Back o' th' Bank Power Station
of Bolton
1894 Bolton Borough opened Spa Road Station
By early 1900s Spa Road was unable to cope with demand.
1914 Back o' th' Bank Power Station was opened to meet the increasing demand
Back o’ th’ Bank was extended several times during the 1920s and 1930s.
Between 1921 and 1923 further steam raising plant was installed consisting of eighteen boilers each capable of supplying 34,000 lb/hr (4.3 kg/s) of steam at a pressure of 225 psi (15.5 bar).
In 1923 the generating machinery comprised 2 × 4,000 kW, 1 × 6,000 kW, 1 × 8,000 kW and 1 × 12,000 kW turbo-alternators. This gave a total generating capacity of 34,000 kW. The No. 6 machine was an English Electric Company 12.5 MW set which was commissioned in October 1923; it was supplied with steam at 200 psi and 528 °F (13.79 bar and 276 °C).[15] This machine remained in operation until 1979, and was moved to the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester as a museum display piece.
By the mid-1920s the Lancashire Power Company and the Corporations of Manchester, Salford, Bolton and Rochdale had interconnected their electricity systems to share the production and supply of electricity.
1927 Back o' th' Bank became a selected station under the North-West England and North Wales Electricity Scheme
Late 1940s: further turbo-alternators were installed, whilst some of the older equipment was decommissioned.
1952 The steam plant in the low pressure station was decommissioned.
By 1971 the plant comprised three 31.25 MW turbo-alternators, the maximum output capacity was 75 MW.
1979 Station closed
Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry displayed an English Electric Co turbine generator and condenser from the Back o’ th’ Bank Power Station, but bizarrely, access is now denied.
Also see Bolton Corporation Electricity Department
See Also
Sources of Information
- Power Stations in Greater Manchester [1]