Leeds-The great Gasometer in the sky!

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Sun 25 Apr, 2010 9:38 pm

Thanks once again for all your feedback, and help guys.Tilly, I'll ammend my stuff 2moro. Thanks

sirjohn · Post by **sirjohn** » Sun 25 Apr, 2010 10:11 pm

Phill_dvsn wrote: Can you just clear up the bit about the decomisioned holder at Meadow lane for me Geof. You say it was decomisioned in 1971.Is it still one of the ones standing? Or was it dismantled?And if it's the one still standing. It then must have had the guiding frame work removed, but the holder left in situ? The two on kidacre street are definitely still in operation. I walk past there to work at 8am and home again at 6pm. As they are moving up and down they make the most fantastic shudders and groans - usually with the balancing water or trapped rainwater on the surface cascading down the sides. You'd need to wait a long time to see them fully inflate, but it does happen.!!!

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Sun 25 Apr, 2010 10:54 pm

sirjohn wrote: Phill_dvsn wrote: Can you just clear up the bit about the decomisioned holder at Meadow lane for me Geof. You say it was decomisioned in 1971.Is it still one of the ones standing? Or was it dismantled?And if it's the one still standing. It then must have had the guiding frame work removed, but the holder left in situ? The two on kidacre street are definitely still in operation. I walk past there to work at 8am and home again at 6pm. As they are moving up and down they make the most fantastic shudders and groans - usually with the balancing water or trapped rainwater on the surface cascading down the sides. You'd need to wait a long time to see them fully inflate, but it does happen.!!! Thanks John. Yes i've seem them come down myself. It is a very slow process your right.But from what i've read. Not all gasholders actually store gas in them these days. They act to simply balance the gas pressure/levels or something. I'm not really clued up on this t.b.h. Maybe one of the guys in the know can elaborate further.

Cardiarms · Post by **Cardiarms** » Sun 25 Apr, 2010 11:50 pm

IIRC the Kings Cross gas holders in London Land are listed.

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Mon 26 Apr, 2010 12:03 am

Cardiarms wrote: IIRC the Kings Cross gas holders in London Land are listed. It's good to see some are listed Probably the most well known would be the Gas holder at the Oval Cricket ground herehttp://snipurl.com/vs80nIt isn't listed. Apparently there was some saftey concerns over developing the ground because of it.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Mon 26 Apr, 2010 8:34 am

What an absolutely fascinating topic Phill, for which I thank you very much. Gasometers were once such a vital part of our lives (well we older ones anyway ) and yet they seem to have "slid away" almost unnoticed. Two things in particular fascinate and amaze me about these strutures. Firstly I find it incredible, and merciful, that there weren't more catastrophic leakages and explosions, and secondly I was totally unaware that any new ones had been built anything like as recently as it seems they have.Every time I visit my childhood town of Ilkley I do strogly recall the local one there in Leeds Road, exactly where Booth's supermarket now stands.We had a chap at Samuel Ledgard's Ilkley Depot - conductor later Inspector Charlie Chamberlain - who lived overlooking the holder in Lower Wellington Road - poor Charlie was universally (but not unkindly) known as "Gas House."

Cardiarms · Post by **Cardiarms** » Mon 26 Apr, 2010 10:45 am

When did the holder on Burley Place/Canal Road go. I seem to remember it but might be making it up.Eddy's/Harley Davidson bought the land recently and spent a lot of time and money decontaminating it but have moved to WellingtonRoad and the land's back up for sale. For a while they had a small portable water treatment plant cleaning a lot of water pumped from somewhere.

geoffb · Post by **geoffb** » Mon 26 Apr, 2010 11:05 am

Cardiarms wrote: When did the holder on Burley Place/Canal Road go. I seem to remember it but might be making it up.Eddy's/Harley Davidson bought the land recently and spent a lot of time and money decontaminating it but have moved to WellingtonRoad and the land's back up for sale. For a while they had a small portable water treatment plant cleaning a lot of water pumped from somewhere. I was involved with the decommissioning in the late 70s early 80s time, I think it was demolished in 1983.

Cardiarms · Post by **Cardiarms** » Mon 26 Apr, 2010 11:10 am

Thanks - I wasn't making it up.

tilly · Post by **tilly** » Mon 26 Apr, 2010 1:13 pm

geoffb wrote: I worked with the the Gas Holder Maintenance department for about 4 years in my 35 years with North Eastern Gas involved with the purging and decommissioning of many holders. Meadow Lane No2 holder was decommisioned in c1971 this was the largest holder in the NE region holding 5,000,000 Cuft. This was a column guided holder as was Kirkstall holder decomed c 1980Stainburn Square holder situated near where the New BBC studios are, in the end fed solely Quarry Hill Flats. and was demolished roughly the same time as the flats.The Holder at New Wortley is called Spence Lane holder which is still in operation being fed from the Medium pressure grid, the Pressure reduction unit is on the Armley Gyratory with the gas main still running at high level on the roundabout.There is a Historical department within the IGEM which publishes a quarterly magazine called historical Gas Times Hi geoffb Would it have been the no1 holder i saw taken down at Meadow Lane in the mid sixtys?I was on contract to the Gas Board at the time working on the then new Hydro Carbon Reforming Plants I also worked for a time decommisioning the old water gas plants in the sixtys one was Tingley and i worked at Bowling in Bradford there was quite a bit of danger with the job at times we had to use phosphor bronze tools so as not to make a spark we were takeing out valves and did not know if there was any gas still in the pipeline.