This film depicts the building of the PPS Howdon Yard on the north bank of the River Tyne near Wallsend for the British engineering group William Press (now AMEC). A converted ship repair yard is used for the construction of power generation modules (platforms) destined for the North Sea oil and gas fields. Footage includes interior shots of Newcastle Weather Centre and Cullercoats Radio Station in operation, a history of the old Howdon dockyard, demolition and clearance of the old dockyard...

This film depicts the building of the PPS Howdon Yard on the north bank of the River Tyne near Wallsend for the British engineering group William Press (now AMEC). A converted ship repair yard is used for the construction of power generation modules (platforms) destined for the North Sea oil and gas fields. Footage includes interior shots of Newcastle Weather Centre and Cullercoats Radio Station in operation, a history of the old Howdon dockyard, demolition and clearance of the old dockyard buildings, aerial shots of the industrial Tyne river landscape, but most of the film consists of a record of the construction of modules under contract. The film opens showing operators working at communication desks at Cullercoats coastal radio station. General views of stormy seas, crashing over a concrete pier follow. From a snow covered cliff top, there's a general view of Cullercoats radio station. An interior view shows an operator speaking into a microphone and dialling a number on a old style telephone dial. The centre part of the dial shows a Whitley Bay telephone number. A man removes a newly printed weather chart from a teleprinter. A closer view follows of another teleprinter printing a weather forecast for the North Sea oil rig Oceantide. A man telephones the forecast to the oil rig. The film then shows a fog bound gas rig off the East Anglian coast in the Leman Bank gasfield. The commentary outlines the importance of good design and construction in the manufacture of gas platforms to withstand the harsh conditions in which they operate. The film cuts to a yard specialising in the construction of north sea production modules where a large crane is positioning part of a large production module on a metal frame. Title: The Howdon Project Another section is hoisted into position watched by engineers on the ground. A map shows the location of Howdon on the north sea coast of England. The camera pulls back to show the proximity of the Howdon yard to north sea installations. An old picture of a sailing ship in a storm helps illustrate the story of the Tyne and its industries over the years, which the commentator outlines. More still pictures follow of ships at sea. The film cuts to a view of an old workshop at Howdon as the commentary outlines the yards former specalisms in dredging and marine repairing. A old etching shows part of old Newcastle on the Tyne, then empty metal bins for components, as the commentary describes other specialties that Howdon excelled in, such as the manufacture of chains, moorings, maintained flashing beacons and carrying out engine repairs. Another old engraving shows coal staithes where coal shipping also defined Howdon as a major industrial centre. A general view follows of the remains of structures, possibly old staithes in the river, as the commentary describes how north sea oil and gas replaced the demand for coal in the early 1970's. A shipyard slipway remains, and other redundant land is undergoing redevelopment. A tall chimney is demolished by a crane, which then continues demolishing other old buildings that make up the old ship repair yard. Bulldozers move in to remove the spoil and place it into convoys of trucks to be taken away. An aerial view shows the extent of the area to be developed on the riverbank. A diagram shows how the new yard will look. Only two buildings survive from the old yard and are likely to be used as fabrication shops in the future. Another aerial view follows of the cleared site. The film goes back to the diagram of the new site, showing the facilities that will be available for the building of the production modules. Back on site, a man operates a heavy roller which compresses newly laid substrate. A man with a similar machine, walks backwards passing by him. Welders fabricate one of Howdon's first projects destined for platform D in the Leman Bank gas field. Other welders work on other parts of the project. Men push a steel beam along a roller belt, as contract work and site development takes place in tandem. Two men position a newly delivered steel beam as it is lowered by crane. Piles and other steelwork is prepared for coating by grit blasting: in the background a ship makes its way down river. A man sprays a protective coating on a steel beam. The film shows a view of steel being placed at the Tyne river's edge and also being driven into the ground by pile drivers. The piles are cut off and capped. They will support the full weight of a new concrete deck. Steel reinforcement bars for concrete are delivered and stacked together. A high angle view shows the extent of the new concrete