tarboat's photos with the keyword: tunstead

The limekilns, cement kiln and other plant bask in the spring sunshine at Tunstead quarry.

Some of the eight shaft limekilns at Tunstead have, I believe, been in use for over 85 years. They continue to do good service, hopefully for many years to come.

Eight shaft kilns in the centre and the Maerz kilns on the left of this night view of Tunstead Quarry works. Lower left is the hydrating plant.

A plethora of bunkers and conveyors at Tunstead quarry. The tower of the cement plant is in the left background.

Processing plant and loading building at Tunstead quarry.

Small loading hoppers at Tunstead Quarry with the cement plant preheater tower in the background.

Night falls on the massive quarry and plant at Tunstead.

Limekilns at Tunstead quarry just before they were refreshed with new cladding.

Cement plant under construction at Tunstead Quarry. This modern plant replaced life expired kilns on the site.

Shaft kilns and hydrating plant at Tunstead Quarry in 2005.

Tunstead's shaft kilns and hydration plant hard at work 24 hours a day.

Maerz limekiln at Tunstead quarry. This was completed in 2010 at a cost of £14 million and replaced two rotary limekilns installed in 1955. It took almost two years to complete the design and construction of the Maerz parallel flow regenerative shaft kiln. This is 43m high and consists of two interconnected, vertical shafts connected to each other by a crossover channel, which are fired in sequence. Fuelled by natural gas, the Maerz kiln processes 40-20mm limestone to produce high-purity quicklime. It has reduced cabon generation from lime production by 40% and has also significantly reduced production of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions and generates less dust.

Today I took a walk on the moors above Buxton to look at early coal mining remains. This view from the hill includes the extensive buildings of the Buxton Water bottling plant and the chimney of the Tunstead quarry cement kiln in the background.

Essential reading for the railway staff at a number of quarries and chemical works across the ICI empire in the 1950s and 60s. The typescript addendum lists the special rules applicable at the Tunstead quarry sidings. This is particularly notable for the section addressing the "bumping" of "sticking" wagons!

The new cement plant at Tunstead Quarry is situated in the old workings. In spite of this it is still visible in the south from a long way off. It looks great at night too. :-)

On my recent nocturnal visit the hydrating plant at Tunstead was hard at work with the chimneys chucking out water vapour. The structure behind contains the shaft limekilns.

Bulk lime wagons queue outside the hydrating plant alongside the shaft kilns at Tunstead Quarry.

Eight shaft kilns and the two new Maerz kilns fill the centre of this night view of Tunstead Quarry works. In the background is the preheater tower of the cement kiln and to the left is the hydrating plant.