Machynlleth ROC Post

The Machynlleth ROC post is situated on the edge of Machynlleth which sits in the Dovey Valley at the start of a long  estuary, in the picture it is in the centre between the school playing field and the mountains. map

The post itself is in a small compound down a farm track at the end of Gas Lane.

As with all ROC posts the entrance is via a hatch and a 15' ladder leads down to two rooms. The small room is for a chemical toilet and the large room is the main monitoring room.

The post is dry and in very good condition and had not been touched much since being closed in 1991. There were still some original furnishings but the beds were removed as was much of the monitoring and electrical equipment

Still having some items as left at the time of closing... Even the last cigarette in the ashtray.

Even some original documentation still around.

After a bit of a tidy up it started to look a bit better. Work has already started on collecting and installing some of the original equipment including a WB1400 and TelleTalk unit used for communications.

Power was originaly from two batteries providing a 12V D.C Supply which was charged by a small generator on the surface. The power system is being restored and the batteries will be charged by solar panels.

The post still contains the original plotting charts of the local area that would have been used to monitor and report on nuclear fallout, the map shows the location of other monitoring posts in the area which were approximately 10KM apart.

A better view of the entrance to the post. In the event of a nuclear attack the post would be manned by 3 people for a period of 2 weeks. Most of the time it would be sealed and readings would be taken remotely through tubes in the monitoring rooms roof which ran to the surface.

Restoration will continue over the summer with the re-installation of the power system, repainting of the outer surfaces and some interior.

Goto page 2 to see the second visit of the summer and more restoration work.