Explore #5 of the 3 Eurovirgins and a Europro tour
Next up on my Belgian weekender with the lovely guys and gal from Desolate Nation, Richard Gowen Photography and Rebecca Litchfield Photography was this vast industrial behemoth.
Originally built in the 1920s Powerplant IM was once one of the largest coal-fired power stations in Belgium. The plant was extended to include gas power in the 1970s, but suffered negative media attention from the likes of Greenpeace, and was “mothballed” in 2007. It has laid dormant ever since, never to reopen, and it appears that the long process of gutting and demolishing the plant has now begun.
I must admit that we had other sites targeted for Day Two of our exploring weekend that I had been more excited about beforehand (follow this blog for reports on those!), but I absolutely loved the couple of hours we spent here. I could easily have spent a whole day here, but thankfully Rebecca cracked the whip and dragged Darren and I away and on to the next destination of our packed itinerary!
[As always, click on a photo to view large – strongly recommended for some of these!]
Inside the beast…
We were determined to find the control room, and after a bit of hunting we found it. Sadly like much of the plant it has now seen better days and some has been stripped out, but it was still cool to see.
My dear exploring companions doing their thing…
Don’t Look Down: friends and regular followers of my blog will know that I am not the best with heights – walking over metal-grill flooring 3-4 storeys up gave me the slight wobbles, but I coped! This one is definitely best viewed large… 🙂
Total Pipe Porn!
160 tonnes-capacity winch.
Looking back down over the turbine hall.
As I said above, I absolutely loved this place and sorting through these photos has definitely made be want to pay a revisit!
Thanks for stopping by, and don’t forget to sign up to follow this blog if you haven’t already done so – them reports are gonna keep on comin…
Cheers
Adam X
0 comments
I can certainly see how you would want to spend more time here. Control room was certainly worth the hunt (and the lager image). Another great post.
Awesome report as expected Mr X ,& like wise i so want to make return before to much gets dismantled
Like most, we did the cooling tower but not the plant itself. Looks like you did the opposite, and looks like a fantastic mooch as well! Cracking report.
Cheers mate – we did the cooling tower too – report coming soon! 🙂