Inchindown oil tanks
The Inchindown oil tanks are a disused underground oil depot in Invergordon, Ross-shire, Scotland.[1] The tanks hold the record for the longest echo in any man-made structure, surpassing the Hamilton Mausoleum in 2014.[2]
History
The site was officially called "Inchindown, Royal Navy Fuel Tanks" and also known as the "Invergordon Oil Fuel Depot".[3] The complex consists of six tanks: five were 237 metres (778 ft) long, 9 metres (30 ft) wide, with arched roofs 13.5 metres (44 ft) high; a smaller sixth tank was of the same height and breadth but less long.[4] Work on the tanks began in 1938 and was completed in 1941. They were build to be a bomb-proof supply of Furnace Fuel Oil to the Royal Navy's base at Invergordon.[1]
In 2014, the tanks were designated as a Category A listed building.[5]
Echo record
In 2009 guided tours of the tanks were offered by Forestry Commission Scotland.[6] After the tours were mentioned on BBC television programme The One Show, professor of acoustic engineering at the University of Salford Trevor Cox was motivated to perform echo tests in the underground tanks.[2] In 2014 Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland's Allan Kilpatrick fired a pistol blank inside one of the tanks. The sound was recorded by Cox, and is reported to have reverberated for either 75[7] or 122 seconds.[8]
References
- ^ a b McKenzie, Steven (8 August 2011). "Return to Highlands' Inchindown secret tunnels". BBC Scotland. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- ^ a b Adam Sherwin (16 January 2014). "Now we've heard it all: Acoustic scientists shatter the world record for longest ever echo". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- ^ "Underground Fuel Reservoir, Inchindown, Invergordon (Ref:52317)". Listed building report. Historic Scotland.
- ^ "First glimpse of world war depot". BBC News Scotland. British Broadcasting Corporation. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
- ^ Turvill, William (16 January 2014). "Oil tank in the Scottish Highlands has the world's longest ECHO at an incredible 75 seconds". Daily Mail. DMG Media. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ^ "New world record for longest echo set near Invergordon". BBC News Scotland. British Broadcasting Corporation. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
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