Bold Power Station
Encyclopedia
Bold Power Station refers to a series of two coal-fired power stations
situated in Bold
near St Helens
in Merseyside
, North West England
.
, with a direct coal conveyor belt
link from a washery at the colliery. This fed either directly to coal bunkers in both stations or to a stocking area. The extensive rail sidings were utilised for coal delivery, either from Bold Colliery or from other collieries via the main Liverpool to Manchester Lines
. The coal from Bold Colliery was deep mined and therefore costly to recover. In later years, due to commercial reasons, the main coal supply became mostly by road from either Yorkshire or Scotland.
The 'A' power station had an installed capacity of 120 MW. It consisted of four 30 MW two-cylinder turbine
s/alternator
s manufactured by Metropolitan-Vickers
and Associated Electrical Industries
(AEI). No.3 M/C was installed with the first direct water-cooled alternator. Steam was supplied from four Yarrow & Co. coal fired boiler
s with tangentially fired tilting pulverized fuel burners, with 3no type LM13 table mills made by ICL of Derby.
The 'B' power station was installed with three 60 MW machines (equalling 180 MW total capacity). It used a central unit control system with the turbine/hydrogen cooled alternators manufactured by the General Electric Company (GEC). As with 'A' power station, no.3 alternator was a prototype
direct water-cooled machine. The coolant water was fed via glass tubes on the three-phase
connections. Each unit had boilers manufactured by John Thompson of Wolverhampton, each using two suction ball mills each with two exhausters, these feeding to twelve front wall pulverized fuel burners. The boilers fed steam at 900 psi
/900 degrees Fahrenheit directly to each turbine/alternator.
The Bold area was the site of Bold Colliery, with Bold A and B Power Stations on adjacent land. These power stations had a total electricity generating capacity of 300 megawatt
s (MW). At the time of completion, between 1958 and 1960, they were the largest such generating facility in the north west. The colliery and power stations are now closed, with the latter site redeveloped for housing and the creation of public open spaces. Other industry in the area included a large engineering works which is now an industrial estate.
Fossil fuel power plant
A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...
situated in Bold
Bold, Merseyside
Bold is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside, England. Bold itself is situated to the south east of St Helens, near to the boundaries with Halton and Warrington in Cheshire. The parish extends southwards beyond the M62 motorway and includes the hamlet of Bold Heath...
near St Helens
St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
in Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
.
History
Bold A and B Power Stations were coal firedFossil fuel power plant
A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...
, with a direct coal conveyor belt
Conveyor belt
A conveyor belt consists of two or more pulleys, with a continuous loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley...
link from a washery at the colliery. This fed either directly to coal bunkers in both stations or to a stocking area. The extensive rail sidings were utilised for coal delivery, either from Bold Colliery or from other collieries via the main Liverpool to Manchester Lines
Liverpool to Manchester Lines
There are two Liverpool to Manchester railway lines between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in the North West of England. The 'Northern Route' via and to either or follows the route of the original Liverpool and Manchester Railway...
. The coal from Bold Colliery was deep mined and therefore costly to recover. In later years, due to commercial reasons, the main coal supply became mostly by road from either Yorkshire or Scotland.
The 'A' power station had an installed capacity of 120 MW. It consisted of four 30 MW two-cylinder turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
s/alternator
Alternator
An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current.Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field but linear alternators are occasionally used...
s manufactured by Metropolitan-Vickers
Metropolitan-Vickers
Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, they were particularly well known for their industrial electrical equipment such as generators, steam...
and Associated Electrical Industries
Associated Electrical Industries
Associated Electrical Industries was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of the British Thomson-Houston Company and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies...
(AEI). No.3 M/C was installed with the first direct water-cooled alternator. Steam was supplied from four Yarrow & Co. coal fired boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
s with tangentially fired tilting pulverized fuel burners, with 3no type LM13 table mills made by ICL of Derby.
The 'B' power station was installed with three 60 MW machines (equalling 180 MW total capacity). It used a central unit control system with the turbine/hydrogen cooled alternators manufactured by the General Electric Company (GEC). As with 'A' power station, no.3 alternator was a prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
direct water-cooled machine. The coolant water was fed via glass tubes on the three-phase
Three-phase electric power
Three-phase electric power is a common method of alternating-current electric power generation, transmission, and distribution. It is a type of polyphase system and is the most common method used by grids worldwide to transfer power. It is also used to power large motors and other heavy loads...
connections. Each unit had boilers manufactured by John Thompson of Wolverhampton, each using two suction ball mills each with two exhausters, these feeding to twelve front wall pulverized fuel burners. The boilers fed steam at 900 psi
Pounds per square inch
The pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units...
/900 degrees Fahrenheit directly to each turbine/alternator.
The Bold area was the site of Bold Colliery, with Bold A and B Power Stations on adjacent land. These power stations had a total electricity generating capacity of 300 megawatt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s (MW). At the time of completion, between 1958 and 1960, they were the largest such generating facility in the north west. The colliery and power stations are now closed, with the latter site redeveloped for housing and the creation of public open spaces. Other industry in the area included a large engineering works which is now an industrial estate.