STOCKS FOR WATTS

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 13th Year

Issue

Issue No.

5

Date Released

Jan 1960

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1STITCH IN TIME
2. 2STOCKS FOR WATTS
3. 3JOHNNY SCHOFIELD
4. 4ON CALL

Story

Story No. within this Issue

2 / 4

Summary

NoS synopsis: the storing of coal for the new power station being built at High Marnham in Nottinghamshire which will be the largest electricity generating station in Britain (1,000MW)
NCB Commentary - They’re stocking coal at High Marnham in Nottinghamshire - not because they have got too much but because they need a whole heap more.
High Marnham is the largest electricity generating station of its kind in Britain. It is in the final stages of building and 2 1/2 million tons of coal a year (1% of the whole country’s output) will be needed to keep the turbines going. Already the first of the five generators is in operation.
At the moment, the coal is coming from five pits in the area, but the number will be increased when High Marnham goes into production in a big way. It is taken from the washeries by rail in special 24 ton hopper-wagons.
A new network of lines has been built to speed up the flow of coal. High Marnham will have cost over 50 million pounds, obviously there must be no hold up through lack of coal and that’s why they’re stocking up now.
At the power station, there’s a neat sindings-layout and unloading is direct into large bunkers. The new hopper-wagons make unloading fast and easy - 24 tons can be got out in only five seconds.
As the station will use 10 thousand tons every day, speed of handling is essential - after all, it’s a lot of coal to move in so short a space of time.
The criss-cross of conveyors carries it from the bunkers to the place it is wanted - either to the plant or direct to the ever growing stock piles where one and a half million tons can be stored.
A thousand megawatts of electricity will be produced; if that’s hard to understand, just think of 1 million one-bar electric fires all going full-blast - that’s what the power from High Marnham will do.

Researcher Comments

Commentary recorded 7th December 1959.

Keywords

Industry and manufacture; Mining; Fuels

Locations

England; Nottinghamshire

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases   Used for synopsis
Film User   Vol.14 No.167 September 1960, p520.
The National Archives COAL 32   /12 Scripts for Mining Review, 1956-1960

Credits:

Production Co.

Documentary Technicians Alliance

Sponsor

National Coal Board