from the village of Tras not far from Raub.
Build by William Bibby of the Raub Australian Gold Mining Company Limited,
construction works started in 1897 and it was commissioned on July 1900.
it is the first hydro plant and also the first power plant in Malaya
and it is a real wonder
to have a plant build 110 years ago still intact and running smoothly.
From its initial 300bhp or about 220kw it had been upgraded to its
present 1MW(1,000KW) of electricity
and it is connected to the national grid via transmission lines.
The outflow into Sempam River.
A bumpy welcome.
Sempam Mini Hydro plant.
An early photo of Sempam.
Back in 1920
The entrance.
The old swiss turbine manufactured in 1928.
A video of unit no:1 running so smoothly.
It run so silent that the cat slept beside it.
The first unit.
Photo below taken in 1920
The unit no:2.
The unit 2 generator badge.
No entry sign
Very old pressure gauge.
The old crane is still strong
Grounding point.
Transmission tower at the plant.
View Sempam Mini hydro in a larger map
The story of Raub Gold Mine
guide to UK mini-hydro developement
TNB History
http://turbinemanlog.blogspot.com/2010/03/tras-new-villagedurian-valley-of-raub.html
wah..u so geng lor..this so special mini hydro u pun catch it..
ReplyDeletefrom Nikel Khor
Have to see it once by hook or by crook,
ReplyDelete7km offroad in a MPV alone,Hah!Hah!
110 y .. that is unbelievable for it to still functioning up to now..
ReplyDeleteagreed to Nikel, seem that u have special privilege to enter the premise and capture them..
good job~
They should have a centennial celebration for its 100yrs of service.
ReplyDeleteIt's suppose to be the pride of TNB.
this is fascinating that it wasn't replaced with something more modern. good to see that if works fine, keep it running.
ReplyDeleteI bet the cat enjoys the vibrations!!
New doesn't means better,i have picture of another 2 newer ones which are already damaged.
ReplyDeletenice picture... new camera?
ReplyDeleteThks Nuovos,How is married life?
ReplyDeletemust be good.
Yah! new camera here
Cool! This is my first time looking at a real hydro from the inside of it. :p
ReplyDeleteMy first time too.
ReplyDeleteI've seen a bigger hydro before where the turbine and generators are in a vertical position.
visited,oh! have to translate.
ReplyDeletehey dude! what sorta turbine is it? kinda interested to know what they use back in those days ;-)...btw great blog! keep it up
ReplyDeleteThomas, this mini hydro was had built by my great grandfather William Bibby. Construction started in 1897 and power was turned on in July 1900. The original electrical engineers who designed the power station machinery were Johnson & Phillips of London and it was designed to deliver 300 B.H.P. to the mine. I have the story of how it was built. We are coming to Raub in November and hope to visit it and would welcome you to join us.
ReplyDeleteVictor Bibby,
ReplyDeleteYour great grandfather was a great miner,
being able to develop a mine right in the middle of the tropical rain forest with very little access road and harsh conditions and contributing so much to the town.
Any chance of setting up a muzium in Raub with your data and the help of the local authority(Raub District Council)?
Actually i would like to join you
there in Raub but i have a job in Labuan island
around the same time so unless there is reschedule i wouldn't be available.
Thomas,
ReplyDeleteYes, they did some amazing things and fortunately there is a very good record from September 1889 when they arrived and there was just the flooded Raub Hole. The current mine owners are talking about a museum and there are lots of artefacts on site, I was there a year ago.
Do you need a 4wd to get to the power station?
It would be better if you used my email from my website to communicate in future.
Thomas, the anonymous is Victor Bibby
ReplyDeleteLast 2 weeks we have visited this place. It was a bumpy ride from Tras. We are so excited to see this hydro station because it is the first build in Malaysia. But it was very disappointed when we go inside the building, those turbines are not running. According to the TNB's guy, there was a landslide that causes damage to the penstock. The repair work for the penstock will cost about RM 3 mil. Wow, that's huge! Luckily, with the help of Google, I found your blog and I'm so happy that you have the video of the turbine in working condition! Thanks for uploading it.
ReplyDeletefaizalnayan,
DeleteThis landslide is already expected,
with plantation right up to the river
and land clearing on steep slopes,
when will our planners ever learn?
There should have been a buffer zone of at least 50 meter
on each side of the such an important river with an eco-friendly hydro
is this hydro power still working?
ReplyDeleteYes,it is.
Delete