| The beginning of June saw just two turbines remaining to be built, Turbine 17 and the unfinished Turbine 23. A trip over to Edenfield (finally) gave me the chance to catch one of the few remaining convoys of rotor blades as it passed through the town centre.
The 5th of June saw the column of Turbine 23 constructed, and just awaiting the Nacelle, Generator, Hub and Blades. On Saturday 7th of June it was back up to the Wind Farm again, this time via Ewood Bridge, where I went to catch some shots of the very last convoy of blades arriving. The blades arrived around 10.15am, though I didn't pick the best of places to take my shots, and the wagons were a bit dark due to the shade from the trees. Anyway, after getting the best shots that I could it was then time for yet another lengthy walk back up to Scout Moor to catch them being installed on the final turbine (with just a minor stop to photograph the Deltic loco 55022, Royal Scots Grey as it passed through Ewood Bridge on its way to Rawtenstall - well what could I do, the railway enthusiast in me just took over!). On arriving at Scout Moor the first blade had just been lifted, and I stayed on site to see the final two blades unloaded and craned up to the top of the turbine. Work was completed just after 1pm, and I must admit that I was quite sorry to see the main construction phase come to and end. The weather stayed fine and the winds were fairly low, but it was dull and overcast, and apart from a few minutes of blue sky as the final blade slipped into place, it wasn't the best of conditions for taking pictures. I stayed on site to get some shots of the mobile cranes being dismantled and departing, but only the small red crane would depart that day, so that meant yet another long trek over the hills again on the 8th if I was to try and get a shot of the large yellow crane it as it departed as well. Sunday the 8th was a beautiful sunny day, with the light the best I'd seen it in ages, just perfect for photography. One small fly in the ointment though, by the time I arrived on site the big crane had already departed, and that left me feeling really annoyed with myself for not setting off much earlier in the day. After sulking for a while, and not wanting to waste such a sunny day, I dragged my aching legs and rapidly disintegrating boots over to the sub-station at Ashworth to see how work was progressing there instead. Since my last visit several months previously, work had been completed on a new concrete bridge, and the cables from the wind farm had been laid down the fields and across the A680 to the sub-station. This hadn't produced too much damage to the meadows, and wasn't too noticeable unless you were looking for it. The sub-station isn't quite finished yet, but doesn't look like it will be too long before work is completed. NOTE# 12th of June - would you believe it - whilst travelling on the bus into Bury (a place I don't visit very often), what should I see parked on Walmersely Road but the big yellow crane! Unfortunately I didn't have my SLR with me, but did have my old Fuji DSC camera in my bag, and this usually goes everywhere with me 'just in case'. I quickly jumped off the bus and managed to get a few shots of it before it departed. What it was doing there, and where it had been for the past four days I'm not sure, but I'm certainly not complaining. Not great quality images, but "owt is better than nowt" as they say in these parts. To quote comedian Harry Hill "What are the chances of that happening?". It certainly cheered me up no end, and after feeling pig sick at myself for missing a shot of it when it left the site, at least a little honour has now been restored again. Think I'd better buy myself a lottery ticket whilst my good luck is still in! 
I will miss my regular visits to the site, but will still go up there from time to time to check things out. It did seem eerily quiet up there with so little activity to be seen now, especially after the many months of busy construction up there. Testing and commissioning will now take place on the turbines, and no doubt we shall see them all up and running and in full production before too long. I regret not having spent more time photographing the convoys, it was always exciting to see these pass by, especially in a narrow road and in a built up environment, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to watch a bunch of highly skilled engineers at work, and see how these 'Monsters on the Moorland' (with apologies to Mick & The Moonshiners for pinching their song title), were built, and see a unique piece of local history as it actually happened. If only digital cameras had been around when the railways and canals were built in the 19th century, what a treat that would have been to photograph...... |
You can see where the cables run up to the Wind Farm 1250x856 scout1045.jpg |
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This is where the power cables cross the A680 1250x873 scout1043.jpg |
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Danger Keep Out! 1250x889 scout1030.jpg |
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The new concrete bridge 1250x929 scout1018.jpg |
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Entrance road to the sub-station at Ashworth 1250x834 scout1014.jpg |
You can just see where the cables were laid to the sub-station 1250x874 scout1013.jpg |
View from the Rossendale Way 1250x895 scout1012.jpg |
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Wonder if some of the Nordex engineers are going there next? 1250x842 scout1000.jpg |
More empties awaiting collection 1250x834 scout999.jpg |
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The yellow crane is parked up for the night 1250x861 scout997.jpg |
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Some of the bits from the yellow crane and taken back to Wigan 1250x915 scout994.jpg |
Eat my dust (and my SLR did!) 1250x916 scout993.jpg |
The red crane departs 1250x887 scout992.jpg |
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THe crane support vehicle takes away the weights 1250x915 scout990.jpg |
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The big crane dismantles itself 1250x832 scout987.jpg |
The engineers depart for the final time - so long guys, you did a great job! 1250x988 scout986.jpg |
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The big crane lowers whilst some of its bits are removed 1250x873 scout981.jpg |
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And the final turbine is complete! 950x1392 scout978.jpg |
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The final blade is lifted into place 1250x942 scout976.jpg |
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The Nordex engineers prepare for the final lift 1250x947 scout973.jpg |
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The final blade is unloaded 1250x880 scout968.jpg |
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Hope the view is nice up there... 1250x929 scout960.jpg |
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Blade two is attached as the red crane swings clear 1250x889 scout958.jpg |
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This wagon will be used to carry the weights from the red crane 1250x810 scout956.jpg |
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Blade number two is lifted into place 1250x834 scout952.jpg |
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Up she goes! 1250x838 scout949.jpg |
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Unloading blade number two 1250x878 scout938.jpg |
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THat is what you call a long load! 1250x856 scout935.jpg |
The first blade on the final turbine is fitted 1250x904 scout934.jpg |
Going round the bend at Ewood Bridge 1250x944 scout933.jpg |
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The convoy escort vehicle 1250x929 scout928.jpg |
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