BSC Landore

[Arthur]

Rather than hi jack Brians A.R.Adams topic, here is a thread with photographs of BSC Landore, formerly part of Richard Thomas & Baldwins. The main product was haematite iron ingot moulds of which they were a major supplier. The photographs all date from 1969 and were taken whilst a new cupola furnace was being installed. I've asked Brian Williams (Fat Controller) to add some background information, Brian worked at Landore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[br2975]

Also bringing the subject of the BSC Landore locos across, the four diesels were as follows:-

 

0-4-0DH NBQ 27654/1956 purchased new

0-4-0DH NBQ 27941/1961 purchased new

0-4-0DH NBQ 28016/1960 ex BR 2763, arrived circa July, 1969 via Andrew Barclay.

0-4-0DH NBQ 27939/1959 ex BSC River Don Works 1973.

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The ex-BR loco was scrapped circa 1977, the other three survived the 1980 closure, all were preserved, although one reached preservation via George Cohen's Morriston scrapyard.

 

Brian R

[Fat Controller]

Strange to look at it being built, as I would have crossed the site with my father round about then- the family business (A P Byng of Llanelli) installed a large water tank on the site of the old Mannesman exchange sidings to serve the plant. Within a couple of years, Byngs had ceased trading, and Dad was working in the drawing office at Landore.

During my vacations in 1973/74, I also worked there; initially in the engineering stores, then in the Production Office. The work included a regular wagon census (someone had to do it..), booking in stores and playing darts.

The Hot Blast furnace, referred to as the 'New Cupola', and of German design, was similar in conception to a blast furnace- fed with a mixture of scrap, coke and limestone, it produced high-quality Spheroidal- Graphite iron. Most of this was used, as Arthur says, to produce ingot moulds for both the British and overseas (Ireland and Italy) markets. A certain amount was transferred, using a small torpedo-ladle, to the General Casting Foundry, where it was used for things like castings for 'manriders' for Tredomen Engineering (an NCB subsidary) and 'plancs' (used to cook Welsh Cakes).

There was controversy when I was there, as the furnace only seemed to be producing half what it should have- eventually, it was discovered that someone had ordered gaskets rather thinner than specified, and the thing was leaking CO. Dad and I discovered this the hard way, when we went up to 'Top Landing' one day, and almost passed out.

Production figures weren't helped either by the fact that someone was selling scrap, tipping it, then taking it back out with a layer of slag over the top. The slag and scrap were then separated with an electro-magnet, and the scrap was sold back a second time. The quantities were in the thousands of tons- another job I had was checking the total weight of scrap in against production and scrap in stock, and I had to get someone else to check my figures, as the discrepancies were so large. The person behind the scam was a respected local councillor and stalwart of 'Swansea City', IIRC.

Landore's products were despatched on a varied fleet of 'Specials'- mainly 4 and 6 axle Warflats- for the bigger moulds, and Plates and Tipplers for the smaller ones. The largest moulds went to Ravenscraig and Llanwern; the smaller ones to places like Workington, Scunthorpe and Round Oak.

By the end of the 1970s, a lot of the smaller plants were closing, whilst the bigger ones were going over to 'Continuous Casting' (which didn't need ingot moulds); Landore closed, and such work that was left went to the sister plant, Ivor Works at Dowlais.

When the plant shut, it was the end of almost two hundred years of metal working on the site- when last I passed, it was occupied by retail warehouses.

[Arthur]

Brian R, thanks for the loco info, having gone back to the original prints I can make out the distinctive NB style radiator on one of them.

 

Brian W, many thanks for the information and anecdotes, it really brings them to life. Bit of a Duke of Gloucester saga that problem with the new cupola. Was it charged by hand or mechanically?

 

I think that scrap scam was a familiar situation at quite a few works. Old copies of the ICTR occasionally had reports of court cases and convictions.

[Fat Controller]

Brian R, thanks for the loco info, having gone back to the original prints I can make out the distinctive NB style radiator on one of them.

