Site Records

Clachan Power Station - Brannie Intake

The water supply to Clachan power station is augmented by several extensive systems of aquaducts, tunnels, and intakes. By way of illustration, here are some pictures of the Brannie Burn area.

Water is captured from the burn itself, and sidestreams on both sides of the burn, and eventually lead to a headpond structure. One aquaduct can be seen bringing water into the headpond from the right (the watercourse is covered with the concrete slabs), another enters out of view on the left. At the front of the headpond is the screened opening to the pipeline which leads the combined waters to the tunnel, and the valve allowing the flow to be shut off:

Standing at the headpond valve, looking down the pipeline. The main power tunnel carrying the water from Lower Shira to Clachan can be seen between the poles, the Brannie water enters the tunnel just past this point:

The main tunnel surfaces briefly at this point, crossing the Brannie Burn as a pipeline:

The surface section of the main tunnel here was an advantage during construction: it provided two additional tunneling faces, points of attack for the tunnelers. There are extensive spoil-heaps, and the remains of several buildings which would have been loco depots, compressor sheds, storerooms etc. whilst the tunneling was going on here:

Words and images © 2003 Michael J. Ross