GEC Alsthom, Leicester (warning radioactive!)

cgull123 · Nov 23, 2009

Disused part of the GEC works at Leicester.

Originally called Power Jets but was nationalised and merged with the gas turbine section of the Royal Aircraft Establishment to form the National Gas Turbine Establishment. Sir Frank Whittle and most of his team resigned in disgust. It was the end for Power Jets, although the Power Jets' site at Whetstone is still in use today; the power generation division of GEC Alsthom is situated there.

Some recent history

1991: Sizewell B Power Station.JOB: Two contracts for the installation and supply of equipment including local control panels and the erection of instrumentation and control equipment at Sizewell power station Suffolk (value £8m)

1989: GEC ALSTHOM is formed from the merger of the power and transport activities of Compagnie Générale d'Electricité (CGE) and the UK GEC. France’s market was no longer sufficient, so the merger was to enable ALSTHOM to export into Europe.

1998: changes its name from GEC ALSTHOM to ALSTOM.

and finally...a squash court...

more on my Flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43022903@N08/sets/72157622739278063/

Lost Explorer · Nov 23, 2009

Nice work dude! Its a good explore, still plenty to see. Looks like its been trashed even more since I went there, specially the foyer and all the broken windows!

diehardlove · Nov 24, 2009

got to agree its in alot worst state than when we went but then again kids always in there
nice work mate did you see the trace box

Pincheck · Nov 24, 2009

nice,interesting looking place

DJhooker · Nov 24, 2009

i did a 4 year apprenticeship there, i had my job interview in the building in the 1st pic!

shame to see it that way, was a good place to work, despite the downsizing they did.

when i'm back in leicester might have to have a mooch myself.

cgull123 · Nov 24, 2009

diehardlove said:
got to agree its in alot worst state than when we went but then again kids always in there
nice work mate did you see the trace box

Trace box!? dont think so, educate me mate...

diehardlove · Nov 24, 2009

cgull123 said:
Trace box!? dont think so, educate me mate...

there is a orange box made of lead with a radioactive badge and a capsule again made of lead with the badge on it

next time your in leicester give me a shout and il show you it take care dave

Artypie · Nov 26, 2009

Yeah those things dont fill you with confidence, lying rotting, out there on the ground.

the|td4 · Dec 3, 2009

I love urbex. Very much.

You have to wonder if someone should inform some authorities about potential radioactive stuff even if it does limit our ability to explore a site.

Human curiosity will beg for anything with a radioactive sticker on it to be broken open to see what's inside, such an example would be the following link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_accident

Does this sort of thing fall under the ever present risk of coming across a corpse while out and about? I quite often think that it's only a matter of time before I stumble across some decaying hobo or unfortunate murder victim.

So does anyone know that the trace box was never used? I'd feel better about it if someone did , currently I'm worried that there's a radioactive source sitting around waiting for some kids to bust that sucker open.

krela · Dec 3, 2009

the|td4 said:
I love urbex. Very much.

You have to wonder if someone should inform some authorities about potential radioactive stuff even if it does limit our ability to explore a site.

Human curiosity will beg for anything with a radioactive sticker on it to be broken open to see what's inside, such an example would be the following link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_accident

Does this sort of thing fall under the ever present risk of coming across a corpse while out and about? I quite often think that it's only a matter of time before I stumble across some decaying hobo or unfortunate murder victim.

So does anyone know that the trace box was never used? I'd feel better about it if someone did , currently I'm worried that there's a radioactive source sitting around waiting for some kids to bust that sucker open.

We had trace boxes at school. You would have to be sitting next to it's unprotected contents 12 hours a day for 6 months to actually suffer from it...

the|td4 · Dec 3, 2009

I guess I'm just an alarmist

Anyone got a geiger counter? :mrgreen:

diehardlove · Dec 3, 2009

krela said:
We had trace boxes at school. You would have to be sitting next to it's unprotected contents 12 hours a day for 6 months to actually suffer from it...

very true hence why we had no concern of actually standing next to it,
and my pdrm did not even registar a reading
at the end of the day its just a lead box im more surprised it had not been taken for scrap
chances are it was used for xray so presume they used to xray the welds of engines to make sure they were up to spec
just a guess please correct me if wrong

Artypie · Dec 3, 2009

Yeah the lead lined box would be used for keeping sources in, its obviously empty now. The round one looks like an electrometer or similar, used in lab experiments and again probably harmless. I went by the site with a geiger counter after seeing these pics and background readings were normal.

diehardlove · Dec 3, 2009

Artypie said:
Yeah the lead lined box would be used for keeping sources in, its obviously empty now. The round one looks like an electrometer or similar, used in lab experiments and again probably harmless. I went by the site with a geiger counter after seeing these pics and background readings were normal.

what counter you got then if you dont mind me asking a pdrm 82
just curious

Artypie · Jan 31, 2010

About a week ago a sign went up advertising new industrial units to be built on the site.

GEC Alsthom, Leicester (warning radioactive!)

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