Brighton 'B' Power Station - Page 3

 

 

Colliers

Four colliers of 3,400 tons capacity were built by the C.E.G.B. for regular use to Shoreham. All were 340 ft. long, 44 ft. in beam with a loaded draught of 18 ft. and have a service speed of 11 knots.

 

 

Colliers brought many thousands of tons of coal each week to the station wharf. They were named James Rowan, Sir John Snell, Charles H. Merz and Sir William Walker after prominent persons in the Electricity Supply Industry.
The average voyage time from the Tyne to Shoreham was about 36 hours (3 tides) and the discharge of a 3,400 ton vessel could normally be carried out in 93 hours, i.e. under favourable conditions a ship can be "turned round" in a tide. Each of these vessels made about 55 round trips in a year.

 

A fifth collier, the Sir Johnstone Wright, of 4,200 tons was built for use on spring tides to Shoreham, otherwise to stations on the Thames estuary. In addition, ships chartered from other sources were used to supplement C.E.G.B. vessels.

COAL PLANT

Two coal unloaders and one Kangaroo crane each rated at 300 tons/hour unloaded the colliers and weighed the coal before loading conveyors to transport it to the boiler bunkers or stocking-out yard. Stocking-out and reclaiming coal was carried out by bulldozers capable of handling the quantities required for both stations. Loading rates up to 500 tons/hour from a distance of 200 ft. were attainable by the machines.

 

Unloading berth and main coal store.

STEAM RAISING PLANT

There were eleven single drum, water tube boilers each with an evaporative capacity of 320,000 Ibs/hour with feed water at a temperature of 196"C (385"F) at the economiser inlet. The steam conditions at the superheater outlet were 950 Ibs/sq. inch and 496"C (925"F). All boilers had natural circulation, but some differed in tube arrangement and in some the tubes forming the furnace walls were covered with cast iron Bailey blocks.

The superheaters were of the horizontal and pendant type and means of regulating the steam outlet temperature were provided by either a spray or tubular type attemperator placed between the primary and secondary superheater. Coal from the bunkers passed through weighing machines to the pulverising plant, consisting of three medium speed, ring-ball mills, incorporating constant speed classifiers for each boiler. From each mill, pulverised coal was delivered to the burners by a primary air fan.

 

Into the collier's holds, quayside cranes lower their grabs and unload the coal. Each grab can lift up to 6 tons .

 

The draught plant comprised of two forced draught fans, two induced draught fans and two rotary type air heaters which supplied preheated air to the mills and boiler furnace. Dust was extracted by mechanical plant followed by electrostatic precipitators.

 

 

 

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