Massive thanks to Steve Turner who sent this interesting video and back story regarding the Meaford ‘B’ Power Station and it’s final hours electricity production.
“I recently found some video that I photographed on the 28th September 1990. It shows the last hours of generation at Meaford ‘B’ Power Station, just north of Stone.
Meaford ‘B’ was a 240mw capacity power station that was formally opened on the 4th October 1957 by the then Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire H. Wallace- Copland. It comprised four off “units” each containing a Babcock & Wilcox boiler and BTH turbo generator. The first unit being commissioned in December 1955.
The station had just a few days notice of ceasing generation which would be when the coal in each unit’s bunkers ran out though there were many tens of thousands of coal in the stockyard.
At this time no 2, 3 and 4 units were operational whilst no 1 unit was under refit as can be seen in the video. The honour of being the last to generate fell to no 2 unit.
The station formally closed on the 1st October 1991 though demolition of the five cooling towers each 250 high took place on the 7th September 1991
Demolition of the main building was between January to June 1996 with the 408’ tall chimney being felled by explosives on the 9th June 1996.
Steve explains his involvement in Meaford ‘B’:
My connection with Meaford ‘B’ – my father Colin worked there from 1956 until early retirement in May 1989 – he finished as Operations Supervisor. My grandfather Cyril Duncan was at Stafford Power Station (building still stands at end of Foregate Street) in the 1940’s before moving to Meaford ’A’ in the 1950s until his death in June 1964.
The video concludes with a little film of one of the Meaford locomotives saved for preservation and now located at the Foxfield Railway Stoke on Trent. The conclusion is a few days after the last generation when staff and families were invited for a special train etc to commemorate ‘B’ Station from 1955-90. Meaford No 4 (AB 486 of 1964) and Whiston (HE3694/1950) pulling the train. Both locos remain at Foxfield as at October 2019 with Whiston in full working order and Meaford No 4 in working order but needs attention to its tyres. (Whiston being my steam locomotive that is due its fourth overhaul in my ownership in the Summer 2020 – roughly every ten years)
Further details are in the following link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaford_Power_Station
3 comments
Steve
Keith: thanks for the comments above.
An update re the locos: Meaford No 4 is way in Derbyshire (left just after Easter) having new tyres fitted to its wheels (railway locos have steel tyres) whilst Whiston last ran in service on 31/12/20 and is now under overhaul.
Foxfield restarts services on Sunday 23rd May 2021 subject to conditions remaining the same.
Keith Bostel
I watched this video with much interest having had my career with the CEGB / NatPower mainly ‘down south’ – craft apprentice to plant manager. Happiest period was shift operations where the activities were varied but most of all was the cameraderie within the shift teams which shines through at Meaford on this video. It was thought provoking to watch the last day of generation after so many years on base load and no doubt two shifting; The big surprise, and a very happy one, was to see an old colleague who, like me, found himself in Devon (albeit reluctantly) ! Phil (Colclough) and me worked together at Mary Tavy hydro power station when I transferred from Littlebrook D. I shall always keep fond memories of Phil who was the Plant Engineer who was respected, popular and largely kept me out of trouble ! Thank you Phil and thank you Steve for this video; its about Meaford of course but it took me back across the CEGB years too. Keith Bostel.
Steve
Thirty years ago exactly today I made the above video – so much has changed in the intervening years!