 

Brian W, many thanks for the information and anecdotes, it really brings them to life. Bit of a Duke of Gloucester saga that problem with the new cupola. Was it charged by hand or mechanically?

 

I think that scrap scam was a familiar situation at quite a few works. Old copies of the ICTR occasionally had reports of court cases and convictions.

Charging was done by a skip on an inclined plane- the scrap was dropped into it by the same crane that unloaded the scrap wagons; not sure how the coke and lime were loaded into it.

The track used by loaded wagons into the scrap bay ran through a Strachan and Henshaw rotary tippler which was used for the coke wagons; 'flat-bottomed' minerals were inverted, the few hopper wagons would tip through the space between the rails.

The furnace would be charged up on Sunday night, and kept going until Friday lunchtime. Once the tapping had been done on Friday, the furnacemen would go to the pub; once they'd gone, the brickies would start looking at the ladles to see what work was needed. The ladles would be left to cool over Saturday, then they'd go to work on Sunday morning- 'cool' is relative, as the ladles would still have been hot enough to take the skin off you.

At one time, the works even had its own brickworks, making silica brick; the silica was mined (not quarried) near Pont Nedd Fechan, at the top of the Neath Valley. In latter years, the brickworks served as the Pattern Stores and Mould Bottom Fabrication Shop- it's the building to the right in some shots withe the line of ventilators on the ridge.

Brian

[Mark Saunders]

On the 5th picture there is an internal user 21t hopper, are there any better pictures of it?

 

Is it an ex BR wagon or purpose built iu?

 

Mark Saunders

[Fat Controller]

On the 5th picture there is an internal user 21t hopper, are there any better pictures of it?

 

Is it an ex BR wagon or purpose built iu?

 

Mark Saunders

Almost certainly a 'lost' BR one, Mark- there would have been no need for a purpose-built wagon on site. It had gone by the time I got to visit the place.

The wagon with the ingot-mould on it is one of the 'de-bodied' minerals, which would have fallen victim to an electro-magnet. The pile of 'dirt' below the mould is deliberate- it stops the mould moving about, and saves chaining.

The wagons with the moulds on in the exchange sidings are intriguing- they seem to be bogie wagons with sides, each carrying four moulds. The only wagons which fit the bill for me are 1/401 Strip Coils; they're certainly not any of the various Warflat/Warwell types that were used when I worked there in 1973/4.

In front of the hopper is the 'road' which led, via the slag heaps, to the water-tank on the high level- my dad used to belt up there in our old Cresta PB. I keep looking to see if any of our vehicles appear in shot- dad's firm did the cladding on the cupola building, as well as putting in new floors in the various stores.

[Mark Saunders]

Almost certainly a 'lost' BR one, Mark- there would have been no need for a purpose-built wagon on site. It had gone by the time I got to visit the place.

The wagon with the ingot-mould on it is one of the 'de-bodied' minerals, which would have fallen victim to an electro-magnet. The pile of 'dirt' below the mould is deliberate- it stops the mould moving about, and saves chaining.

The wagons with the moulds on in the exchange sidings are intriguing- they seem to be bogie wagons with sides, each carrying four moulds. The only wagons which fit the bill for me are 1/401 Strip Coils; they're certainly not any of the various Warflat/Warwell types that were used when I worked there in 1973/4.

In front of the hopper is the 'road' which led, via the slag heaps, to the water-tank on the high level- my dad used to belt up there in our old Cresta PB. I keep looking to see if any of our vehicles appear in shot- dad's firm did the cladding on the cupola building, as well as putting in new floors in the various stores.

 

The 21t hopper is not a current mainline wagon as it is marked with a prominent St Andrews cross denoting 'internal use'.

 

RTB had a fleet of purpose built internal user 21t hoppers from at least two different builders!

 

Workington were using ex ironstone hoppers and a catfish up to closure for moving 'scale' in the works.

 

The picture shows one of 24 of the Head Wrightson built ones.

