# GEC ALSTOM, Leicestershire



## Goldie87 (Jun 15, 2009)

It was good to finally see inside this place after so many years. From 2004 I used to pass the place regularly due to work. I didnt bother with taking photos that much, so I had the camera on auto and they are not brilliant. There was far to much stuff to look around and rummage through, we spent over four hours at the site. Some history...

It was at Whetstone that Frank Whittle set up what is believed to have been the first factory in the World built specifically for jet engine production. By 1944, up to 300 employees were producing 20 engines a month for the Gloster Meteor aircraft. Whittle’s original Company was called Power Jets Ltd. This became part of the National Gas Turbine Establishment in 1946 and was later transferred to Pyestock. The Whetstone site was acquired by English Electric, which then became GEC and is now ALSTOM. There has been an almost continuous presence of staff working on gas turbine design, development, test and production for the last 50 years. Back in the 1940’s the Whetstone site also developed and tested new jet engine ideas. The related activity of gas turbine development is carried on to this day at Whetstone by the ALSTOM Power Technology Centre. It takes place now in a state-of-the-art test facility just yards from the original buildings and named after the pioneer, the Whittle Research Centre. The site also housed the Atomic Power Division and Mechanical Engineering Laboratories. A lot of early computer technology was developed here, as well as robotics, wind turbines, and nuclear power plant, among other things. 






Engineering





Still not sure what the hell these were for, went very deep underground. 





A reception area





Offices





Back in engineering 





Part of a massive dining/function room. 





Office in another area





There were thousands of files, books and diagrams. Some rooms were barely accessible there were so many





Not sure what this area was used for


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## ImmortalShadow (Jun 15, 2009)

Great photo's  is this the place that would've made underground tube trains? On some of the tubes in the London Underground, just as you get on, there's a metal bit and it says GEC ALSTOM and I was wondering if it had anything to do with it. I may be wrong though.


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## Goldie87 (Jun 15, 2009)

Jimba said:


> is this the place that would've made underground tube trains?



Nah, I think the place where they built trains was in birmingham


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## ImmortalShadow (Jun 15, 2009)

Oh right, ok.


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## thompski (Jun 15, 2009)

Aye it was in Birmingham, closed in 2005 I think.


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## waynezbitz1 (Jun 15, 2009)

goodwork guys, i nominate mrsam to check out the hole lol.


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## Goldie87 (Jun 15, 2009)

waynezbitz1 said:


> goodwork guys, i nominate mrsam to check out the hole lol.



He did go down there lol. I'll tell you more later


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## waynezbitz1 (Jun 15, 2009)

i bet he was like a kid with a new toy.

oooooooo a hole pmsl


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## sam1990 (Jun 24, 2009)

I like the almost retro looking CRT computer monitor in pic 7!


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