Once we'd gained access to the boiler houses, we were inside to safety and the world was our oyster. We made our way through to the rear of the building, to the turbine hall, where three large Parsons generators and their associated control equipment still sat in place. Starting at the far end of the hall, there were each a blue, green and orange turbo generator unit, each in various states of disassembly with the reusable parts allegedly destined for a new life in another power station.
There was no security presence inside the building; in fact there was nothing at all living. Industrial air dehumidifiers ran 24/7 and filled the spacious halls with an eerie hum. Pigeons would occasionally gain access through a gap in the large glass facade, and once trapped inside would almost certainly die and then be fossilised in the dry, bitter air.
There were originally supposed to be four generators and four accompanying boilers, but the power station was never actually completed to full specification and so only one half of the left hand side (looking from the seaward direction) of the station was built; resulting in three generators & boilers being installed. Even then, it was only run to full capacity during the 1984 coal miner strike.
A modernist monstrosity? Many hated its look and how it was said to blight the Clyde with its bland, imposing presence. I personally didn't mind it much and had often wondered what was inside from a very young age.
Stay tuned for more as we work our way towards the switchgear and Central Control Room.