 

Mark Saunders

[Fat Controller]

I don't remember seeing any IU wagons apart from the de-bodied 16t minerals- I didn't mean to convey the impression the wagon was 'borrowed', more that it had been bought and taken into internal use. Not sure what it would have been used for- perhaps taking coke from a stacking area?

A lot of the BR wagons on site did very little mileage on BR metals; they shuttled between the plant and the adjacent scrapyards. One of these was Cohens; the other was Wards, IIRC. When I worked there, Cohens were breaking the Blue Pullmans- dad and I wandered up one lunch-time for a look.

The majority of scrap that had travelled any distance came from Bachelor Robinson's de-tinning plant at New Dock, Llanelli- this is where any tin cans you recycle go to even today.

Brian

[Arthur]

That hopper is a cuckoo in the nest. I've looked at the orignal print with a magnifier and here is a blow up from a higher resolution scan.

 

 

It's clearer on the print but it's marked GKIS Ltd at the end, Guest Keen Iron & Steel, with Cardiff beneath that, so it's originally from East Moors. The writing under the cross says PLATELAYERS USE ONLY. I should have arranged the scans in a better order, as 5 shows the before, and 2 the after, of track re-laying.

 

Brian, are we seeing most of the works in these photos? and can you identify any of the buildings in scans2/5?

[Mark Saunders]

The mystery hopper appears to be a former Liverpool Corporation type 21 ton hopper.

 

There are or were two similar wagons preserved at Embsay and one was on Cambois C&W till it was cut up in the mid 1980's.

 

Mark Saunders

[RJS1977]

Not sure I've got my bearings on the photos yet, despite travelling through Swansea by train several times a year for the last 14 years!

 

Can anyone give me a pointer as to exactly where this was?

[Fat Controller]

The works was just to the right-hand side before you came to Landore viaduct- the main plant was some distance below the level of the main-line, with only the tops of the cupolas and the roofs being clearly visible from it. By the time I was there, the only rail connection was via the former MR line from Swansea St Thomas to Brynamman and Brecon. The connection trailed in, so Morriston-bound trains had to set back to drop off traffic. In theory, the traffic from the local scrapyards would have had to be taken to Morriston, where the loco would run round, go back to Burrows sidings, then be dropped up the next day. In practice, the trip loco would simply propel the wagons the couple of hundred yards, as this would mean only having to one trip a day. The trip loco was usually an Eastern Depot 08, though EE Type 3s did venture up sometimes.

The plant retained a lot of rail traffic for the simple reason that the road access was appalling. The single-track road came off the main Swansea- Morriston road via a sharp turn between a pub and a garage, and then crossed the canal on a hump-backed bridge. Someone thought it would be a bright idea to introduce some road competition for the heavier moulds- a low-loader duly arrived, and was loaded. However, whilst the unladen vehicle cleared the bridge, the return bottomed-out, blocking access and egress for several hours. Dad was stuck behind for a couple of hours; some of his colleagues used the various site roads to Upper Bank.

Not sure I can help much with the buildings; a lot had gone by the time I was there, or bore no clues to their original function. The white brick-built building had been the original Siemens office (or even predating that, when the site had been a copperworks- certainly, the style is similar to that at Frickers in Burry Port, which was definitely early 19th century)- in later years, I believe it housed the medical centre. To its left, when looking towards the main body of the works, was the General Casting Foundry. The main Ingot Mould Foundry was behind the cupolas, with the Fettling Shop between that and the despatch bay. Moulds would take about a week, at least, between being cast, and arriving at the despatch bay- they were still quite hot even then.

Brian W

[Arthur]

Thanks for all that info Brian. The white building also housed the canteen according to the note on the print.

[Fat Controller]

Thanks for all that info Brian. The white building also housed the canteen according to the note on the print.

Conveniently located for the medical centre..

