ken Corfield. Sadly Ken passed in 2018 aged 93.
Nice one mate, giving the video a bit of life.
Do you know the names of any others who worked in C station control room?
@@chriswilkinson5796
Sam Morris, Bob Pirie, Bernard Burns, Tom Bennett, Alan Berwick, Johnny Plum, Steve Brindle, Bill Hobson, Charlie Armstrong, Adrian Townley, John Critchley, Ken Topping... all 'C' shift.
When you see places like this, that were an absolute hub of life at one point, rotting and decrepit. Makes you realise how fleeting time can be.
Thanks Martin for more essential Sunday night viewing but a big thanks to the security guard for placing his trust in a more ethical social historian.
Fair play on the guard , hope he doesn't get into trouble for it , the security at doncaster locomotive works used to do the same on sunday afternoons ,
I once was security on an eddie stobart depot and one sunday morning was amazed to see loads of people with cameras taking photos through the fence of the trucks that were lined up , so i did the decent thing and let them into the yard on condition they stayed together and didn't wander off , they walked over to the tractor units took their photos and left all good and they were genuinly chuffed to bits.
That brought back memories,I used to live on the Prestwich side of the river. Living on the hills overlooking Drinkwater Park I had a clear view of the power station. On the day of the demolition I was in the back garden with my camera at the ready, unfortunately I forgot to take the lens cap off. I did manage to get a shot, so if anybody wants to see what is possibly the finest picture of a dust cloud in existence, I'm the man to contact.
LMFAO. I shouldn't laugh though, I didn't put a roll of film into my SLR once.
This makes me feel old! I remember going to Agecroft power station probably in the mid '80s when I was a computer hardware project engineer for Systems Programming Ltd. We were doing a site visit so we could bid for provision of an industrial process control system. I can't remember just what we were bidding to control, and we didn't win it anyway, but one memory is standing in the turbine hall looking at one of the massive turbo-generators and the late Alastair Ross (my project manager had we won the job) cast his eyes around all those control panels and, pointing at the main shaft of the generator, said "all this just to turn that shaft at 50 revolutions per second".
Much later in life, after I'd retired, steam loco 'Agecroft No.1' played a part in my life as I joined the MoSI railway in Manchester as volunteer, firing and sometimes driving that loco (which as you say now gives rides at National Railway Museum, York) and the replica 1830 'Planet' (which is out of use but still at MoSI). No1 was in scrap condition when MoSI bought it, and it was fully restored to immaculate condition by volunteers at MoSI.
Thanks for the video!
Just one small correction, the shaft did 50 revs per second, not 50 per min'.
@@BestUserNameUK Of course! Blame old age! Now edited. Thanks.
@@gzk6nk You perhaps bid for the auto boiler control system? Ended up using Instem G-Range and Cutlass full turn-key system😉
@@BestUserNameUK Quite possibly. We'd have been proposing DEC PDP11 and in-house I/O and software back then. No wonder we didn't win it - PDP11 was an expensive solution! I suspect it was won by Instem with a PLC-based solution.
Thanks Martin...and you've saved me from watching shite on the telly....
Exactly. Finally cancelled the TV Licence a couple of months ago and am only gutted it wasn't done sooner. There's enough free content online and on demand if I need something to watch
I've been around many different switch rooms as an electrician and can say with a reasonable amount of confidence the picture you showed would have been the main control room for Agecroft C (very early 60's look to it), whereas the room you filmed in may have been the main control room (or a secondary switch room) for Agecroft A, the switches and meter equipment are a dead giveaway to it being 1920's/30's.
Robert Leitch. I agree. Those pictures of the 'green' control panels had a sixties/ seventies look about them, but the room you went in to was definitely much earlier. If 'A' was first built in 1840, then that kit was rather later - I'd say 1930-1940. I have to own up and say I've never been 'generation' or 'transmission', but given how many actual 'controls' - switches and the like - there were, I'd say that was where the output of the plant was monitored and controlled. Some of those dials were calibrated in Megawatts and that is real 'big boys power'.
That was a haunting video Martin and props to you and your mate for staying with it, despite the light. Props too, to the Security Guard who could, according to stereotype, have just told you to 'fornicate elsewhere'. Such a lot of history in one place and, like all of it, destined to feel the sharp edge of the bulldozer before long.
