| Pumped storage


can use, adapt and improve upon. Not just in terms of construction and operational solutions (across all engineering realms) but considering too the human and social impacts as we move thousands of people to their place of work, house them, feed them, support their families, educate their children, and look after them (medically as well as regarding safety in their workplace). Thankfully, there are many oral records,


photographs and even cine film documenting construction solutions and celebrating past milestones reached which augment the formal documentation. Just as we are today wary of social media efficacy, we need to look at these records through a corrective lens and imagine what could additionally be true or instructive – for instance plaques and group photos to tunnel driving records achieved don’t tell the tale of hand-arm-vibration syndrome which plagued many featured in those photographs during the years that followed . As you may expect, records are not collated in one central repository, so archiving processes and levels of completion vary, frequently offering an uneven picture if taken in isolation. Regarding written research and testimony, Emma


Wood’s well-researched “The Hydro Boys” is an essential read, giving an easily digestible overview, and a good lead into the history of the construction of a hydro scheme. “Tunnel Tigers” is Patrick Campbell’s own recollections of his experience in the 1950s as he travelled from Co. Donegal with many hundreds of others to work in Scotland’s tunnels, albeit with his author’s note emphasising that each worker will not have had the same experience. Critical reading for comprehending the socio-political setting is the “The Hydro” by Peter L Payne , described as a study of the development of major hydroelectric schemes undertaken by the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board – the bibliography to the rear of the book is extensive and useful. Although we have developed in the decades since these accounts, the parallels to the modern energy security setting are plain to see. Unbeknownst to many, useful research resources


are available at the tip of our fingers. Digital archives at the National Library of Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland can be accessed from anywhere in the world which aid in research and planning of subterranean projects. Additionally, our professional institutions maintain archives – with perhaps more available in proceedings and journals than we extend ourselves to publish in the modern day . Yet more valuable knowledge can be found in the extensive archive and records maintained by local libraries, in asset owners’ offices, and on the dusty shelves of many consulting engineers (as they were known then) – not to forget in archive boxes of constructors of the time (or on the shelves of the businesses who acquired their trading workbank). Outdated as these may sound, faced with the challenge of maintaining some of the existing hydro assets over the last 30 years I’ve had the privilege to access many physical locations that few people ever have done – perhaps many do not know they even exist. This access is not always easy, and in many cases convoluted. For example, as the last revolution evolved, some tunnels were specifically sized to accommodate the Series 1 Landrover (itself a revolution) but of course, these days 4x4 vehicles


www.waterpowermagazine.com | July 2025 | 19


have become larger and no one wishes to take petrol driven equipment underground these days – unimaginable in previous times. Somewhat surprising to modern sensibilities, in most of the aqueducts, adits and tunnels of the era it seems that maintenance activities were considered to be unlikely, so provision for access has been restricted to the mere aperture of a manhole inspection cover. This gets ever more complicated when there can be miles between access points, and when as well as people, we need to get materials, plant and equipment to a worksite. These practical access difficulties that we have faced should encourage everyone to think about how both routine maintenance and inspection activities can be accessed beyond the present.


Challenges Creating underground space can be expensive,


particularly where an existing asset is generating; i.e., it’s not just the construction cost, it’s also the addition of the possible loss of revenue during downtime. As time has passed, standards have changed


Above: Foyers Project 1970 Below: Foyers Project 1972 Bottom: Foyers Project 1974


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61