Coalvilles Rutherglen

[scottishlocos]

Hi

 

Until recently I thought Ravenscraig was the only steelworks in Scotland and certainly the only one that lasted into the diesel era but I found a link via RM-web to a flickr page that has photos from the 1970's showing Coalvilles at Rutherglen.

Does anybody have any more information or pics of this site were there workings between Rutherglen and Ravenscraig in the 1970's also by the 1970's it would be under British Steel so was this BSC Rutherglen?

 

Many thanks

 

Dave

[Arthur]

There were many steelworks in Scotland, several of which survived into the 1980s. The only two integrated works were both Colvilles plants, the Clyde Ironworks/Clydebridge Steelworks complex and Ravenscraig.

 

RUTHERGLEN; The works at Rutherglen was actually called Clydebridge Steelworks. It was an open hearth steelmaking plant and rolling mill linked by a rail bridge over the River Clyde to the blast furnaces at the Clyde ironworks. Up to the opening of Ravenscraig in 1957, this complex was Scotlands only modern integrated works. They all became part of the BSC and were BSC Clyde Iron, BSC Clydebridge and BSC Ravenscraig. Iron making at Clyde and steelmaking at Clydebridge finished in 1977 though I don't recall off the top of my head when the Clydebridge rolling mills closed.

 

Both were served from General Terminus ore dock on the Clyde with ore trains over BR metals. I'm not aware of any regular rail traffic between the two works, both were pretty self contained smelting iron, making steel and rolling plate, and at Ravenscraig, hot rolled strip.

 

There were a number of other open hearth steelworks, Dalzell, Clydsedale, Glengarnock and Hallside to name just some, along with a number of rolling mills. These too came under the control of the BSC.

 

There's some information I posted on Ravenscraig here;

 

http://todengine.websitetoolbox.com/post/Ravenscraig-Steel-Works-2643917?highlight=clyde+iron

 

and a bit on Clyde/Clydebridge here;

 

http://todengine.websitetoolbox.com/post/unknown-steel-mills-help-needed-4435998?highlight=clyde+iron

 

and some of the photos in my gallery are from Ravenscraig and Clyde Iron. I can find some of Clydebridge too if they'd be of interest.

 

This is the first, Rolling Stock 5, others are Rolling Stock 18, 25, 28, 30 and 32.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/12449-rolling-stock-5/

 

Arthur

[Guest Max Stafford]

I'm sure there was a collection of photos of Clyde Ironworks on the Urban Glasgow forum. I had a quick look last night and though I didn't find them, there was a feature on the Tollcross tube works too. It's definitely there in the forum though. That's where I saw it last time.

 

Dave.

[westie7]

Have a look at Jim Howies site which if you dig deeper than just the locomotives has tons of info on Lanarkshire Steel (the whole area not just 37325/37108 )

 

Locations routes etc in topographical form, photos the likes of which you'll never see again!

 

Jim, If you're reading this, ever thought of getting your site done as a book.. I would buy it. Always make reference to the site, don't know what I would do of it went

 

Rgds

Mark

[Arthur]

Have a look at Jim Howies site

Rgds

Mark

 

Do you have a link for this site Mark?, googling Jim Howie didn't help.

 

Thanks,

Arthur

[westie7]

Arthur

 

http://www.jhowie.force9.co.uk/contents.htm

 

every link in section 1 is worth a click!

 

Rgds

Mark

[Scottish Modeller]

Hi all,

 

More infoirmation on here:-

 

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/clydebridge/index.html

 

Follow the link to 'Other Steelworks'

 

Thanks

[scottishlocos]

Hi all

 

Thanks for all the replies as I said before I have only just become aware that so much of the steel industry in Scotland was still around in the diesel era. I had previously been under the impression that these works had closed in the steam era.

Arthur - thanks so much your knowledge of the steel industry is second to none I have a few more questions if you don't mind mind please were the Clydebridge Clyde ironworks closed in the same round of BSC closures from late 70's early 80's as Consett Shotton and Shelton?

In addition it seams that locals called the Clyde works Coalvilles long after it was BSC although Ravenscraig was a former Coalvilles plant it always appears to be known as Ravenscraig or The Craig to locals!

 

Kind regrads

 

Dave

[Arthur]

Dave, you're very welcome. It's Colvilles by the way, not CoAlvilles, David Colville & Sons.

 

Yes, Clyde Iron and Clydebridge Steel were victims of the BSC closures of the 1970's. The BSC was formed in 1967 and one if its tasks was to rationalise the industry and concentrate production at the most viable plants. The following integrated plants closed, or at least lost both iron and steel making facilities, between 1970 and 1980, Cargo Fleet, South Durham, Skinningrove, Corby, Park Gate, Shelton, Shotton, East Moors, Ebbw Vale, Irlam, Workington, Bilston, Brymbo, Consett and Clyde/Clydebridge. Many retained a rolling or finishing capacity, some to this day.

 

Clydebridge was acquired by Colvilles in 1915 and the ironworks in 1931 so it's perhaps not surprising that the Colvilles name stuck, everyone knew it.

