Forth Banks Power Station

The Newcastle and District Electric Lighting Company (DisCo) was established by Sir Charles Algernon Parsons and registered as a company on 14 January 1889. While anticipating the obtainment of the necessary powers from the Board of Trade, which they were granted without opposition in 1891, the company set about acquiring their first site in Newcastle's Forth Banks area, as well as ordering machinery and obtaining a sufficient number of customers to justify commencement. In November 1889, the company purchased buildings from Hawthorn Leslie and Company which had formed part of their Forth Banks works, used by their marine engine department prior to moving to new works at St. Peter's. In…

The equipment initially installed in the station was two 75 kilowatt turbo alternators, built by Clarke, Chapman, Parsons and Company of Gateshead. These were provided with steam by three Lancashire boilers built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company, which fed saturated steam into the turbines at a pressure of 140 lb. The turbo alternators operated at 4,800 revolutions per minute, producing single-phase electric power at 1,000 volts (V) and 80 cycles. They were also fitted with exciters at the end of their alternator shafts. In 1892, DisCo decided to improve the economy of the station by operating the turbines in conjunction with a condenser. Steam from the turbines was taken to a condenser via a…