 At the peak of the construction project, over 500 men worked there and most of them lived in a temporary village called "Hollins".Prince George officially opened the reservoir by unveiling a commemorative bronze plaque.During the construction phase, the reservoir works were the site of an extensive 3 foot (914 mm) gauge industrial railway system which linked the dam works with a railhead on the Long Preston - Slaidburn road (Bowtell, 1988).