Dave F's photos - ongoing - more added each day

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

 

I trust that the owners of said houses on the coke plant site will receive a gas mask with each house !

 

 

They'll need full NBC suits - the Coalite Plant had dioxin problems, one of the deadliest substances known.

[russ p]

They certainly aren't the greenest of places,thats not good.

I don't there are many left now,maybe Scunthorpe and port Talbot and two closed ones on Teeside as they only ones I can think of. They were once very common a lot of collieries in Durham often had them on the same site.

[Porcy Mane]

 They were once very common a lot of collieries in Durham often had them on the same site.

 

Rationalisation and centralising of Co Durhams NCB Coke manufacture began in the 1950s leaving Derwenthaugh, Fishburn, Hawthorn , Lambton, Monkton and Norwood. (I think I've got them all.) Then there was the independent coke works  such as Consett iron Co's Fell Works.

 

The British pharmaceutical industries basically started as an aside to coke production, processing waste products from the industry. It wasn't that long ago that battalions of children suffering from various ailments would be marched to the top of coke retorts to breath in the fumes as a cure all and nowt like a bath with coal tar soap.

 

How times change.

P

[russ p]

They were all big works, I remember them working.

I was surprised how many of the smaller ones there were, I bought a book last year about Bearpark and there were ovens there closing about 1960 I think there was also some at Langley park.

I remember being told to take deep breaths when walking past a tar spreader!

[Fat Controller]

I knew it as Bolsover, but I'm not sure if that was the local name or not.

 

I think it produced a lot of anthracite.

Avenue was the works between Chesterfield and Clay Cross; Bolsover was north of Chesterfield.

It wouldn't have produced anthracite, as this is a form of coal that originated mainly in the western part of the South Wales coalfield, west of the river Neath. It has lost many of the volatiles found in normal coal, due to having been subjected to very high pressures underground, so is interchangeable with coke for some applications

[Fat Controller]

They'll need full NBC suits - the Coalite Plant had dioxin problems, one of the deadliest substances known.

My sister cut her teeth as a geotechnical engineer on the former Saltley Cokeworks site in Birmingham. Some parts of the site could be reclaimed usining various remediation procedures (piling the material into ridges, applying bacteria, then covering with black plastic to allow the bacteria to do their work). The core of the plant, however, was covered with a thick concrete slab, to avoid any future accidental uncovering.

Until oil became widely refined, coke by-products provided the feedstocks for much of the chemical industry, from aspirin to creosote.

[Echo]

Avenue was the works between Chesterfield and Clay Cross; Bolsover was north of Chesterfield.

It wouldn't have produced anthracite, as this is a form of coal that originated mainly in the western part of the South Wales coalfield, west of the river Neath. It has lost many of the volatiles found in normal coal, due to having been subjected to very high pressures underground, so is interchangeable with coke for some applications

Bolsover is more or less due EAST of Chesterfield - other side of the M1

[Porcy Mane]

I was surprised how many of the smaller ones there were, I bought a book last year about Bearpark and there were ovens there closing about 1960 I think there was also some at Langley park.

Langley park had them, and Malton Colliery a mile or further up the Lanchester valley had an even larger set of ovens.  Malton Coal was mined latterly in drifts above Langley Park and transported to Malton via  an aerial flight. A very large cokeworks existed in the next valley south at Brancepeth and due to very high quality coking coal mined here an adjoining pulverite plant was also developed. The ex Pulverite plant is still going producing some coal related product.

 

P

[russ p]

It's nice to know some people are still employed by the coal industry in country Durham, I wonder if it uses local coal?

[Mallard60022]

The outskirts of Chesterfield have become popular, I am told, with folk for housing as the prices in Sheffield (well some parts) have risen sharply. I'm not sure about Derby and Nottingham house prices but I suspect it is a similar situation? Sheffield (and Derby/Nottingham) provide work opportunities, however many of those jobs are not giving wages that would allow folk to live in those Cities.

