A promotional film produced by Turners Film Productions for C.A. Parsons Company. The film looks at the different types of turbine generators produced by the company for both conventional as well as nuclear power generation within the UK as abroad. The film also goes into detail looking at how Parsons turbine generators are produced and installed at various sites around the UK, Canada and Australia. The film opens on views showing the exterior of Ferrybridge ‘C’ coal-fired generating station...

A promotional film produced by Turners Film Productions for C.A. Parsons Company. The film looks at the different types of turbine generators produced by the company for both conventional as well as nuclear power generation within the UK as abroad. The film also goes into detail looking at how Parsons turbine generators are produced and installed at various sites around the UK, Canada and Australia. The film opens on views showing the exterior of Ferrybridge ‘C’ coal-fired generating station in West Yorkshire. Inside a workman in white overalls and safety hat walks along a gantry next to one of the stations 500 Megawatt steam turbine generators, a plaque attached to the side reads ‘Parsons’. The workman looks over part of the turbine checking that it is fully operational. The film fades to a stone plinth attached to a wall honouring Sir Charles Algernon Parsons, the inventor of the world’s first compound steam turbine in 1888. The film fades to show a model of this first steam turbine generator in operation. The film cuts to show a number of black and white photographs showing the factory of C.A. Parsons and Company at Heaton near Newcastle as well as photographs of various turbines the company built for the Commonwealth Edison Company of Chicago in 1912 and 1922. This is followed by a photograph of the first 15-megawatt (mw) tandem set to run at 300rpm built in 1937. A graph follows next showing when the next standard of megawatt machines were produced between 1947 at 50mw to 1300mw by the time this film was produced. A second graph shows the number of 500mw and 660mw machines currently being produced by Parsons in the UK. 55% and 56% respectively the market share of machines currently on order. This is followed by an image of the globe with names of countries who Parsons have supplied with turbine machines. The film cuts to show views inside the Lakeview power station near Toronto in Canada showing four 300mw sets in operation there. A number of engineers walk around looking over the machines. A view of the exterior of the power station follows next. The film cuts to views of the six 200mw sets inside Hazelwood power station in the state of Victoria, Australia The film cuts to general views of high voltage switchgear and a Parsons electrical transformer. A general view inside a large circular power centre control room shows a computer printing data and banks of switchgear panels. Filmed at dawn or dusk a view shows the outline of the Esso Fawley oil refinery complex in Hampshire. Inside a man in overalls looks over the two 65mw single cylinder back pressure turbine generators and writes information down on a clipboard. He passes a control panel, the name Parsons embossed across the top. The film cuts to an aerial view of the Parsons works at Heaton near Newcastle. General views show the exterior of the factory complex followed by a modern office block, the name Parsons appears across the entrance. In a large open plan design office two men look over a turbine that sits on a table in front of them. The men turn and walk away and the camera passes a number of men working on drawing boards working on various turbine designs. The camera focuses in on the face of one of the designers who is working intently. A general view follows across the roof of the factory complex at Heaton. Inside one of the four large erecting bays an overhead crane moves a section of turbine from one part of the bay to another. The film cuts to the overhead crane as it crossing back and forth across the erection bay showing views of various turbines under construction as well as the men who work there. General views show the machining or milling of profiles of turbine blades on a number of automatic blade machines in the Blade Shop. The film cuts to show a man measuring the correct calibration of a finished blades making sure they conform to design specifications. From an overhead crane travelling through the Blade Fitting Bay a view looking down on workmen fitting blades to the turbine shafts and casings. The film cuts to show two men, one is hammering in a ‘twisted-vortex’ type blade into a shaft while the other holds the blade in place. The film cuts to show two men hammering with chisels, known as ‘blading’, an I.P. shaft. Two members of the Research Team in lab coats use a special signal generator machine to measure blade vibrations. One man places the measuring device onto the blade, the other twists a knob on the signal generator machine. An electrical oscillator image appears on a small monitor. The film cuts to two men walking past a fully bladed low-pressure turbine shaft. General views show the men performing a balancing programme to test the turbine. One man switches on the 500mw shaft and the blades begin to spin. A view of the blade spinning as part of the first balancing run tested at low speed. The shaft is then taken outside for a series of high-speed tests in a vacuum balancing chamber. On a track the shaft is moved into position inside the chamber. The door is closed and in the control room the engineer in charge monitors the shaft. General views show the shaft starting up and turning inside the chamber and the engineer writing town information from his instruments. The film cuts to show men working on the welding and construction of steam chests for a 660mw machines followed by two men working on a 540mw nuclear set for Canada. The two men fit pipes valves into the steam chest. The film cuts to show men inspecting and making final calibrations for a completed steam chest that includes valves and relays. The film cuts to the Number Four Turbine Assembly Bay where men work to dismantle a completed 660mw turbine in readiness for shipping to the Drax power station in North Yorkshire. A general view of the exterior shows the power station under construction. The film changes to a view showing the exterior of Fawley power station near Southampton. Inside the partially completed power station general views show Parsons Engineers working to install one of four 500mw machines. The film cuts to show three of the power-sets installed by Parsons