That Aqueduct was beautiful too. It's a shame it's hidden away behind a common or garden brick built road bridge, when there is such lovely ironwork all over it. Great vlog.
Working for GEC Turbine Generators in the 80's and early 90' as a draughtsman, when doing my apprenticeship (80-84) I went in the Overspeed Test House as did many apprentices. From what I recall the dials in there looked something similar to those shown in the pictures. I guess the 70's may well have been the last update to the OTH.
What a find. Those info boards should be saved before demolition.
Definitely! Very interesting history and vintage pics.
I made them! I've still got the artwork somewhere, also a booklet version in PDF format if anyone would want a copy.
That’s what i love about this channel, Martin takes care to always qualify and explain his images and findings, like a professional historian or historical archaeologist he does not make careless assuptions or claims but presents the evidence and exhibits the implications.
Interesting fact: The chief safety officer at Agecroft (and other North West power stations) was Jim Halliday, an ex Japanese PoW and olympic weight lifting medalist. Prior to becoming safety officer, Jim worked on the coal gang at Kearsley Power Station near Bolton.
I trained with Jim Halliday as a weedy 16 year old in 1961 he had a weightlifting class upstairs in the Bowling Green Pub in Farnworth.
I worked there a couple of times during 1970/71. We used to reline/refurbish the interior of the boilers in Agecroft B. When a boiler was shut down for maintenance (in the summer), we would go in and blow fresh refractory cement on to the interior walls, in places such as the inside of the combustion chamber (huge!), the economiser and superheater chambers etc.
The pool of water found beneath the metal grating reminded me of an incident one day. We were busy blowing cement up to the work area, using a system known as gunnite and I was fetching and carrying 1cwt (50Kgs) bags of cement from the stack to the gun. I walked over a similar grating and it gave way under me. Because of the big bag of cement I was carrying, I got jammed half way down the hole. I looked below my feet and there was a channel of running water and this was used to carry ash from the boilers to a tip and passing just below me were big red hot burning chunks of clinker. Scared the life out of me!
That control room is the type of technology that should be preserved. Its like will never be seen again. It should be with one of the beautiful little steam engines. Amazing! Thanks to you and the brave security guard with initiative!
Wonderful serendipitous video, all stemming from the fact that the security guard thought you looked a bit dodgy .Well done Martin.
Wait... he doesn't look dodgy? This is Martin, right... LOL (Sorry Martin)
Good judge of character that guard - lol
Fabulous :-) When I lived in Little Lever in the 70/80s one of the two Ladyshore housing estates was built on around 30 feet deep fly and cinder ash from Agecroft. they used it to make a foundation on marshy ground around the Bolton-Bury Canal. My next door neighbour was one of the loco drivers on one of the 3 coal trains shown in your video. Great vlogs, always look forward to latest post Martin. BTW I was a press photographer on the Bolton Evening News 68-73 and was lucky enough to photograph a lot of the Back o'th Bank power station in Bolton before they demolished that one...
Ken or Jimmy?
Hard to believe I worked at Agecroft back in 1968 and the "A" station was still operable ,also did some wok on 2 of the locomotives .In 1968 the West end of the office building at "A" station was a mechanical workshop with the machines ,lathes ,etc still driven off line shafts . It was then converted to the CEGB North West apprentice training centre in 1970.
Did my apprenticeship at Agecroft (MMD) in '84. The CEGB was a great employer.
Ask and ye shall receive. You’ve just got to know to ask, hence the need to be a chancer. Fantastic video as always, yet more industrial heritage about to be lost, from a time before wriggly tin sheds and featureless glass curtain walls. Thanks for keeping the memory of these places alive and on record.
If I recall correctly from when I used to deliver there, that small building at 6.57, with the shutter doors and side entry - used to be the site fire engine shed. The room with all the dials and meters was not the transformer room, but the control room, where the staff regulated the gennys for voltage and matched the phasing with the National Grid. The transformers would be massive things that were kept well away from wandering people, as you didn't want to get 'tickled' by 40,000 volts!
Back in 1989 my ship (HMS Active) was granted the Freedom of Burnley. As part of the visit some of us were invited to Agecroft Colliery. It was an awesome trip as we got to go down to the coal face on the conveyor belt, with a slap up tea to finish off. I hope the miners who came along to the reciprocal visit to our ship (and beers in the mess) had as good a time as we did. Happy memories:-)
What a blessing for that man to bring you in to the old power station. For us too. 👍🏻👍🏻
Yes he was a good egg
Great Vlog as always Martin. Thanks also to the security person for allowing you to go in.
