P&MTT Rusden St Substation
Kevin Taig
Sunday, September 1, 2002 10:56 AM
Jeff,
Your comments caused me to go rummaging through my
Piccky Pile
The attached photo were taken in the mid 90's and
show the most interesting construction of the substation.
I was later able to examine the interior and was
told by Julian, the then owner, that it was actually a battery
house.
If this was the case, then the batteries would be
charged during the off-peak periods using MG sets equipped with boosters and the
battery allowed to float on the line during the peak periods, thereby boosting
the voltages at the end of the line.
This off-peak period may have even been
overnight.
The construction of the roof seemed to bear this
out as the windows in the skylight were at one time openable as well as the
ventilators. The 4 tunnel insulators in the wall below the P&MTT sign are
the only ones existing
The internal construction may have accommodated 2
batteries (rooms). Its location at the extremity of the system would suggest an
excellent place for such an installation.
I am not sure what happened after the battery(ies)
expired. There were no apparent signs of Rotary Converters or their
fittings and Mercury Arc rectifiers, if used, may not have left such
heavy footprints.
The St Kilda-Brighton Electric Street Railway
generated their own power about this period and the Electric Suburban system was
yet to arrive. Both these installations eventually derived their power from
Newport 'A' at 25~ from approx. 1919. So local electricity supply in the
area may have been a bit tenuous at the time.
Last report I heard was that the area was to be
redeveloped, the building and adjacent blocks converted to units, can
anybody confirm this has happened, as this was probably about 3-4 years
ago.
Can anybody confirm the above or even add a
bit more
Regards
Kevin
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