Chesterfield has expanded significantly in the years I have been 'up' here (nearly 14 years now). I almost moved there at the end of 2002, but coincidentally, at the end of that year, house prices in the south west  Chesterfield area outstripped my price range in just 3/4 months. Don't know why as earlier in 2002, before I sold up down south, I could have got a decent property quite easily. Perhaps they saw me coming  

I think the closure of that Coke Works (it really did stink) and some other large works local to Chesterfield, somehow made the place more popular for those with money to buy property at the same time as unemployment rose significantly. 

Chesterfield still has a decent Station and train service with a wide range of destinations. The new footy ground is also very smart. (My son was part of the firm that built that).

Bozer Castle is a gem of a place to visit as is Hardwick Hall. 

Things have changed a huge amount in this area of the country since my shed bash visits of the late 70s and early 80s. The old railway infrastructure is disappearing fast after lingering for 20/30 years. For a taste of the 70s and 80s railway scene then of course you must visit Barrow Hill (ignoring the interesting modern livery stuff at first).

Phil

Edited May 13, 2016 by Mallard60022

[Fat Controller]

It's nice to know some people are still employed by the coal industry in country Durham, I wonder if it uses local coal?

There were a number of opencast workings around the area; some coking coal was sent from Wolshingham to Scunthorpe in the relatively recent past.

[DaveF]

Getting back to railways today we have a few photos taken at Harwich and on the line from Manningtree.

 

It may seem strange but I can remember almost every detail of the day I took the two photos in March 1975, now over 40 years ago.  It was a sunny spring like day, not many people about and warm.  I spent most of my time looking at the ships and taking photos of them and the spare buoys lying by the quay.  It was also one of the very few times I used a 400mm lens to take a photo of a train.

 

 

Wrabness Class 37 down oil going away March 75 C1884

 

 

Parkeston Quay container cranes and Ford containers 12th June 76 C2777

 

 

Harwich C1870 SNCF 141R 141R73 en route for preservation Mar 75

 

 

Harwich Interfrigo wagon and Societe Belgo Anglaise des Ferryboats wagon Feb 77 C3203

 

 

Harwich from Shotley Gate, train ferry berth to right of centre April 78 C3803

 

 

David

Edited February 1, 2019 by DaveF

[35A]

No not quite. apparently about 30 made it into TOPs still Vacuum only. D1622/3 made it to become 47041 & 47042 into 1975 and D1627 made it to 1974 before becoming 47481. All three of these where unusual in being from the vacuum braked Stones boilered locos in the series D1618-D1630, the only ones so fitted. 47123 and 47124 at least also got TOPS numbers whilst vacuum braked. Photos of vacuum braked TOPS 47's are difficult to find, but they are out there.

 

Thanks Paul. Funny how the mind plays tricks after all these years! I remember the VB 47s long before TOPS was fully implemented and I was aware that the mods including the Serck rad grilles was required before air-braking but I'd always thought that they were done as two separate projects and that the rad mods were (& had to be) completed before air-braking. Clearly not. I guess that not remembering clearly seeing the original three-piece fixed grilles "in the metal" and not having any personal photographs of locos in blue with them (probably because most of my class 47 pictures from that time were ECML expresses and air-braked freights like the Cliffe-Uddingston cement and oil/fuel trains) has coloured my memories. Thanks for putting me right - I must re-read Brian Webb some time.

[russ p]

Excellent again Dave.1884 is probably the condensate from North Walsham which still runs today. It's the only freight which serves the refinery at Parkeston now.

There are other freight services on the branch but are just for stabling in the yard such as liner trains and engineering trains. Strange how the port of Harwich as contracted while Felixstowe on the othersde of the river has boomed.

Note the bardic battery electric tail lamp on the tanks

[hmrspaul]

Thanks for that explanation.

 

I had assumed in my ignorance that Avenue and Bolsover were both the same place.

 

Some photos at both, in their last days

 

http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/chesterfieldavenue

 

http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/bolsovercoalite

 

I only ever nipped into Orgreave so not much from there http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/orgreave

 

Paul Bartlett

[73c]

Great photo's Dave. Had grandparents that lived at Dovercourt, a trip up to see them was always a treat if we went by train. Managed to get a cab ride in a 37 from Liverpool St to Manningtree one time and occasionally saw an 08 on the steep incline down to Mistley quay, waiting to join the branch. Great memories of that line.