History is worth saving, even in photos and video... but sadly, its also like old people... its cast to one side when they become obsolete and the forces that be will crap on them like the pigeons have done... the music you played added to the sense of abandonment... people worked there... people probably met wives or husbands there... and the power station provided a need, electricity for families from the 1920's, through the depression years, the war years, the cold war years.... and beyond... history like this should never be forgotten. Thank you to you and Danny, and the Security guy that let you in... why the BBC doesn't hire you to record this before its lost forever, I don't know... but they are fools. You should pitch the idea to them, Martin, you've got nearly 60,000 subscribers that would start a letter writing campaign supporting you 100%... again, Thanks for another brilliant video... you ARE a National treasure... they should give you a gong, Sir Martin has a nice ring to it. :)
Thanks for this. My dad worked there back when the C.E.G.B was still a thing.
Good memories.
Beauty like this should never be fronted by the word: Demolition.
Hi Martin, I did my electrical apprenticeship with the CEGB starting in 1975 in what was the 'A' station, but by then was the North West Reagional training centre. I went on to work at the 'B' & 'C' stations for about 18 years. Happy times there. Thanks for bringing back such great memories. I worked in all types of power stations until I retired in March this year. Been in lockdown since. Just my luck. If you do anymore power stations and want to know what things are that you have filmed, feel free to get in touch. Keep up the great work. Cheers.
Well done! Difficult to film indoors in failing light when that wasn’t even what you went to film! Great story about the security guard. Great you captured all that info before it is demolished. Right time. Right place. Right attitude! 👍
I worked at Agecroft "C" in 1985 in the Chemists Laboratory for about a year before leaving to work at CERL. I loved working for the CEGB.
Another excellent and atmospheric video Martin. I'm a Southern Softie from Bristol, exiled to Devon, but my Dad's side of the family are from County Durham and I can't get enough of this Northern industrial heritage stuff. Keep up the good work, and thank you.
Wonderful. Love the atmospheric music with pigeon accompaniment!
Great video Martin. Imagine how the people felt that worked in that dial room the day the panels were switched off for the last time.
Thank you for this Martin, when I was 8 years old my Grandad took me to cobden street tip, we parked up at the end of the road and walked next to the train tracks all the way down to Agecroft Cemetery and sat on a grass hill to watch the four cooling towers being demolished. This brought back great memories and the old picture of Drinkwater park was lovely to see too as I'm on there most days walking the dog.
Remember going in to Agecroft, with my mate in his tipper wagon, loading fly ash from the boilers, it all went to help build the M65 motorway near Burnley. 1000s and 1000s of tons from the CEGB.
The fly ash was also used by the factory next door to the power station it was used to manufacture Thermalite blocks en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoclaved_aerated_concrete I used to occasionally work at the road weighbridge at the colliery (Landsale) At some point there was a problem with the weighbridge and I spent a few days at the power station using their weighbridge. The fly ash was moved on internal roads between the power station and the Thermalite plant. A trip of no more than 1/2 a mile but all these internal vehicles had massive "Greedy Boards" and springs on them were straining with the mass of ash.
That transformer room is something else! Apparently there was a power station in Chadderton just off Broadway, my grandad told me he watched them pull the chimneys down one Sunday morning. I think it's where junction 21 of the M60 is now.
Great video , just shows how being polite and respectful can open doors and lovely to see the memorial stone to those who worked down the mine ,marvellous that someone provided that to those who anonymously fade into the obscurity of history
Thank you Keith
I used to live there when The Power Station was operational. If memory serves, the cooling tower demolition was delayed because a nesting peregrine falcons had to be relocated. Another triumph, well done Martin.
What a brilliant and unexpected thing to happen! There's something about power stations that you grow up near. It was memories of the one that used to be at the bottom of my street when I was a kid that spurred my interest in industrial history!It's long gone now, but I still remember the concrete cooling tower and the massive wooden square ones that loomed over our house. Oddly evocative!
Used to see those cooling towers on way to my nanas at old Trafford when we were kids !! Brought back loads of memories great film .
Thanks very much Mat
Martin, thanks. Another great video showing out forgotten/neglected heritage.
