PDA

View Full Version : ICI/Nobel Explosives, Ardeer, Mar-Sept 2009



Pyroninja
17-01-2010, 03:46 PM
Founded in 1871 by Mr Alfred Nobel in order to produce his shiny new invention, Dynamite. The business then grew and moved onto the production of other explosives such as blasting gelatine, gelignite, ballistite, guncotton, and cordite. The workforce grew until it reached a peak of nearly 13,000 employees. In 1926 the result of a merge between Brunner, Mond & Company, the United Alkali Company, and the British Dyestuffs Corporation with Nobel Industries LTD resulted in the creation of ICI. The site was descirbed as the worlds largest explosives facotry, more like a town than a factory with an on-site bank, travel agent and dentist. A train station was once present to which transported workers to and from the factory. A nitric acid plant was built in the 1960's but was only operational for 12 years before being decommisioned, a large cooling tower was to be found in this area but this was destroyed during bad weather.

All production has now been centralised to a smaller part of the site leaving a lot of the old buildings lying disused and abandoned...

Photos are from visits between March and September.

The Bunkers

One of the bunkers from outside
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3639/3393840148_e77e51ef30.jpg

Switchgear
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3574/3396245200_dd3786679c.jpg

Equipment
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3664/3395428369_91f34ed8a3.jpg

Emergency Instructions
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3543/3396236334_83700225cc.jpg

"ICI EXPLOSIVES - AEROSPACE & AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH

NOTICE TO VISITORS AND STAFF
EMERGENCY PROCEDURES - BUILDING WPP3

SITE TOXIC GAS ALARM
FIRE ALARM SOUNDING
AN ACCIDENT REQUIRING AN AMBULANCE

SITE TOXIC GAS ALARM
This is a siren alarm, when heard you should proceed immediate to the GAS SHELTER, for this is located in the Garnock West farm house. The way to the shelter is indicated by white arrows on a green background with the door to the gas shelter marked with EMERGENCY GAS SHELTER in white on a green background. Do not leave the gas shelter until the alarm has stopped, and the person in charge allows you to leave.

FIRE ALARM
This is a loud klaxon

If you discover a fire immediately inform a member of the department who will set off the fire alarm and call the fire brigade.

If the fire alarm sounds leave the building immediately by the nearest safe exit and proceed to the FIRE ASSEMBLY AREA, for WPP3 this is located in front of Garnock West farm house, and is marked with a sign of a white circle on a green background.

AN ACCIDENT REQUIRING AN AMBULANCE
The ambulance point for WPP3 - No. 19 - is located at the front of Garnock West farm house.

From the manual labled 'ENERGETIC POLYMERS DRAFT-MANUFACTURING METHODS' "

Corridors which run along the spine of each bunker, motors would have sat here which would have operated Tangye presses in the rooms in which they are connected to
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3539/3395429045_ec6d03a928.jpg

One of the presses
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3419/3393031019_c8a3b2e292.jpg

Another Corridor
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2609/3782437861_0c9d661d1a.jpg

The Mixing houses

Nitroglycerine vats, notice the holes in the wall, should anything go wrong water would have been pumped through these flooding the entire mixing area
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3436/3396232944_73ec0b057a.jpg

Small building used to load/unload materials onto the carts which ran on the many miles of narrow guage rail track connecting the whole site
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3656/3396233234_cbd79a4f3a.jpg

The Laboratories
Between this and the first visit I got a new camera, as a result...better pictures ;)

Test vault
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2436/3783248178_3679dc8f21.jpg

Viewing corridor
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2454/3783247940_71942274b5.jpg

Outside labs from 'The Street'
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2565/3783233654_a362ebb28e.jpg

Plate cameras, hooked up to a unit which would have allowed the cameras to shoot one after the other allowing the caputre of a detonation
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2618/3783240138_f7c5c951a5.jpg

Large mortar to test the power of explosives.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3533/3960499622_fa27e8fe86.jpg

Inside one of the labs
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2452/3960504520_669583f5e0.jpg

Monitoring equipment
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3473/3782424061_c4f8508f94.jpg

Archive room, probably my favourite part of this whole site, full of photographs and records of experiments, the outcomes and details of world first pioneering research for explosives and methods used today can be found in here, shaped charges for example used in modern demolition and warheads were discovered and created here.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2540/3783233436_f52afd5368.jpg

The Power Station
An industrial gem, a giant in comparison to all the other smaller buildings here. It generated electricity for the facility and steam which was distributed throughout the site in insulated pipes for heating..Had a peak output of around 16MW

External
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2606/3959737649_3ca2807cbf.jpg

In the belly of the beast
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2422/3667168489_6944ef0954.jpg

I was expecting an air tight chamber with a big blast door, flashing lights, gas masks and hazmat suits..instead it was only a make shift staff room with double glazing and a pretty normal wooden door, you can only imagine the dissapointment...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3323/3667973260_5d5b236020.jpg

Boiler faces
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2584/3667165079_87ec2baa66.jpg

Turbines
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2566/3782428433_c39b5ece4f.jpg

Up and into the boiler towers
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3570/3667168013_9f613b7f84.jpg

At the top of the boilers
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3380/3667164299_33bddedab6.jpg

Some juicy control panel goodness
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2470/3667167941_ed2cd217e9.jpg

Switchroom
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3561/3667165385_40c3131a30.jpg

Underneath one of the boilers
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3431/3782432699_f675435bb9.jpg

Control panels in the tiny control room
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3582/3667970914_4581c91aeb.jpg

Coming back down, time to go home
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2573/3667164569_a7e7493a55.jpg

Eventually after 4 visits to the site I had seen enough to produce a report. Despite this future visits are in order as there's still a significant portion of the site to be visited....

