tarboat's photos with the keyword: hew3007

The building of the Shannon hydroelectric scheme in the late 1920s required navigation to be maintained down to Limerick after the Parteen Weir cut off the old route via O'Briensbridge. This was achieved by building a double staircase lock at the Ardnacrusha power station. Taken from the approach canal this shows the entrance to the lower lock which has a rise of 34ft whilst the top lock has a rise of 68ft. This is the deepest lock in Britain and Ireland.

The Shannon hydro-electric scheme was constructed between 1925 and 1929 to harness the power of the river where it underwent a fall of nearly 35 metres in the final stages of its route to tidal waters at Limerick. The civil engineering works were undertaken by the German company Siemens-Schuckertwerke and on completion the power station at Ardnacrusha was the largest hydro-electric generating plant in the world. Initially there were three vertical shaft Francis turbine generators installed and in 1934 a single vertical shaft Kalan turbine generator was added, giving a total output of 85mw from an average head of 28.5 metres.

The rather unimposing entrance to the generating hall of the Ardnacrusha power station is via the doors on the left. The building was constructed by Siemens-Schuckertwerke and was completed in 1929.

The 102ft fall at the Ardnacrusha hydro-electric power station on the Shannon is overcome for navigation by a two-rise staircase lock. The falls are 68ft and 34 ft. Looking up from lower chamber as the water begins to flow out the steel guillotine gate from the upper lock can be seen whilst the curved concrete wall above gives an idea of the height of the first chamber.

The Shannon hydro-electric scheme was constructed between 1925 and 1929 to harness the power of the river where it underwent a fall of nearly 35 metres in the final stages of its route to tidal waters at Limerick. The civil engineering works were undertaken by the German company Siemens-Schuckertwerke and on completion the power station at Ardnacrusha was the largest hydro-electric generating plant in the world. Initially there were three vertical shaft Francis turbine generators installed and in 1934 a single vertical shaft Kalan turbine generator was added, giving a total output of 85mw from an average head of 28.5 metres.

Concrete batching plant and blondin system in use during the construction of the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric scheme on the Shannon. The project was run by Siemens and during construction, 5,000 men were employed, 65 miles of railway, including a line up from Limerick, were built, four major bridges were constructed and nine rivers and four streams were diverted. Postcard view c1928.