Hi Martin that1st building was I think a fire stn back up .the ash from the power station was converted by a polish man &made in to thermlite building internal blocks eventually sold the patents to John laying construction used every day.house building. He mixed a clever type of bonded in the heated ash &compressed to size. Use to ride my enduro.motor bike there. Loved the video Martin. John Rooney st.annes Lancashire UK
As always a first class video. I hope the Science and Industry museum are aware of the existence of this control panel and are able to save at least some of it.
Wow! Thank you for the video Martin. One of my earliest memories was looking out of my gran's back window and looking at two cooling towers (yeah I'm that old), asking what they were. She lived on Bolton Road near Irlam's o'th Heights so quite a grand view over the valley. We could also see the horse racing course down I think it was Kersal during the 1950s. Anyway. Thank you so much again for such a great video. Keep em coming! x
Hi Martin. Brilliant video, as always! I worked in a couple of power stations years ago. Namely: Ince 'A', and 'B' which were near Stanlow refinery between Ellesmere Port and Frodsham. The abandoned, pigeon crap filled, room looks like the metering and plant control room where the supplies to various parts of the plant were switched and controlled. These would include the forced draught and induced draught fans, cooling water circulating pumps, boiler water feed pumps, condenser vacuum pumps , condensate extraction pumps, and more besides. Also plant output metering was recorded there too.
There would also have been a large battery room somewhere, to provide emergency DC essential supplies in the event of a total black out. Yes, it can happen in a power station! At Ince 'B' station, we were trained to bring the station back on line from a complete black out using two gas turbine alternators to start things off.
Hope this is helpful, and not too 'anoraky'!. Cheers, and beers, Pete.
Known as 'black start' capability.
Yes, 'black start'. I left the generation side if the industry in 1994 and have forgotten a lot of the terminology. Thanks for reminding me.
I happened upon this video by mistake and it will haunt me forever...WOW!
Thanks for making this video. I will make sure my Dad watches it as he started as a CEGB apprentice in the early 60's. I am pretty sure he spent some if his time at Agecroft along with Stuart Street (now Manchester velodrome)
Thanks for the show!
I bet you was raving in the Hacienda, when them towers were blown martin. That's why you couldn't remember them being blown up.☺
Wonderful as always
History that is well documented. Thanks Martin
You're more than an urban explorer Martin, you're a documentary maker. You're passion in making top quality video far exceeds the competitiveness of some urban explorers of CZcams, whose main aim is to get as many views as possible with little regard to the history of the places they visit
Wow, I spent half of my life working on control panels like that.... Great upload, well done on that.
Awesome as always thank you for sharing this with us 👏❤️😁xx
Brilliant as usual
In 1976 I was leaving school and had an interview for an Apprenticeship at CEGB Agecroft - weirdest day of selection tests I ever had. Interestingly, later that year I started work at GEC Trafford Park, the site of the old Metropolitan Vickers.
I dont remember much about the visit to Agecroft back then, but I do think that I remember that 'temprorary' flat roofed building was where the tests were conducted.
Nice video Martin, and how cool is that security guard to invite you in.
Amazing. Thanks.
Thanks Martin for another great video.
I remember talking to an old fella who used to be an engineer at the agecroft power station he passed away a few years ago now but he probably stood in front if those dials and machines. Another building I've always wanted to take a look around and you deliver yet again mate with another brilliant video 👍
Brilliant once again Martin. Martin
Another fab video. Thanks Martin. ……
I absolutely love your music!
That was superb - thanks Martin
I never knew Salford could be so interesting!
thanks Martin goodvid.Nice to know old locos are still around
Amazing. Very interesting. Thank you
Fantastic as usual thanks Martin 😋😋
As someone who grew up in Stretford and lived there for 24 years. I find this channel amazing. THANK YOU for your amazing videos.
A fantastic video and I remember passing the colliery and power station regularly going to Manchester on the train and in the 60's those little shunters were always kept smart and always on the go, happy memories
Loved the story about the security guard, another cracking video, amazing to see that control room still there.
Love to watch this channel.so soothing on sunday.before work shite,monday.
Blimey Martin that was an Amazing find..
It brought back Memories of my Apprenticeship the place I worked for as an Electrical engineer used to do a lot of work all over the North west and North Wales for the CEGB and the Mines.
