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UES Stocksbridge photographs


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Dear all

 

I have been updating many of my collections on Zenfolio, and a thread on DEMU encouraged me to add over 100 photographs to my collection for Stocksbridge (which is north of Yorkshire) in July 1994 http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/stocksbridgewagons

 

It now includes locos and cranes as well as many more of the specialist internal user wagons. The plant still exists and is rail served, although there are far fewer internal use wagons there, and a lot of the track work has been removed - some of which can be seen on Bing and Google maps.

 

Regards

 

Paul Bartlett

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Dear all

 

I have been updating many of my collections on Zenfolio, and a thread on DEMU encouraged me to add over 100 photographs to my collection for Stocksbridge (which is north of Yorkshire) in July 1994 http://paulbartlett....cksbridgewagons

 

It now includes locos and cranes as well as many more of the specialist internal user wagons. The plant still exists and is rail served, although there are far fewer internal use wagons there, and a lot of the track work has been removed - some of which can be seen on Bing and Google maps.

 

Regards

 

Paul Bartlett

Thanks for post those, Paul- some very interesting stuff. A lot of the stock would have become redundant once the Concast plant opened; no need any more for ingot moulds.

Those round castings on the roll wagons aren't rolls (or at least not yet), but some sort of circular casting (perhaps an early product from the Con-Cast?)- rolls have a much smaller 'spindle' on the ends, which sits in the bearings on the roll stand. My father used to say that one of the most tedious jobs he used to do, when he worked as a fitter and roll-turner, was scraping the white-metal bearings to get the best possible fit for the rolls.

They seemed to have a somewhat cavalier approach to buffers, didn't they?

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Thanks for post those, Paul- some very interesting stuff. A lot of the stock would have become redundant once the Concast plant opened; no need any more for ingot moulds.

Those round castings on the roll wagons aren't rolls (or at least not yet), but some sort of circular casting (perhaps an early product from the Con-Cast?)- rolls have a much smaller 'spindle' on the ends, which sits in the bearings on the roll stand. My father used to say that one of the most tedious jobs he used to do, when he worked as a fitter and roll-turner, was scraping the white-metal bearings to get the best possible fit for the rolls.

They seemed to have a somewhat cavalier approach to buffers, didn't they?

Brian

 

Thanks for the comment; the developments at the site can be viewed on http://www.old-maps.co.uk/maps.html The North end with all of the scrap materials, loco 33 etc has been cleared.

 

I think the comment on DEMU may be relevant about what you call round castings - I have used the wagon descriptions given by a more knowledgeable co-visitor.

 

"Particularly liked the one of B51 carrying VAR ingots (vacuum arc remelted) and the octagonal ingots inside the shed. This would have been in the "commercially sensitive" "

 

IIRC We were only asked not to photograph the building which is immediately on the right and further down of http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/stocksbridgewagons/hc0c27b5#hc0c27b5 because they were doing work for NASA. To us, rather amusingly, this was on the public road side of the site - not easy to hide a building!

 

Paul Bartlett

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I like the wagon shown in

 

http://paulbartlett....b1694#h1fb06533

 

It appears to be based on similar wagons, both four and eight wheeled, built by the Midland Railway for carrying ingots in the 'Sheffield area'.

 

The Oleo buffers appear incongruous on such a wagon !

 

Brian R

 

I'm not sure an open steel wagon is based on anything other than what seems appropriate. I suspect this was a local product (I accept it may have been bought in - companies such as Davis were building Internal users). It is on the chassis of an ex 22ton VB tank wagon (the type modelled by Airfix/Dapol) (http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/stocksbridgewagons/h364b1694#h1e9d2c47

 

Paul Bartlett

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Excellent photos Paul and nice to see the extra background left on showing parts of the works.

 

I'd agree with Brian W., those cylindrical castings are possibly bound for the roll shop for turning. The octagonal ingots are produced for forging operations.

 

One correction, if I may, this

 

http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/stocksbridgewagons/h3a7f580e#h3a7f580e

 

described as an 'ingot pusher' is a furnace charger. It's based on the same principle as the larger rail mounted chargers used in open hearth shops. Though Electric Arc Furnaces are charged with scrap through the top, via a clam shell bucket, smaller volumes of additives and alloying agents are charged in scrap pans through the front. The fitting on the front of that peel, with it's retracting pin, enables it to locate and lock onto the standard type of scrap pan.

 

Similar looking machines, some very large, had a different fitting on the end of the arm and were designed to hold ingots whilst they were being forged, they were known as ingot manipulators. I've never heard of an 'ingot pusher' before.

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Paul

 

The low height open is almost certainly a W H Davis product and appears to be a low height version of those at BSC Scunthorpe and the three medium height ones that were for Ford but ended up at Sheerness Steel (different ends).

 

Quote below from Paul

 

I'm not sure an open steel wagon is based on anything other than what seems appropriate. I suspect this was a local product (I accept it may have been bought in - companies such as Davis were building Internal users). It is on the chassis of an ex 22ton VB tank wagon (the type modelled by Airfix/Dapol) (http://paulbartlett....b1694#h1e9d2c47

 

 

Paul Bartlett

 

end quote

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Saunders

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I'm not sure an open steel wagon is based on anything other than what seems appropriate. I suspect this was a local product (I accept it may have been bought in - companies such as Davis were building Internal users). It is on the chassis of an ex 22ton VB tank wagon (the type modelled by Airfix/Dapol) (http://paulbartlett....b1694#h1e9d2c47

 

I'm a bit confused here, because the link I added was to a 'B' series wagon loaded with ingots.

 

That wagon bears a striking similarity to those shown in:-

 

An illustrated history of Midland wagons Vol.2 ( pages 44-46 ) by Bob Essery, pub.OPC 1980.

 

I may be missing something here, but it wasn't the (Davis) steel open I was referring to.

 

Brian R

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I'm a bit confused here, because the link I added was to a 'B' series wagon loaded with ingots.

 

That wagon bears a striking similarity to those shown in:-

 

An illustrated history of Midland wagons Vol.2 ( pages 44-46 ) by Bob Essery, pub.OPC 1980.

 

I may be missing something here, but it wasn't the (Davis) steel open I was referring to.

 

Brian R

Brian

 

When I looked it took me to the general view, (you didn't give the wagon number). I now see that you mean one of the ingot carriers. Yes I agree they do have similarities with MR wagons.

 

Paul Bartlett

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I was fascinated to see these pictures. My grandparents in law ( if that is the correct term ) were connected with Fox's and lived in Manchester Rd opposite the western end of the works. Now demolished according to Google earth. When I first visited in 1972 the day, and night, were punctuated by very loud clangs, as if something very heavy had just been dropped. What interested me was the railway embankment which ran paralled to, and north of, A616 west of the works and on to Langsett resevoir. It is marked on the old maps as " Sheffield Corporation Railway", presumably built to aid construction of the resevoir. I remember what appeared to be an old railway carriage used as a house or shed in a field near the resevoir. The embankment at that time was used as an aqueduct with a small stream running along some of it's length, I never found out where it went or what it was for, possibly fior use in the wire works which were west of Fox's. If anybody has further information, or references to this odd railway I would be interested.

 

Thanks

 

Roger.

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