 

It was quite common in fact, Irlam was always locally referred to as Lancashire Steel, Normanby Park as Lysaghts, East Moors as the Dowlais, even after nationalisation.

 

Ravenscraig had a much shorter life under Colvilles, construction starting in 1954. It may be, I cannot say for sure, that because it was adjacent to two existing Colvilles works, Dalzell and Lanarkshire Steel, that they were already referred to as Colvilles.

 

The name Ravenscraig was made up, Major W. R. Brown, who headed up the blast furnace building department of Ashmore, Benson, Pease & Co., suggested the suitably noble and Scottish sounding name of Ravenscraig, and so it became. As that name was plastered over the Gasometer no surprise it was adopted locally!!

 

This DVD is available, it has some film taken at the time of the building of Ravenscraig.

 

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item336327da6e

 

If there's anything else Dave, just ask and I'll help if I can.

 

Edit;

 

Do you have a link to the Flickr photos mentioned in your OP? I've found one of a rusting Ford with the works in the background, is that the one? If so, that's Clyde Ironworks behind it, you can see the ore bridge serving the blast furnaces.

[scottishlocos]

Hi Arthur

 

Thanks for setting me right with the name I have a few more questions if you dont mind first what is left of the steel industry in Scotland and

what does it produce? Dalzell is still going and I think is the only one that still is rail connected while on Dalzell some pics of this works list the

famous blue tower with the name as a water tower a few pics list it as gas do you know which it is?

 

Secondly do you have any information on the forges that were once in Scotland there was Parkhead forge now a shooping centre and more local to me is

Kirkcaldy forge again it was a pic on flickr but cant find it now it shows a DMU passing and 16t coal wagons in the sidings that served the forge pic is from

mid 1970's as far as Ican tell these were not linked to BSC.

 

Yes it was that lot of pics with the rusting ford there is one of the stockyard gantry crane as well looks like it was used for unloading iron ore maybe coal as

well and it looks very modellable a similar looking crane was availible from Knightwing.

 

many thanks again

 

Dave

[Arthur]

Dave,

 

The two major surviving steel plants in Scotland (both former Colvilles, then BSC and now TATA plants) are Clydebridge (the one at Rutherglen) and Dalzell. TATA have invested millions into both of these plants in the past couple of years.

 

Dalzell was a former open hearth steel making plant and plate rolling mill. Steel making ceased in the 1970s, I think, but even then it was taking hot ingots from adjacent Ravenscraig. The plate rolling mill survived the closure of Ravenscraig and today takes slabs from Scunthorpe to roll into plate.

 

 

I guess you mean this tank? It's definitely a water tank. The only reason to build a tank on 'stilts' is to gain pressure by developing a 'head of water'. There would also not be any gas to store at Dalzell. It's ironworks that produce and store gas, coke oven gas from their coke ovens and blast furnace gas which is a by product of the blast furnaces, Dalzell has neither. Both are used as a fuel and you'd have found them at Clyde Ironworks and Ravenscraig and today at Port Talbot, Redcar and Scunthorpe.

 

Clydebridge, also an open hearth steelmaker and plate roller, lost steel making capacity in 1977 though the mill probably lasted a little longer. It is currently a heat treating plant for plate from Scunthorpe and Dalzell. The plate is heated and then cooled, quickly or slowly, both impart different qualities. The purpose of this quenching or tempering is to improve the structure of the steel.

 

There may currently be other, much smaller, steel finishing operations, but I'm not aware of them.

 

I've heard of Kirkcaldy Forge but don't know anything about it.

 

Parkhead Forge was formerly the powerhouse of William Beardmore & Co. Once one of the countries leading industrial concerns, Beardmores, over the years, built ships, cars, diesel engines, railway locomotives and a whole host of industrial products. The Parkhead Forge might once have made steel, but it's main role was heavy forging with steam hammers and hydraulic presses. By the 1950s it was one of the best equipped in the country. Like the rest of the industry it was briefly nationalised in 1951 and then it was all sold off from 1953 on. Parkhead Forge was bought by Sheffield based steel makers and forgemasters, Firth Brown. The forge closed in 1976.

 

 

 

The ore bridge at Clyde was used to manage the ore and limestone stockyards and to load the transfer cars serving the blast furnaces. They could have handled coal but that would be rare. At Clyde the coal was taken straight to the coke ovens, unloaded by tippler, and conveyored to the coal blending bunkers. Coke was brought to the blast furnaces direct by conveyor. It's quite brittle and handling and storage is kept to a minimum. The Knightwing kit is a bit lightweight for the role, this is more like it;

 

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-2906

 

Probably more there than you wanted to know, hopefully it's of some interest

[scottishlocos]

 

Hi Arthur

 

Thanks for the fantastic reply again I am sure the Kirkcaldy forge was similar but on a much smaller scale to the Parkhead forge there are drain covers in this area and others places in Scotland with Kirkcaldy stamped on them so I think they made things from cast iron and possibly made machinery for the Linoleum industry's in that area

 

Kind regards

 

Dave