in operation with steam coming from them. The film cuts to show a turbo-type generator in operation. The Parsons nameplate is attached to the top of the machine and an Engineer walks past along a gantry. The film cuts to show the exterior of the Parsons office block at Heaton followed by a turbo-type generator under construction in a large bay adjoining the turbine bay. General views show Generator Engineers working on the construction of stators for a turbine-generator set. The film cuts to show a view of a stator core standing erect on a platform with two engineers looking over it. General views follow showing workers passing sheets of pressed silicone steel through a series of machines to produce core laminations. Inside the inner frame of a stator core, views follow of two men inserting the finished lamination into the frame. An overhead crane moves the stator core out of the core building structure, down the Main Generator bay to a special bonding oven. The film cuts to show the stator core after its removal from the bonding oven and engineers working to prepare the stator for the installation of conductor bars. The film cuts to show the hollow cooper strips that make up the conductor bars being passing through a flaw detector unit. A man in a lab coat reads the results on a sheet of paper coming out of the detector. The film cuts to show another worker brazing hollow strips onto a special copper ferrules which form the end of a water-cooled conductor bar that are suspended vertically. In another part of the factory, a man applies main tube insulation to a conductor. This is followed by views of a full length sheets being wrapped by machine to form a seamless tube around the conductor. A number of men in white overalls then install the conductor into the stator core in a special clean area of the Generator Shop. The stator is mounted on motorised rollers that revolve around one slot pitch to allow the workers inside to insert each bar in turn. The film cuts to show views of workers installing conductors in the end winding region. A man in a lab coat walks inside the core and examines a section of core. Outside another man in a lab coat watches as two workers install end pieces to the core. The film cuts to show another man in a lab coat watching over men working on the rotor. He assists as one of the rotor windings is installed and there are general views of other sections being inserted. On another rotor, two men install new water cooling motor windings. The film cuts to show two men walking over to different rotor and one of them holding up a specially shaped packing pieces made from insulation material. The film changes to show an engineer hammering a packing piece into place on another rotor. With installation completed, views of the rotor in the Rotor Over-Speed and Balancing Pit where it is tested. A 450-ton reinforced concrete lid is placed over the balancing pit. The film cuts to Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station near Notttingham where an overhead crane manoeuvers the rotor into position over a 500mw stator generator set. General views showing Parsons engineers installing the rotor. The film returns to the Heaton works and a view of one of two 800ft long Heavy Machine Bays. General views follow various pieces of large capacity, high precision pieces of equipment being used including a centre lathe and a combined boring and drilling machine in operation milling winding slot in a generator motor for a 660mw set. This is followed by views of a worker at the controls of a mobile column face-milling machine and another watching a horizontal borings machines bore a grove into a steam chest. General views show a number of light boring and lathing machines as well as tape or computer controlled machines. In another workshop a worker stands at the controls of a horizontal boring machine which is being used on a high pressure oil relay casings and turbine shaft couplings. A man in a lab coat comes over and speaks with a worker at the controls of a boring machine. General views show the machine in operation. The film cuts to show an exterior of the James Howden and Parsons Ltd factory in Ontario, Canada. Three women walk across the car park towards the main building. General views inside the factory show men working on various turbine components. An LP shaft is removed from its turbine in readiness to be moved and installation at Pickering nuclear power station on the north shore of Lake Ontario. The film cuts back outside to a view of the hoarding for ‘James Howden and Parsons Ltd’ across the top of the factory building. The film returns to the Parsons works at Heaton and two men stand in a workshop looking over plans of a turbine. In the Insulation Engineering Laboratory men in white coats carry out tests on a model section of a stator core. General views follow of other technicians in lab coats carrying our various vibration tests on sections of a rotor and stator core. On the companies experimental steam turbine known as ‘Kate’ technicians from the Mechanical Engineering Laboratories work to find new turbine blade efficiencies. Another technician tests LP blades on a full scale prototype built on the companies dynamic vibration rig. The sequence ends with a number of workers placing a cover over the tested turbine. The film cuts to Ferrybridge power station where two technicians from the Mechanical Engineering Laboratories at Heaton use an introscope on a 500mw machine. One of the technicians looks down the eyepiece of the introscope at the turbine exhaust casing looking for blade erosion A general view of a sign on the side of an office building reads ‘International Research and Development Co. Ltd’. Cars and other vehicles are parked beside the building. The film cuts to show two men, one in a lab coat, looking over a 3250 horsepower super conducting motor that uses super conductive materials. In another laboratory two technicians work to carry out another experiment on a large piece of equipment. The film cuts to a view of the Drax power station still under construction followed by the Ferrybridge power station and workers at the plant looking over or walking past a number of Parsons steam turbine generators The film ends with an exterior view of the Lakeview power station in Canada. End credit: C.A. Parsons and Co. Ltd. Member of the Reyrolle Parsons Group End credit: By Turners Film Productions, Newcastle upon Tyne End Credit: Acknowledgement: Central Electricity Generating Board, Esso Petroleum Company Ltd, Ontario Hydro Canada, State Electricity Commission of Victoria, Australia