[JohnH]

More brilliant photos David. 

 

Was it easy to access the harbourside at Harwich to photograph the wagons?

[DaveF]

More brilliant photos David. 

 

Was it easy to access the harbourside at Harwich to photograph the wagons?

 

In those days there were no fences and no signs saying you couldn't walk around.   There were people about, they just waved and said hello.

 

You couldn't walk around at Parkeston Quay, most of that was fenced.

 

Life was very different then.

 

David

[Market65]

Hi, Dave. Great photo's. The first one shows a typical oil train of the period. Very atmospheric.

Interesting to see that steam engine and rolling stock on their way for preservation.

 

With warmest regards,

 

Rob.

[jonny777]

Wasn't Bolsover the Coalite Plant, over by the M1?  I used to love the smell of that place driving by.  Glad I didn't live next to it though

 

I know exactly what you mean.

 

My parents had lots of old relatives somewhere in Nth Notts / Sth Yorks.

 

All I remember is driving through these places which were completely black; houses - shops - roads - churches; with this amazing smell that I cannot describe.

 

(You have to remember that I was of primary school age from  very rural Lincolnshire)

 

As a railway nutter (even aged 8  at that age, the main thing I noticed were that railway lines were everywhere. On a trip from near Beighton to Staveley, I could not believe the amounts of semaphore signals and trackwork.  Railway lines were everwhere.

Edited May 13, 2016 by jonny777

[Phil Bullock]

It's a 42.. you can tell by looking at the exhaust holes on the roof. On 42's they are in a line along the centre (as this one is). If its a 43 they are on the sides, on opposite corners (like a 52). This is why the roof sections on a Warship are small and easily removable so that if a 42 was fitted with and NBL engine the correct roof (and exhaust) could be fitted. So, you could get a loco with a Maybach/NBL mix with the Maybach exhaust coming out the centre, and the other end the exhaust coming out the side. The loco in this shot is D810 COCKADE.

Many thanks Mark and Martin - knew the answer would be out there

 

Phil

[hmrspaul]

In those days there were no fences and no signs saying you couldn't walk around.   There were people about, they just waved and said hello.

 

You couldn't walk around at Parkeston Quay, most of that was fenced.

 

Life was very different then.

 

David

 

I remember going to Parkestone quay in c1970 with my (to be) Bros. in Law. He wanted to ship a car to the Netherlands and had made all of the arrangements. We drove right up to the ship side beneath the cranes, the only problem was that the place seemed completely deserted. We finally found a few stevedores whom were not pleased to be disturbed, there was some important football on the telly (probably world cup) and they didn't want / expect to do any work!

 

What I don't remember is how we got home.

 

You'll see on my website many photos taken in docks. The methods varied (in advance/on the day) but they all had easyish ways of providing photographic permits, although it was incredibly rare to actually be asked to show them!

 

Paul Bartlett

[Geoff Endacott]

Bolsover is more or less due EAST of Chesterfield - other side of the M1

 

That's the trouble with mining subsidence - places don't stay still.

 

Geoff Endacott

[David41283]

An actual Interfrigo wagon (C3203). I was starting to think these were mythical things which only existed as Airfix/Dapol kits!

 

Brilliant pictures as ever.

[dvdlcs]

Hello.

 

A small rewind - C8926 (I think) - of Class 110 centre cars at Portobello.

 

They were part of the great DMU cascade to Scotland as a result of the Class 107 axle problems / late Sprinter introductions. Not sure if any Cl 110 power cars came north but at least half a dozen centre cars did - I remember a Class 47 hauling them through Waverley station, presumably on their way to Haymarket depot, where they were allocated.

 

Class 104 units, including centre cars, also came north although - along with the two or three units that hadn't left from the previous cascade south - they were fairly short lived.

 

Hope this helps.