CENTRAL COMPRESSOR STATION ELIÁŠ
Introduction
The Eliáš Central Compressor Station was built in the mid-1950s as a key technical hub for a group of uranium mines in the Jáchymov area. It stood roughly at the intersection of imaginary lines connecting the Adam, Eva, Rovnost, Eduard, Barbora and Jiřina shafts as well as shafts No. 12 and 14. Its primary function was to supply compressed air at about 8 atmospheres to power pneumatic equipment, especially drilling hammers and jackhammers used underground.
History
The building originated during the rapid post-war expansion of uranium mining. After mining ceased, the station lost its function and its technological equipment was dismantled and likely transferred to the Příbram uranium district. A very similar building from the same period still stands at the Bytíz mine near Příbram, probably constructed from the same design prepared by the Příbram design office of the Uranové doly Jáchymov state enterprise.
Description
The structure measures approximately 47 × 30 × 16 metres and is divided into a northern and southern section. The northern part contained a transformer station with eleven transformers housed in separate cells with oil collection pits, arranged in two rows with a central drive-through used also for ventilation. Above were high- and low-voltage switch rooms and a mezzanine for cable routing, with additional rooms serving as workshops, storage, a piston compressor room and operational facilities.
The southern section formed a basemented engine hall with six centrifugal turbo-compressors. Each unit, running at about 7,400 rpm, produced up to 10,000 cubic metres of compressed air per hour and was driven by a roughly 1,200 kW electric motor via a gearbox. The machinery was manufactured by the Škoda Works in Plzeň. An overhead crane was installed beneath the roof for assembly and maintenance. The lower level housed filtration units, air pipelines, cooling-water pumps, motor coolers and oil systems, each dedicated to a single compressor. Cooling water was further cooled in an external tank about 33 × 8 metres in size, equipped with fans above it. Stair towers connecting the floors were located in the corners of the building.
Present state
After mining ended, the building gradually deteriorated. The roof originally survived, but its steel structure was removed and stolen in the mid-1990s. Nearby stands the ruin of an older house which in the 19th century served the Wassereinlass adit, bringing water from the Heinz pond to the Rovnost mine to power mining machinery. During the compressor station’s operation, the building was raised by one floor and used as an administrative office. Today the site remains an impressive technical relic of the uranium mining era in the Jáchymov region.
Photo gallery: https://mipalfi.rajce.idnes.cz/Jachymov%2C_Centralni_kompresorovna_turbo/
