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  1. #1
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    Arrow Woolworths Distribution Warehouse, Rochdale. April 09

    I went to this site purely on the off chance that something would present itself...and it did.... and this is the result

    The explore didn't start off too good though. The warehouse was VAST chambers filled with metal stacker racks. It boasted nothing more exciting than a dead pigeon, so I didn't even bother with the camera.

    In another area there was a huge oil spill caused by our friends the pikeys.. but what's a bit of oil to an explorer ?!

    The slick had been caused when they tried to get the oil out of this beast. (The fan casing to the far right was over 6 ft high)







    There were electric cables as thick as my arm leading from the beast, to this contraption.





    And a short distance away ......





    I went back into the main warehouse, this time in the admin areas. The receivers had beaten us to it though, and the place was a barren shell, stripped of all value and interest. Or so I thought, until I found these.....





    Yes, it would appear that, for some reason, the Woolworths Distribution Warehouse had an equipped (and by the smell in the smoke chamber - a well used) laboratory. Feel free to insert your own conspiracy theory here !

    Still scratching my head at the lab, I walked through a large open plan office (admin area) and into a boardroom of sorts. I can just imagine the bosses discussing the stuff on this board while the clerks outside carried on without a second thought.



    So now we'd done the warehouse.

    I had learnt that the site originally belonged to an engineering firm, and that a warehouse had also existed that was serviced by the local railway. The original warehouse had burnt down and been replaced by the one standing today. I had seen remnants of the older building at the back of the site on an earlier patrol. Time to move on....

    As we crossed the car park, and old brick walls materialised out of the gloom, I saw that the car park itself held secrets. Tracks lay embedded in the road, partly covered by the tarmac but still clearly visible in places.

    So then we came to the old building. The railway head. A good 200 metre long platform on one side of the track, with a line of arches on the other side.




    I jumped of the platform, fully expecting the underside of the platform to be solid. But....



    I was quite surprised when I pulled the camera out of the pitch black and inspected the screen. Also, quite happy that I hadn't reached a further few inches and put my hand through that glass !



    I was now determined to find a way into this area, so walked back along the track. But my feet are clever feet and told me that I was not stood on solid ground. I quickly found a hatch which surprisingly opened easily, and found these oil storage tanks under the tracks.





    Back under the platform and I spied another hole just wainting for an inquisitive camera arm....



    Now to find a way in.....

    I soon found an entrance, so we pressed on.



    Two of the five massive boilers we found.



    Their tops



    And innerds







    A little bit more rummaging, and an Alice in Wonderland moment as a full sized human comes to a three quarter size door, which opens into a half size door..



    And what's behind that half size door? Well, looks to me like another full size blast door on a central pivot hinge.



    Behind that door appears to be another corridor / tunnel / void space, but co -Explorer lost his nerve and I didn't want to go alone. Cos I'm scared...... so it was time to make an exit.



    Once back outside, a little more history revealed itself. During WW2 the railway embankment behind this site played host to the local air raid shelters. Some of the shelters are, apparently, still visible. I'm now wondering if they're still accesible....
    Last edited by Trousercowboy; 01-04-2009 at 09:03 AM. Reason: Some delicate details revealed

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Woolworths Distribution Warehouse, Rochdale. April 09

    Mate, that is a great report, well written and great pictures. Nice to have a exploring partner! Really like this.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Woolworths Distribution Warehouse, Rochdale. April 09

    Excellent work, you are really getting the hang.

    Good Credit Crunch stuff there.

  4. #4
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    Smile Re: Woolworths Distribution Warehouse, Rochdale. April 09

    Good report & pics (considering it was dark!). Looks like there's more to this site than the first views suggested-get back in there!

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Woolworths Distribution Warehouse, Rochdale. April 09

    Lol, that particular contract was ran by the firm i work for.. glad im tied into a distribution contract which is much safer.

    Nice explore, i work just down the road in middleton.
    Saviour of the sporran

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    Default Re: Woolworths Distribution Warehouse, Rochdale. April 09

    Great report and some nice finds, well done.
    My Flickr

    The treasure we take is captured in images not bags

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    Default Re: Woolworths Distribution Warehouse, Rochdale. April 09

    Quote Originally Posted by sqwasher View Post
    Looks like there's more to this site than the first views suggested-get back in there!
    That's true, I didn't realise the site covered such a large area with so many nooks and crannies.

    Next time I go, I'll take a spare bag of courage and brave the dark half door tunnel! Knowing my luck though it'll turn out to be a tunnel straight to dead-ends-ville

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Woolworths Distribution Warehouse, Rochdale. April 09

    Nearly thought this was going to be EUK. Not sure what the lab is for..maybe testing for recalls or returns??

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    Default Re: Woolworths Distribution Warehouse, Rochdale. April 09

    Quote Originally Posted by Rebel View Post
    Nearly thought this was going to be EUK. Not sure what the lab is for..maybe testing for recalls or returns??
    Or maybe where they invented new flavours for the pick n mix stand !

    It just seemed really out of place. There is a big, seperate office building on the site (which I couldn't get into), and I would have expected something like that to be in there, with the rest of the corporate management team. But no, this was in the small line of mezzanine offices overlooking the loading bays in the warehouse. Crazy.

    Personally I think the whole warehouse thing was a front for a top secret scientific research lab

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Woolworths Distribution Warehouse, Rochdale. April 09

    any shots of the outside??? any shots taken of the rooms as a whole???

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