Hydro Power: Affric-Beauly Scheme
Mullardoch-Fasnakyle-Affric (Constructional Scheme No. 7)
The main components of the scheme were:
A relatively small dam constructed at the outflow of Loch Beinn a’ Mheadhain (Benevean) raising the level of the loch by approximately 23 feet.
Mass gravity dam at the outlet of Loch Mullardoch in Glen Cannich measuring some 2385ft in length and 160ft tall at its highest point. In the construction 286,000 cubic yards of concrete were used to retain a mass of 7.5 million cubic yards of water. The water level of Loch Mullardoch was raised by 113 feet.
Loch Mullardoch and Loch Benevean are interconnected by a tunnel just over 3.5 miles long driven through the mountainside having a fall of around three feet over its entire length. This difference in level allows an underground generating station at the Mullardoch end of the tunnel to further increase output (2.4MW).
From Loch Beinn a’Mheadhain another tunnel system comprising a long low pressure section linked by a high pressure shaft to a high pressure tunnel. This last section having a gradient of 1 in 50, leads to the power station at Fasnakyle. A short distance from its end the high pressure tunnel splits into three smaller tunnels that initially fed three vertical Francis turbo-alternators, each capable of producing 23MW of power. In 2006 work on a fourth (underground) generator was completed during a major extension to the station.
The tunnelling work was completed under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions by a hardy breed of men of many nationalities dubbed “Tunnel Tigers.” Numerous British and European records for removing rock were broken by the Tigers. Wages for those employed on the Hydro schemes were high for the time and hardly surprising the tunnellers were among the top earners.
The tunnelling work was completed under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions by a hardy breed of men of many nationalities dubbed “Tunnel Tigers.” Numerous British and European records for removing rock were broken by the Tigers. Wages for those employed on the Hydro schemes were high for the time and hardly surprising the tunnellers were among the top earners.
At the height of the construction around 2000 people were employed on the scheme. Besides a large number of Highlanders, Lowland Scots and men from all corners of the UK were joined by Irish, Poles, Czechs, Canadians and even German ex-prisoners of war – particularly when tunnelling skills were in short supply. The workers were housed in two camps, the main centre at Cannich and another at Cozac, situated between the Mullardoch Dam and the present Mullardoch House. Accommodation was provided in Nissen huts, one can still be seen near the campsite in Cannich.
The camp at Cannich resembled a typical war-time military camp. This was a big change to the small settlement that had existed here for generations. Besides living quarters, there was an admin building, large workshop, canteen, sick bay, general store and post office. A temporary generating station was established to provide power to the camp and immediate locality during construction work. The diesel powered generators were housed in a large shed still in existence today opposite the woods at Marydale. The village hall in Cannich was originally built as the canteen and cinema for the Hydro workers.
With the coming of the hydro scheme life in Strathglass, and in particularly Cannich, was changed forever. Previously the village only had a scattering of small dwellings. Suddenly in the late 1940s the population increased greatly. Permanent housing was also required for the people who would maintain the scheme long after the construction workers had gone. Just as the power station at Fasnakyle was faced with sandstone sourced from near Burghead in Moray, new houses were constructed in the village of similar materials. Aptly, MacColl Road was named after the Chief Executive and Vice Chairman of NOSHEB from 1943 to 1951, Sir Edward MacColl, whose contribution to the success of the hydro-electric schemes throughout the country was immense.