So what do tractors and a never completed nuclear power station have in common? Well nothing really…except in the case of a small station somewhere in the volunteer state, better known as Tennessee. The power station was one of many that were planned by the TVA through the 1970s to bring clean, efficiant power to the southern United States. Of course as a student of history there were several accidents in the 1980s that really turned the world view on nuclear power in a negitive light. Chernobyl in the former USSR and the Three Mile Island incident in the United States.
Then there was the rising costs of construction of the power stations so by the late 1980s construction was halted on stations across Tennessee and Washington states. All these stations were simply concrete shells, no reactors, no fuel ever brought on site. We could soak up more radiation sunbathing than wandering around the never completed station. And so the shells were left to rot under the harsh glare of the southern sun. And it was under such a sun that we treked our way along a quiet industrial road. And this is the view that we got.
After a bit of a scare getting out, we managed to get back to our cars and retired back to Johnson City for a meal! So why Tractors, well it’s been a common practice ot give these locations different names, and while we were there, we found a couple old tractors on site, and gave the site a new name, Government Tractors.
Pentax 645 – SMC Pentax A 645 35mm 1:3.5 – Fuji Velvia (RVP)
