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Potash trains, steam era.


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At the risk of someone coming along and saying differently, I doubt that potash trains existed before the 1960s when ICI opened the Boulby Potash mine.  At a depth of 1-1.2km this was deep mining (in the UK sense- S Africa has deeper mines).  The stated reason for opening the mine was to reduce the UK reliance on imported potash, so before that I think it is safe to say that most or even all potash was imported.  Once at the UK port, I doubt it was shipped in trainloads but more likely as individual wagon loads.  My guess is that the product would arrive in sacks and the sacks would be loaded into open wagons and then sheeted, or later probably into vans.  Bulk handling in the 1920s was something of a novelty even with liquids.

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At the risk of someone coming along and saying differently, I doubt that potash trains existed before the 1960s when ICI opened the Boulby Potash mine.  At a depth of 1-1.2km this was deep mining (in the UK sense- S Africa has deeper mines).  The stated reason for opening the mine was to reduce the UK reliance on imported potash, so before that I think it is safe to say that most or even all potash was imported.  Once at the UK port, I doubt it was shipped in trainloads but more likely as individual wagon loads.  My guess is that the product would arrive in sacks and the sacks would be loaded into open wagons and then sheeted, or later probably into vans.  Bulk handling in the 1920s was something of a novelty even with liquids.

Agreed, though I would say that most was processed at plants within the dock estate, or close enough to be served by conveyor belts or overhead bucket chains. The finished product would be bagged, then conveyed in sheeted opens or, later, vans.

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