Escom Power Station
For many years the town's principal industry was the power station, originally built for South African Railways and opened in June 1926 and finally decommissioned in 1985.

Steep gradients on the Natal section of South African Railways, particularly in the Natal Midlands meant that electricfication could well be beneficial, particularly if regenerative braking was employed. Building work started in 1921 and the power station was opened in 1926 with a capacity of 60 MW. Initially it only provided power for the 274 km section of the Glencoe - Pietermaritzburg part of the Durban-Johannesburg railway - the area that not only had the greatest gradients, but also the area that was closest to the coalfields of the Glencoe region.

The power station was sold to the Electricity Supply Commission (Escom) in January 1927. It used coal that was brought in by rail from the coalfields of North Natal and water from the Tugela. It continued to be to provider of electrical power for the railways which by 1937 consisted of the whole of the Natal section of the Durban - Johannesburg line (516 route km) and the 229 km spur to Bethlehem in the Orange Free State. Between 1944 and 1959 a series of new generators were commissioned resulting in the power station’s capacity being increased to 160 MW. However, in the 1960s, changes in technology led to a change in the economics of power production. New power stations such as Ingagane were built at the coal fields themselves and the use 400 kVA power lines from 1972 onwards reduced the cost of transporting electricity. This meant that the continued use of the Colenso power station was no longer economically viable. The original part of the power station was decommissioned in 1970 and the 1944-1959 extensions in 1985.

The power station itself dominated that town and Escom provided housing and a social and sports club for its employees and their families. Such was its domination of the town, that Escom also undertook the supply of water and electricity not only to the homes of its employees, but to the whole borough. (Source: wikipedia.org)
[ID-54560]

Tags:   South Africa Natal KwaZulu-Natal KZN Colenso Tugela River Power Station Black and White Vintage South African Photo S.A.R. & H. Publicity and Travel Images

© All Rights Reserved

[ID-8695]

Tags:   South Africa Natal KwaZulu-Natal KZN Colenso Tugela River Power Station Black and White Vintage South African Photo S.A.R. & H. Publicity and Travel Images

© All Rights Reserved

[ID-52525]

Tags:   South Africa Transvaal Gauteng Johannesburg Gold Mine headgear Black and White Vintage South African Photo S.A.R. & H. Publicity and Travel Images

© All Rights Reserved

[ID-64531]

Tags:   South Africa Orange Free State Free State OFS Welkom Gold Mine headgear Black and White Vintage South African Photo S.A.R. & H. Publicity and Travel Images

© All Rights Reserved

[ID-61004]

Tags:   South Africa Orange Free State Free State OFS Welkom President Steyn Gold Mine Black and White Vintage South African Photo S.A.R. & H. Publicity and Travel Images

© All Rights Reserved