Report (Permission Visit) Brindle ROC post - Brindle, Chorley - February 2024

[MK83]

Brindle ROC was a master post in a cluster with Atherton and Turton and part of the Preston 21 group.

We drove past and noticed the hatch was open so went to have a look what state it was in and as a complete stroke of luck it turns out its in the process of being restored and the bloke restoring it happened to be there working on it. We asked for a nosey and he was very accommodating. He was a bit of a font of knowledge on ROC posts and involved with a number of post restorers across the country so we got a history lesson as well as a look round.
The post was completely burned out and now is very tidy. None of the equipment has gone back in yet as it's currently being re-insulated but apparently the group have collected all the replacement equipment ready to be re-installed.
The group restoring it has a website if anyone is interested;

About | Brindleroc

The building was used to record the nuclear blast and fallout in the event of a nuclear war!

www.brindle-roc-post.org

The state the post was in before work started.

The present condition.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Krypton]

Good to see another one being saved

 

[Wastelandr]

Wow they've done a cracking job, I bet that is very dirty and difficult work given the access isn't great for both ventilation and passing stuff in and out.

Would have been good to see a couple more pics of the work so far

 

[MK83]

Good to see another one being saved

Agreed, to many of them are completely trashed.

 

[MK83]

Wow they've done a cracking job, I bet that is very dirty and difficult work given the access isn't great for both ventilation and passing stuff in and out.

Would have been good to see a couple more pics of the work so far

They have really tidied it up. I would have taken more shots but didn't want to take the mick as the bloke was good enough to let us go down there and explain his project to us after we interrupted him. He was wedged in the corner behind me while I took this shot. We've joined his group so we can see the progress and I will go back and take more shots when it's a bit further on.

 

[HughieD]

With so many of these post dotted around the UK, it's easy to get complacent and assume some will always survive. As those of us who take an interest in these bijou legacies of the Cold War know, good nick posts are far and few between. Hence it's nice to see this one coming back from the brink.

 

[Calamity Jane]

Lovely to reading this. Our history needs more saviours

 

[MK83]

Lovely to reading this. Our history needs more saviours

Agreed, it's great that some people dedicate themselves to projects like this.

 

[TheJungleBeast]

There is one near me that I'm thinking on sorting out a bit, I don't think many know of it due to its good condition and location, the only real issue is water, thinking on bringing my pond pump to drain it and then some how seal it a bit better.

 

[MK83]

There is one near me that I'm thinking on sorting out a bit, I don't think many know of it due to its good condition and location, the only real issue is water, thinking on bringing my pond pump to drain it and then some how seal it a bit better.

I wonder if the original sump pumps would still work in any of these posts if you took a battery down and hooked it up? I'm assuming they must be dc powered? Its a longshot though after so many years I guess.

 

[Krypton]

I wonder if the original sump pumps would still work in any of these posts if you took a battery down and hooked it up? I'm assuming they must be dc powered? Its a longshot though after so many years I guess.

They are manual hand operated pumps - they can still work but will probably need to be cleaned down and re-primed first.
The only function that the battery served was for interior lighting.

 

[Krypton]

There is one near me that I'm thinking on sorting out a bit, I don't think many know of it due to its good condition and location, the only real issue is water, thinking on bringing my pond pump to drain it and then some how seal it a bit better.

It’s worth finding where the water is coming from before taking on a project like that. Many posts were poorly built and the exterior walls were compromised by GPO engineers adjusting cables etc. If there is a cracked wall then there’s no point, but if the water is from rain which has entered via a poorly closed hatch then it could be a good shout

 

[MK83]

They are manual hand operated pumps - they can still work but will probably need to be cleaned down and re-primed first.
The only function that the battery served was for interior lighting.

That's interesting, I had wondered about power in these posts. Was the instrumentation not powered?

 

[Krypton]

That's interesting, I had wondered about power in these posts. Was the instrumentation not powered?

No not really, the telecoms equipment was powered through the phone lines themselves.
The main instruments either didn’t require mains power or could use standalone batteries.
The only exception would be the posts that were issued with a radio set (which was about 1 in every 3 or 4)

 

[MK83]

No not really, the telecoms equipment was powered through the phone lines themselves.
The main instruments either didn’t require mains power or could use standalone batteries.
The only exception would be the posts that were issued with a radio set (which was about 1 in every 3 or 4)

The posts with the radios were the master posts weren't they? I believe this one was a master post so I assume would have had a radio.