Thanks for taking the time to have a look

boxfrenzy
17-01-2010, 07:07 PM
That is good. I like the control panel photographs.

trencheel303
17-01-2010, 07:22 PM
Awesome pics and report, I *need* to get up here, soon...

Pyroninja
18-01-2010, 01:00 AM
very nice mate:) shame it didn't come off on friday but never mind

Cheers mate, aye bloody weather haha. Hopefully it'll clear up soon for round two :thumb

BB
18-01-2010, 02:26 AM
Cracking report :thumb

skin
18-01-2010, 05:17 PM
Nice stuff pyro - its worth the forest treck - the labs are still my favourite part

Pyroninja
18-01-2010, 11:26 PM
almost the same layout as Carrongrove Papermills power plant same manufacturer

Haha aye I remember thats the first thing you said when we stepped in here :)

Cheer Skin, yeah the labs are fantastic. Think I'll settle down in the archives and have a good read on the next visit.

Pyroninja
20-01-2010, 10:10 AM
Hahaha aye exactly...:thumb

trencheel303
20-01-2010, 11:46 AM
that is if his book doesn't get every UE-able site in Scotland locked up and guarded with cameras, lasers and hounds :rolleyes:

UrbanShadow
22-01-2010, 12:26 AM
Nice pics there. Good to see the Cooper virus is being kept at bay. I've heard it's more lethal than swine flu. ;)

Pyroninja
06-02-2010, 11:48 PM
Went down for another little visit today. Found a couple of new buildings I've never come across before. Got a new sigma 10-20mm so I got to try that out to...

Susans wellies...I presume
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4055/4335680916_209e66fce6.jpg

Labs
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2783/4334938363_8d9a9499bc.jpg

'Sales room'
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4335680682_41c8c7b1b5.jpg

Warehouse
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4005/4334937921_9840d0077a.jpg

The Archive room, these shelves used to be filled with boxes containing photographs, records and results of experiments, now they lie empty, hopefully they have been taken somewhere safe and they haven't been swiped....
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/4335680220_01cd95402a.jpg

Sadly the water level was too high to take any shots from the bottom..it reeked in here as well..
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4025/4334937183_43922bf291.jpg

Made in the good ol' UK
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4057/4335679600_0ba4b60ded.jpg

Apparently something..somewhere was detonating at 9km/s...constantly
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2790/4334936975_c44e570beb.jpg

Power-Press 5000
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4335678998_f5acea1a8e.jpg

Which resided within this bunker
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2476/4334936691_b54eff33f4.jpg

Pyroninja
07-02-2010, 12:14 AM
Did you notice how the archives have been cleared?

wolfism
07-02-2010, 12:50 AM
Good stuff, Pyro. :thumb

It wasn't *that* deep … ;)

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202010/ardeer-3022.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202010/ardeer-3023.jpg

Pyroninja
07-02-2010, 01:14 AM
Good stuff, Pyro. :thumb

It wasn't *that* deep … ;)

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202010/ardeer-3022.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i53/wolfie723/UF%202010/ardeer-3023.jpg

Haha yeah your shots were the reason I wanted to go down there but more water has got in since our last visit sadly...

Muse
07-02-2010, 01:29 AM
Wow there's enough there to be happy for many many visits I should think. Cracking report :thumb

Pyroninja
07-02-2010, 02:23 AM
you would not beieve how much is there wolisfm 7 days me 5 days and we keep turning up stuff this is only stuff from northen central part. God pyro is not far off and he is still seeing stuff. To get a idea

this is the centres site some of it is live a lot is hidden
here (http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=55.625723&lon=-4.71991&z=14.1&r=0&src=msl)
Northen end here (http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=55.637508&lon=-4.728564&z=15.2&r=0&src=msl)

southern end here (http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=55.608457&lon=-4.695189&z=15.2&r=0&src=msl)

nor east across the bridge here (http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=55.608457&lon=-4.695189&z=15.2&r=0&src=msl)

you guys have no idea of what is there and what has been hidden, unreal i am just surprised no one has been here from down south aprt from the idiots on thats other forum ?

Yeah Pinchecks right, this was my 5th visit and I'm still coming across buildings I've never seen and thats only in the north end. I've yet to actually visit the south end!! No doubt there will be even more buildings found on subsequent visits...

Muse
07-02-2010, 12:57 PM
Thanks for the links, that's definitely gone on my list.

sinnerman
07-02-2010, 04:37 PM
excellent report pyroninja

wolfism
07-02-2010, 08:27 PM
It's quite unlike anywhere else you might explore, it's a whole derelict landscape with some strange constructions hidden away.

skin
08-02-2010, 03:41 PM
There was an old lady - at least 70 year old - with her little dog in the labs yesterday - I stealthed out the front after her meeting her dog in the corridor :confused: how she managed to get there ?? was bizarre

Also folks might be worth leaving this place alone for a wee while the live site has an increase in security that I dont think is appropiate to discuss on a public forum.

boxerheaven
08-02-2010, 03:50 PM
very intereting :)

Pyroninja
08-02-2010, 06:14 PM
Hahaha aye it's not exactly easy going in order to get to the labs...maybe she's been trapped in there since it's closure, imprisoned by the gorse bushes :lol: