Monday 28 July 2014

End of the Towers


My Sunday photo was of the Cooling Towers at Didcot Powerstation 3 minuets before they were blown up. The build up started the week before with people from all over the place let alone the locals getting a photo of the cooling towers. If you believed the press you would think the whole lot was coming down but it was only the 3 South towers by the town. The contractors would not put it off till a more reasonable hour so it was taking place between 3 & 5 AM. I went along to see the event with my sons. The Powerstation is over 40 years old & I remember it being built watching the new electric pylons going up now it was going.

 Not the last sunset but the last one I took of all the towers a few days before the event, The three on left are going. it was taken just outside our village. You can see the powerstation from most of South Oxfordshire. When it was built it was Berkshire
2:40 am in the morning & lit up like Christmas
3 minutes to go
 Bang and off they go, I nearly missed it and hit the remote button to set the camera off when some one said there they go. I've enhanced the photos a bit to show more detail, the orange glow is the explosions

 The first tower is well on the way down and the second following with the third starting it's decent
 The first is nearly down with dust coming off
This is what I saw as far as light is concerned but you can see the first has fallen and the second nearly down
 The last moments of the third cooling tower as it brakes up, I might add the sound of the explosions came just after this
 That's it all they are all gone and we went home
About 12 hours later from the same spot.
If you type in to YouTube Didcot Powerstation Demolition you can see videos of the even but here are a couple I like. The first was taken not far from the powerstation and the second about half a mile from where I was stood so is the same as what I was looking at.

Taking Part in Our World Tuesday

14 comments:

  1. When I saw it on TV I wondered if you were there taking photos. So pleased you made the effort to get up so early. Great photos and thank you so much for sharing as they bring back memories of my Thames walk.

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  2. Wow! Amazing photography ~ sad event though ~ Great post for OWT ~ history in the making ~ thanks,

    artmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)

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  3. Excellent photos! Thanks, Bill!

    Robin
    Rusty Ring: Reflections of an Old-Timey Hermit

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  4. I think the view looks much better without the towers. And kudos for getting up to witness the demo.

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  5. A nice series of photos. It's amazing how much work we (humans) put into building things and how little it takes to tear them down. The early morning light is very pretty!

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  6. Nice series of shots Bill :)

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  7. It was an Art subject at my high school all those years ago.

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  8. I really enjoyed seeing all of your photos and the two videos you posted. You did a great job on the photos.

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  9. Hello Bill! Very interesting photos you're showing........shot 2 is amazing.

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  10. Really great to see your photos. Quite a surreal sight. The video is excellent as well.

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  11. Excellent shots! They do have to plan that out and prepare everything with such precision.

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  12. Ah, this is what I get for going through your blog backwards. Amazing photos, Bill, especially the one with the houses in the foreground.

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