Bulldozers and Diggers at Metropolitan-Vickers

 

The Westinghouse Building

 

The start

 

 

The finish

In August 1901, a foundation stone was laid and an American named Westinghouse built a beautiful office block on top of it. In the year 2002, bulldozers and diggers moved in to dismantle the building.  (The main works had already disappeared).  The Foundation Stone was lifted and dumped beside the rubble and left. I am told that the coins of the realm which were placed beneath the stone, and also the time capsule were not found.  On Friday 31st  January 2003,  101 years and six months since the  Foundation Stone was laid,  it began its  final journey to its new location outside the Trafford Park Heritage Centre. The official unveiling of  the Westinghouse Foundation Stone in its  new position at the Trafford Park Heritage Centre took place  at  1230Hrs on Thursday 3rd July 2003.

 

The above photograph is that of the left-hand side of the Foundation Stone in its new location at the Trafford Park Heritage Centre.

The Foundation Stone in its original location before the Main Building was demolished. Unfortunately, iron railings surrounding the Heritage Centre prevents a photograph being taken of  the 'cleaned up'  Stone (Front View) and so a Photograph of  the Stone in its 'Original Location' at the main works is shown above.

 

Thursday 3rd July 2003, also marks a day on my calendar to remember. It was on this day that G3NGD took early retirement.  I  have  mentioned  it  here because it was forty-six years ago since I first walked in, through the main door of  the Metropolitan-Vickers  Apprentice  Training  School,  to become a Technician Apprentice.  It  was through  this  same door   (although  the  building is now an  Annex of  North Trafford College), that I walked out to commence my retirement. As stated elsewhere on my website, I owe my thanks to Metropolitan -Vickers for  giving me the opportunity to become an Electrical Engineer after serving a Technician  Apprenticeship of five years duration, and attending Stretford Technical College (now North Trafford College, Stretford).  It was ironical that I would become a lecturer at North Trafford College and be able to  teach for many years in the original Apprentice Training School where I gained a vast amount of knowledge and experience in both Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.

 

For the benefit of those people wishing to visit or contact the Trafford Park Heritage Centre, I have given the details below.

 

Heritage Centre Details:

Trafford Park Heritage Centre St Antony's Centre Eleventh Street Trafford Park Manchester M17 1JF Tel: 0161 848 9173 Fax 0161 872 9480 email: heritage@traffordpark.org

 

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Updated: September 2006