Europe
Gasholders are often a major part of the skylines of low-rise British cities, due to their large distinctive shape and central location. The pollution associated with gasworks and gas storage makes the land difficult to reclaim for other purposes, but some gasholders, notably in Vienna, have been converted into other uses such as living space and a shopping mall and historical archives for the city. Many sites however were never used for the production of 'town gas', therefore the land contamination is relatively low.
Most British cities will have several gasholders. London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Salisbury and Glasgow (which has the largest gasometers in the UK) are noted for having many gasholders. Some of these gasholders have become listed buildings. The gasholders behind St Pancras station in London were specially dismantled when the new Channel Tunnel rail link was being created, but is hoped that they can be re-assembled elsewhere.
A gasworks in South Lotts, Dublin, Ireland was converted into apartments.
In the past, holder stations would have an operator living on site controlling their movement. However with the process control systems now used on these sites, such an operator is obsolete. The tallest gasometer in Europe is 117 metres (384 ft) tall and is located in Oberhausen.
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Large gas holders imposing on the skyline in Glasgow, pipework and the booster house can also be seen.
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Gasometer of the MAN type in Stuttgart, Germany
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Gas holders overlooking The Oval cricket ground in London
Read more about this topic: Gas Holder
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