Large enough to house 20 new 'Supertrams', the depot and other upgrades to the 11-mile Blackpool-Fleetwood tramway, are due to be completed by Easter 2012.
"The new depot is just yards from the beach and the sea, so the location is in a highly corrosive atmosphere," said Worksop Galvanizing's Commercial Manager, Paul Robinson. "For that reason it was decided to galvanize all the structural steel used in the new building for maximum anti-corrosion protection."
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The galvanizing was completed for Caunton Engineering of Moorgreen, Nottinghamshire, which has fabricated and erected the impressive, architect-designed tramway depot. Once completed, the new-look Blackpool tramway, which is the oldest in Britain, is expected to carry around 6.5 million passengers every year.
Worksop Galvanizing is the largest plant in the Wedge Group. It has the UK's largest hot-dip galvanizing bath, measuring 21 metres in length and holding 600 tonnes of molten zinc. It can galvanize structural steel beams up to 29 metres long. Galvanizing protects steel from corrosion and damage for up to 60 years.
Galvanized steel structures remain virtually maintenance-free throughout their working lives. The zinc coating and steel can then be fully recycled.
