Power station control room/turbine telegraph

[Mark W]

And now for something completely different!

I have been after a power station telegraph for decades and due to the fact most would have been obsolete after the 1940's I assumed I would never be able to obtain one but........

The power station telegraph system is just like the ones found on a ship, to give instruction from the bridge to the engineroom and in this case from the control room to the turbine attendant at the controls in the turbine hall.

The control room operator would move the telegraph handle into the required instruction position, the turbine attendant would then accept the order by moving his handle to the same requested position and in doing so cancels the bell that would be ringing to warn of a new instruction in the turbine hall

So basically the orders are:

STAND BY- gives warning that the telegraph is about to be used either to start up a generating set or shut it down, to put the engineer on stand by
START UP- get the turbine generator running up to running speed
FASTER- Increase speed to allow for synchronization to the grid
STEADY- No speed changes during synchronization
SLOWER- reduce speed during synchronization
ON LOAD- circuit breaker in, generator on load, set the turbine governors to suit.
SHUT DOWN- finished with turbine after disconnection from the grid and finished with the set.

Very soon power station control room operators could adjust remotely the steam valves to slightly adjust the generator speed to connect to the grid thus removing the need for these telegraph systems.

These are so rare that even Battersea power station may have lost the two that were in control room A, unless Lucien has got them!

At last I have finally acquired one to go with our switchboard, just need to find a huge synchroscope........

 

[DPG]

And now for something completely different!

I have been after a power station telegraph for decades and due to the fact most would have been obsolete after the 1940's I assumed I would never be able to obtain one but........

The power station telegraph system is just like the ones found on a ship, to give instruction from the bridge to the engineroom and in this case from the control room to the turbine attendant at the controls in the turbine hall.

The control room operator would move the telegraph handle into the required instruction position, the turbine attendant would then accept the order by moving his handle to the same requested position and in doing so cancels the bell that would be ringing to warn of a new instruction in the turbine hall

So basically the orders are:

STAND BY- gives warning that the telegraph is about to be used either to start up a generating set or shut it down, to put the engineer on stand by
START UP- get the turbine generator running up to running speed
FASTER- Increase speed to allow for synchronization to the grid
STEADY- No speed changes during synchronization
SLOWER- reduce speed during synchronization
ON LOAD- circuit breaker in, generator on load, set the turbine governors to suit.
SHUT DOWN- finished with turbine after disconnection from the grid and finished with the set.

Very soon power station control room operators could adjust remotely the steam valves to slightly adjust the generator speed to connect to the grid thus removing the need for these telegraph systems.

These are so rare that even Battersea power station may have lost the two that were in control room A, unless Lucien has got them!

At last I have finally acquired one to go with our switchboard, just need to find a huge synchroscope........

That's fantastic that. Never seen one of those I don't think. Yep, you definitely need a synchroscope!

 

[Marvo]

That truely is a thing of beauty and a piece of history and I can guarantee that @Lucien Nunes is gonna need a fresh set of underwear when he sees this I like the way they use circuit symbolism to designate the function of the gauges and panel meters.

Please post some pics of your switchboard setup as well and give us some back story about your collection.

 

[westward10]

I believe that set up is his front room.

Vintage switchgear restored and installed to form part of my living room.

Afternoon All Some of you may be interested in one of my projects. I have nearly finished a themed room at my home and we have used some vintage switchgear as part of the decoration, I just need to finish off the skirting board. The next stage is to wire up the semaphores so that they operate...

www.electriciansforums.net

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Mark and I talk about this stuff all the time. Now that I'm not really in a position to enjoy playing with hardware it's good to share stores and ideas with someone who thinks along exactly the same lines.

 

[Marvo]

Damn, I didn't know you and Mark were already acquainted, I was hoping this was going to be a surprise for you.

 

[James]

Damn, I didn't know you and Mark were already acquainted, I was hoping this was going to be a surprise for you.

The powers of the cosmos must draw that pair together like opposite magnetic poles.

 

[Mark W]

Yes, me and Lucien know each other. When we are on the phone, the rooms that we are in start to smell of 1970's electronics, dust on hot valves, mineral oil from motor starter dash pots and that general smell that you find when you open a panel door on an historic bit of kit!! We both go mentally back to the various periods in electrical engineering history.

All that we both want is for other people to become passionate about their job, the world needs passionate engineering people, the fact I can use this computer to write the message and the lights are still on is due to passionate people............we also want to preserve the work of previous pioneers.

A 10 minute experience for a child before the age of 10 can determine that child's future.....I am sure Lucien has lots of stories like this but here is mine:

1) When I was very young my parents split up, my mum was a nurse working nights so my gran at very short notice became my baby sitter. She was not prepare for this so no suitable children toys or books, but what she did have were books printed in the 1920's/30's about engineering and electricity..............this set my compress to be very interested in early power stations and substations and how I wanted a career in engineering.

2) Aged about 8, road closed outside due to smell of gas, fire brigade turn up and open the manhole cover in the main road to look inside the main sewer, I got to look down into the sewer, less than 10 minutes experience. I now own a waste water engineering company because of this very experience.

3) Again aged 8, taken on board a ship called ss manxman. Went down to the engineroom for about 20 minutes.....fast forward a decade or so.... I ended up a senior marine engineer officer in the merchant navy for 6 years before getting the tee shirt as they say and I then had to get involved with sewers!! Again all because of this early engineroom experiance.

We both want to share our passion for engineering through our collections so someone else can keep the lights on in the future with the added benefit of honoring the previous engineers and manufacturers.

My own problem, is that some of the kit I am saving due to how it was built is not seen as historic even though it may be over 70 years old. I saved a 6.6kv breaker 2 years ago from a hospital feeder that was built in 1948. National grid is making no effort to save in service large breakers, that is why I have a 15,000mva 7 metre tall OCB in my back garden, recently taken out of service....again approaching 70 years old. When its all gone it is gone, I wish we had saved on of those I can hear?

1960's .....get rid of steam engines. We don't need these things any more, Why would you want to save one of these dirty things.

So most ended up in a scrap yard in south wales, the scrap man was so busy scrapping the easy stuff such as wagons etc and never got time to scrap the locomotives. If you go on a heritage railway today the steam engine that is pulling it has most probably come from a scrap yard in south wales. This scrapyard accidentally became the biggest preservers of steam engines in the world. I think over 200 steam engines on heritage railways today are from this very scrapyard!

This is what I am trying to do in a controlled fashion, save it, conserve it, release it back into the environment when the world is ready and hungry for the past and in the mean time allow anyone to look at the collection should they wish.

Battersea power station is a prime example of this, not many people would have shed a tear if the control rooms had been destroyed a few years back but look at it now, control room A is defined as the "joule" in the power stations crown. They even have a very large HV circuit breaker restored in the main hall that attracts a lot of attention. I wonder how many future engineers this place may produce from their childhood visit.

With the right people you can make boring subjects inspiring, I managed to keep the local village W.I group fascinated in a talk about high voltage circuit breakers!!

Mine and Lucien's dream of a central location open to the general public for all this kit may not become reality but that is not the end by far......we have done the hard work by collecting it in the first place just like the scrap man in south wales with his steam engines. Lets just quietly tuck it away and in a few decades we will be able to embarrass the likes of national grid and other organisations when people start to become hungry for the past and the larger organisations have nothing to show for it.

Dai Woodham is the bloke that is now associated with the accidental saver of steam engines, I am sure Lucien will fall into this hall of fame with his collection, but this time it was no accident.

I will just be known as the idiot in the village that owns the electrical scrapyard!