pad, with the steel reinforcements in place waiting for concrete to be poured. Concrete is piped over the steel reinforcements. General views show the extent and progress of concreting for the new facility. A complex steel grid system built on the concrete pad will help facilitate the construction of new modules. On a temporary pad two steel truss frames for the Leman Bank contract are being erected. Cranes help support the trusses during construction. The film cuts to dredging operations taking place in the river to create deeper channels for the access of floating cranes and barges. The spoil from an excavator is dumped into a ship for disposal. In the future modules will be able to be placed onto barges for transport out to sea. An aerial view shows dredging in progress. Work begins at the point where the concrete pad and the river meet. A piece of measuring equipment which utilises a laser is used to ensure riverside fenders are properly aligned. A crane lowers one of them into position, the fenders act as a safety barrier protecting visiting barges and the concrete pad. Workmen secure the fenders into position, a welder completes some of his work on the fender installation. Two mobile buildings are being built at the facility. These will be used in module production to provide all weather protection and help maintain manufacturing schedules. Cranes move steel sections into position to create the frames for the buildings. The buildings are designed to be moved on the grid system, incorporated into the concrete pad. A high angle view shows the frame of the mobile building on the grid. The film cuts to a view at sunrise at the Leman Bank gas rig seen earlier. A man on the rig walks on a deck which covers some pipes as he makes his way to another part of the rig. The film shows valve mechanisms associated with controlling the gas coming from the field. A platform like this would require modules which include power generators, control equipment and accommodation for personnel. Two men attend to some pipework on the rig as a helicopter lands on a landing pad. At Howdon, steel plates are lowered into position for assembly, these are to be part of two modules being manufactured, one for process equipment the other for generation equipment. In the process module, pipework and tanks are being installed. Other pieces of pipework are brought in by crane. An exterior view shows the module under construction. The film cuts to one of the mobile buildings looking like a large aircraft hangar. One next to it is still under construction. Nearby some more modules are under construction for the Auk oilfield. A crane brings in some more steel beams. During construction the modules have feet with Fluon PTFE tiled feet. The channels in the grid have the same tiles so movement of modules around the grid is made easier by these lubricant free bearings. At a laboratory, a technician measures the distance between the holes in one of these special tiles. The technician presents both sides of the tile to the camera. A section of this material undergoes a laboratory test. A technician measures a section of four tiles, then the film cuts to the tiles being placed in channels set into the concrete pad. Modifications to the PTFE covered feet shown in the film, allow for less friction when moving large structures. To help move the large structures on the concrete pad, air tugs are used. The film shows one of these vehicles which is similar to vehicles used at airports. These are used to move assemblies around the concrete pad. A group of William Press engineers watch progress, as this new system using air tugs and PTFE bearings is tried out for the first time. A driver operates one of the air tugs and starts to move a module that's under construction. Slowly it moves along the PTFE tracks, an engineer, talks to the driver by radio telephone. Another air tug pushes the adjacent corner of the module. The film also demonstrates the weighing mechanism built into the grid system. A finished module on the pad is being weighed. A technician monitors readings from the weighing points on the concrete pad, at a special console. Jacking points are raised and lowered to aid the weighing process. A view follows of a module approaching completion. Workmen climb up a gantry or pylon and a crane lifts some steel reinforcing rods used in concrete. The film ends with a general view of two complete modules, which are bound for the Leman Bank gas field. An aerial view of the Howdon module construction yard follows, plus general views of the yard and the completed modules. Over these final views the following credits are also displayed. Credits: Produced for William Press Production System Limited By Turners Film productions, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England Photography: Peter Brock Producer: John Grant Editor: Judy Snaith Sound: David Middleton Narrator: Derek Cooper Acknowledgements Shell UK Exploration and Production Limited Port of Tyne Authority Richard Klinger Limited Newcastle Weather Centre Cullercoats Radio Station Cementation Construction Limited