 

A large part of the railway in the area is built on slag from the various metallurgical industries- part of the slope leading to the abutments of Landore viaduct use blocks of cast slag, whilst the retaining walls around the High St- Cockett section also use cast slag.

 

Brian W

[Mark Saunders]

This is the ex PO hopper that was at Cambois TMD. It was branded to work to Bold Power Station.

 

It is either an ex Liverpool Corporation Wagon or very similar!

 

Mark Saunders

[occasionalenthusiast]

Following the BSC Landore / rail thread, I thought you might like to see some earlier motive power at the works. Both shots taken around 1960, retrieved from the skip in 1981/82 upon closure of the works. The works yard area where the unidentified saddle tank is working was taken up by the new Central Fettling Shop c.1967. The obviously newly refurbished Peckett in the workshop is, from the plate, No.1539, built 1918? 

[Arthur]

Two excellent additions to the thread, many thanks.  Do you have any more?  

 

Arthur

[Adam]

Very, very nice, thank you. I think mid-refurbishment is nearer the mark for the Peckett - the clack valve is clearly absent on the larger size version.

 

Thanks for sharing.

Adam

[occasionalenthusiast]

Arthur,

I'm attaching a few further photos, (salvaged at the bitter end), of RTB/BSC Landore Works from the 1960s & 1970s including some of the new Hot Blast Cupola melting plant (1971/72). In the background (through the window) in the shot of the Charging Plant Desk can be seen the Scotch Derrick Crane/Mould Breaking Plant that features in some of Brian's earlier photos.

 

 

 

Nigel R

[Fat Controller]

Thanks for posting those photos, Nigel. The dust from the 'wheelbrator' shot-blasting cubicle proved very useful for weathering some model mineral wagons. I think the two people wearing hard-hats and dust coats in the last-but-one photo worked in the Drawing Office with my father (Cyril Williams)- they seem to show more regard for PPE than the man pouring the sand for the mould bottoms..If they're the people I'm thinking of, they were called Tony (the one on the left, looking a bit like Graham Garden) and Jacky.

I was slightly confused by the layout of the scrap bay- I'd always remembered it as a through siding, rather than the dead-end arrangement shown.

[occasionalenthusiast]

Hi Brian. There was a through siding in the scrap bay it's just that it's out of shot in all three photos - to the left in the first two and to the right in the third. It was quite a large bay and the original plan did not provide for much in the way of cladding. The 1971 shot from the blast furnace walls area shows an early incarnation. Further protection from the elements was deemed necessary almost immediately. The Inland Revenue then insisted that it was a building for valuation purposes but we won the argument that it was merely an item of plant & machinery with sheets attached to the supporting structure. However, we conned the Dept of Industry into accepting that it was a "building" in order to claim additional Regional Development Grant. I can't recall the exact layout but there was a wagon tippler in there somewhere for discharging coke. Metal was unloaded by OHTC electro-magnet. The aerial shot attached shows the fully clad bay including the doorway at the front end from which the rail track emerged. 

In the bottom plate moulding photo, I don't recognise the chap on the left but the guy with his hands behind his back, supervising, is Vic Dodd. Vic came to Landore from Dowlais to take over from Cueford (spelling?) Jenkins when he retired as Foundry Manager. Cueford can be seen (left) on the raised platform overlooking the shaking ladles in another of the shots. I remember your father Cyril working with Lyn Symonds in the Drawing Office just across the corridor from where I was at one time. I wonder where all the drawings/plans went from the Drawing Office? They must have been removed to Dowlais early on. I worked in the closure team up to March 1982 but never came across them. Needless to say, I would probably have helped myself to certain historical items given the chance - I have a suspicion that, generally, a lot of interesting material finds it's way to a guy with a box of matches.

 

[Arthur]

Fascinating photographs and notes Nigel, thanks for taking the time and trouble for posting them.

 

I'm sure you're right that, over the years, a treasure trove of old photos and documents have been put to the torch.

 

I was going to ask you a question about part of the process which is illustrated, and you might have answered part of it in your last post.

