Details

The material covers everyday maintenance by staff and by the servicing companies, whose correspondence with the station is part of the collection. Daily checks and test on plant, such as battery and boiler tests form a large section of the material and the official documentation procedures may be observed from the power station log books and key issue books. It is possible to assess the station staff's view of their performance and plans for the future from the minutes of the Works Committee and Efficiency Meetings. Equipment and instrument supply are important in the development of the power station. Simultaneously it is possible to trace the history of the suppliers. Croydon 'A' dealt with such firms as The English Electric Company Ltd, Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Company Ltd, George Kent and Negretti and Zambra, and the expertise and sales of these businesses are reflected in their correspondence with Croydon 'A'. There are a large number of technical diagrams of plant, highlighting the increased sophistication of equipment and the individual style of the firms involved. Some of the material covers the output and efficiency of the power station. This technical data is presented in graphical or tabular form and includes load curves, oil test graphs, turbo-alternator performance tables and Station Thermal Efficiency Performance. There are some records of staff, within the context of their daily work. Information is available on staff numbers, demands on their time and skill, leave and the safety levels at work. The role of management and their staff relations may be inferred from reports and correspondence. The collection may also be viewed, in the later years, against the backdrop of CEGB policies in organisation, research and operation. There are copies of CEGB operating memoranda and reports on aspects of performance in the electricity supply industry which are relevant to the running of Croydon 'A' in the 1960s particularly.