The London Twin-Wave Broadcasting Station

Outside the building one encounters first of all the two main oil tanks which, when full, contain a sufficient supply of fuel for several months’ working. Between the two oil tanks there is a wooden tower for cooling the water circulating in the engines.

Next comes the power house itself, containing the four six-cylinder Diesel engines driving direct-current generators, each capable of an output of 200kw. Three engines are sufficient for running the two transmitters on full power, the remaining engine being held in reserve.

A small compartment adjoining the engine-room contains a boiler heated by the exhaust gases of the engine. This boiler provides sufficient hot water to heat the whole building, but an auxiliary oil-fired boiler is provided for heating purposes when no engine is running, in order to make certain that the apparatus shall be kept dry at all times.

Elaborate precautions have been taken in the design of the engine bed to remove the possibility of any vibration reaching any other part of the building, it being particularly necessary that the transmitters should not be subject even to slight vibration.

Next: The Battery Room

Foreword and Index
Introduction
The Aerial System
The Power House
The Battery Room
The Motor Generator Room
The Transmitter Hall
The Control Room and Studio
Wavelengths and Programmes
The Principal Contractors

Related Information:
A History of Brookmans Park Transmitting Station by Lilian Caras 1982 (revised January 2002)

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