 

I can identify the cupola furnace but there seems to be an intermediate process between that and the final casting ladles, used for pouring the hot metal into the moulds.

 

What are the vessels into which the cupola furnace is casting, are they what you refer to as 'shaking' ladles? What's their purpose and how are they used? There seems to be a couple of receiving stations for them, and there appears to be a couple of spare vessels awaiting their next duty.

 

You mention the mould breaking crane, did Landore receive life expired moulds from the various steelworks and re-cycle them?

 

Thanks

Arthur

[occasionalenthusiast]

I hope the following goes someway to answering your question, Arthur, but please note that I'm a simple pen-pusher and not a metallurgist!

The cupola had a melting capacity of around 40 tonnes per hour. The molten iron was tapped into two 25 tonne, refractory lined shaking ladles, alternately by means of a swivelling launder. (Re-bricked spare vessels were to hand).

The molten iron was refined in the shaking ladles by the addition of coke breeze, ferro-silicon, ferro-manganese, lime, aluminium etc depending on the specification of the iron required. The ladles sat in u-shaped arms that shook them backwards and forwards, side to side. A bit like stirring sugar into a cup of tea by shaking the cup rather than by using a spoon. The refining of the metal in Shaking Ladle No.1 would continue (10/15 minutes) while No.2 Ladle was being filled.

The refined, laboratory-tested, metal was then poured into the pouring ladles that were run down to the casting bay by OHTC.

When casting operations were planned in the smaller General Foundry, a shaking ladle was detached from its assembly and transported there on a rail carriage (made by BSC Distington?). The shaking ladle could be tilted on the rail car for pouring into smaller crane ladles. (Cranage in the General Foundry was restricted to 10 tonnes SWL.)

Most of the heavy iron foundries recycled time-expired and failed ingot moulds returned from the steelworks.

Regards, Nigel

[Fat Controller]

I hope the following goes someway to answering your question, Arthur, but please note that I'm a simple pen-pusher and not a metallurgist!

The cupola had a melting capacity of around 40 tonnes per hour. The molten iron was tapped into two 25 tonne, refractory lined shaking ladles, alternately by means of a swivelling launder. (Re-bricked spare vessels were to hand).

The molten iron was refined in the shaking ladles by the addition of coke breeze, ferro-silicon, ferro-manganese, lime, aluminium etc depending on the specification of the iron required. The ladles sat in u-shaped arms that shook them backwards and forwards, side to side. A bit like stirring sugar into a cup of tea by shaking the cup rather than by using a spoon. The refining of the metal in Shaking Ladle No.1 would continue (10/15 minutes) while No.2 Ladle was being filled.

The refined, laboratory-tested, metal was then poured into the pouring ladles that were run down to the casting bay by OHTC.

When casting operations were planned in the smaller General Foundry, a shaking ladle was detached from its assembly and transported there on a rail carriage (made by BSC Distington?). The shaking ladle could be tilted on the rail car for pouring into smaller crane ladles. (Cranage in the General Foundry was restricted to 10 tonnes SWL.)

Most of the heavy iron foundries recycled time-expired and failed ingot moulds returned from the steelworks.

Regards, Nigel

The cast-iron produced at Landore was referred to as Spheroid Graphite, IIRC.

Returned moulds would come back by rail (the original idea of using redundant Iron-Ore Tipplers for transporting moulds was so they could back-load scrap moulds, I believe), then being tipped under the Scotch Derrick to be broken up at leisure. It was an idea not to overfill the tea-mug when the derrick was working..

The General Foundry used to do a sideline in 'plancs' (bakestones) with any spare metal at the end of the pour; sadly, ours got thrown out when mum moved to a flat, which means my Welsh Cakes this afternoon are being done on an inferior commercial one.

The ladle carriers, along with ladles and other bits of kit came from BSC Distington, Workington, another part of Foundries, Forges and Engineering. The General Foundry did a lot of work for Tredomen Engineering, a part of NCB.