The most Amazing Power Stations I ever went to where the Nuclear Power Station at Trawsfyned and The Hydro Station Nr Tanygrishiau Blaenau Festiniog.
I am Suprised you haven't done a Video of the Slate Caverns and Power Stations down that neck of the woods or should I say Mountains.
Trawsfyned power Station was Amazing to think just beneath my feet was the Reactor with an Eeree Humming noise as I walked over the Charge Face of the Reactor where they Replaced the Fuel Rods.
Keep up the great work buddy.
Something very melancholic about the decaying control room. My uncle Norman worked as an electrician at Barton Power Station back in the 70's....
Brilliant.....really enjoy your work.
Mad, all those dials, thx Martin.
Bonus footage. Great to see the colliery complex in the photo.
Looking forward to the forthcoming colliery video.
It’s great to hear about the Thrilmere Aqueduct!
Great job
Brilliant Martin!
What a delightful mix of very interesting places
LOVED the decorative bridge
Definitely needs to be seen a few times.
THANKS FOR YOUR WORK
Great stuff, enjoyed that.
Always look forward a Sunday video.... I remember visiting that reception about 5 years ago, some lovely period fittings and fixtures.
Thanks for memory’s of the Power Station and the collieries of the Irwell valley.
UK power built on the lives of British miners, who’s dead will never be counted.
I watch with my IPad Pro through an adapter and then use a HMDI cable to view on my 4K TV.
Passed the Power Station many times on my rail journeys into Manchester from Atherton over the years of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s so many times.
John
Excellent as always Martin. You've proved 'it's always better to ask', nice of that chap to show you around. Good to see that those wonderful saddle tank locos have survived as well. Many thanks again.
Superb Video again...
I used to work for the company that last operated in the office buildings (we only relocated in March 2018). We did an open day and invited a few of the former workers to celebrate the power station’s 90th birthday. The information cards you found we created and put them on the walls for that day. Our Marketing team did a load of research - I think a lot of it came from a book that was written about the site. Very strange to see our offices look so bad after such a short time!
Another excellent video, cheers Martin. I remember me mam and dad taking us on the tour of agecroft power station before it shut down. I remember the turbine hall being well loud, they gave us earplugs which I've still got somewhere. Was there for the demolition too.
Great Video Martin. Well done.
Fantastic video as always, thanks Martin
Thanks Alex
Great security guard at leastby showing people around he makes sure they don't wander into the dangerous parts of the complex top chap and fantastic video
Great Vid Martin. Well done.
What a mighty opportunity you were granted by chance. Thank you for taking it up and showing us. I hope that you always consider the invisible risks in some of these old buildings, asbestos exposure being one. Stay safe above all else.
Did you notice the terrified look on that control panel at 12:57. 😂
That was a great video Martin, really enjoyed it, lots of great info and none the worse for being an unplanned visit.
Loved those pics of those old locos. Yeah they'll be worth looking up. Thank once again.
love this discovery, perfect relaxation after a 250 mile drive ... thanks
That was brilliant mate! The ghostly carcass of what once powered a generation of salfordians! Amazing 👏🏼👏🏼
Analogue meters were always 'beautiful' compared to digital meters and ultimately computer screens. Pity they were virtually always 'destroyed' along with the panels in which they 'resided'
Loved your video!
I'm glad I found you a while ago Martin. This is so my thing. It's like you can feel the history, fantastic video. Thanks for all of this👍
Nice job Martin, and a lucky chance to get a look inside!
very nice surprise for you and us. Thank you
Great stuff as ever Martin!
So many memories.My Gran and Aunties lived on Dutchy rd . I used to drink with an old Agecroft miner.Just before the pit shut my first job was a tire fitter.One job was a tyre change on one of the big diggers moving the slag in the soil heaps.Managed too get a glimpse of the inside of the Lamp Room as we were taken for what now they call a H&S assessment .Then watched the cooling towers get demolished a few years later.Lots' of random gibberish from me there Martin, I apologise for that :) .But like my Gran ,Aunties the old miner the Pitt and power station all just memories now. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be eh .
Remember going on a tour of this power station and mine in my school days 👍 thanks Martin
fantastic Martin, thank you for another video on local history 👍
Just watched your latest video of Agecroft power station and all I can say is that I got chills down my body watching it I couldn't believe what I seeing and the power room was fantastic to see omg keep up the very good work Martin your a legend mate