Secret stories of our best loved buildings NO 3
THE ‘TUNNEL TIGERS’ OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN
The Cruachan Dam Visitor Centre, Dalmally, PA33 1AN Learning lessons from the heroic workers of our past
The Cruachan Dam is a modern marvel of engineering, dug deep into the majestic Ben Cruachan, also known as Hollow Mountain, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
It can generate 400 megawatts of electricity from its four turbines and is a vital component of Britain’s energy mix. It works by temporarily storing energy during periods of low demand, and then releases it at times of high demand, which helps reduce the energy needed from other power stations.
Cruachan was one of the first reversible pumped-storage systems, meaning its turbines operate as both generators and pumps. Literally dug into ‘Hollow
Mountain’, the turbines are housed in a cavern within Ben Cruachan. Installing the turbines required the removal of an astonishing 220,000 cubic metres of rock.
Work on Cruachan began in 1959 and employed around 4,000 workers, who were affectionately nicknamed the ‘Tunnel Tigers’. Completed in 1965, Cruachan Dam celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.
buildingWORKER caught up with author and journalist Marian Pallister, whose book Cruachan: Hollow Mountain tells the story of the dam through the eyes of the ordinary people who lived and worked under the shadow of its construction.
36 unite buildingWORKER Autumn 2025
“The 4,000 workers came from all over – not just the United Kingdom but from Europe as well,” she said. “Many of them were Irish, and a significant number were Polish. There were many workers from places like Liverpool, too. And of course, there were Scots as well.”
Construction of Cruachan Dam began in 1959, 15 years before the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
“The concept of health and safety was very minimal at the time,” Marian noted. “Things like the mandatory wearing of helmets, wearing masks and goggles when drilling into rock, not smoking on site, everything we take for granted – they didn’t exist.”
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