Arthur

Yes, Auden's chessmen I always thought a very poetic description of blast furnaces. As far as the gouts of flame, Brian has, reasonably, suggested Bessemer convertors, like this at Ebbw Vale; Not so much a flame, more a volcanic eruption lasting about 15 minutes. However, I think this unlikely. Bessemers were relatively rare in this country, Teeside was very much open hearth steelmaking country and DL definitely had no Bessemer convertors. Some of the smaller steel founders used them and smaller tropenas convertors, so it's just possible one of these was operating locally. If what you saw was actually a flame then I think the most likely explanation would be gas escaping from a coke oven when the door is removed and then igniting. That would be a brief flare but might occur every few minutes. If, however, you saw an intense glow, perhaps reflecting off smoke or vapour, then that could be a blast furnace being tapped, hot coke being pushed, soaking pits being charged, activity at the pig caster, a whole range of possibilities in fact.

Sadly not Gordon, not that I can post anyway. There is an article on the Dorman Long Sentinels in Industrial Railway Record 168 which contains some good photographs of both rigid and articulated versions. If you look at my Locomotive and Rolling Stock Manufacturers thread in this same sub-forum (sorry, cannot give a direct link at the moment) you'll find a photo and some info on the rigid version as supplied to GKN's East Moors works.

Something on Dorman Longs extensive railway system and an answer to Davids question above. Firstly a schematic showing the railways serving the various works. A close up of the lines serving the ore wharf at South Bank, circled in Davids post above, showing the electrified lines. A couple of shots showing the ore unloaders and the electric locos at work. The electric locos were used on a captive circuit moving ore from the wharf to the stocking grounds just south of it. Ore wagons were hauled, by rope, up the gantry shown in the next photo and their contents dumped onto the ore stocking piles beneath. DL had some 45t capacity hopper wagons built for this service. Along with a large fleet of conventional steam locomtives in the 1950's DL took into service some Sentinels for use at the Clay Lane plant. shown below is the single, double ended, articulated locomotive used on coke traffic. Fireless locomotives were used at theLackenby open hearth plant for moving ingot bogies. Another specialised wagon was this bogie open used for moving crop ends, the ends of rolled blooms which contained flaws and slag, which were returned to the open hearth plant for re smelting. Two photos of sidings serving the Clay lane works, the lower one shows some of the colour light signaling used for traffic control at this busy point. And finally, two photos showing the hot sinter transfer car. Sinter required cooling and DL's method copied that used at coke ovens. The transfer car was loaded with the hot sinter, run out onto the gantry and the hot sinter dumped onto the bench for cooilng. Not a method I've seen used elsewhere.

Family - Anyway

You've put a lot of work into that Ryan and it's really paid off, a stunning result. It really captures the last years of steam around Manchester.

James, your wish, sir, is my command Firstly a Hudswell Clark with ingot bogies and moulds in the Normanby Park mould preparation bay. You can just see one of the open hearths to the left of the loco; and a later Sentinel destined for Normanby Park; Neither Normanby Park nor Redbourn have anything like the amount of of photos or information about them that Appleby Frodingham does though I do have other, non rail, stuff about them. The AF book is one of a series of technical surveys of various works published by the Iron & Coal Trades Review. The AF one dates from around 1958 and is probably the one most readily found today, though they still take some finding. It's just as the title suggests, an illustrated description of the works, it's plant and activities.

Thanks Kenton, a timely addition as I've pretty much run out of ads to post! Rolling stock is all very well but what about track; Firstly Summerson showing the elevated track leading into the new Lackenby open hearth plant. The building seen in the mid background is the ingot mould preparation shed and there's a wagon turntable on a spur leading from it. One from Wards showing sidings at Ravenscraig with a hot metal car to the right. And finally Grant Lyon built sidings at Lancashire Steel. Looking north, the works are to the left and the former CLC Northenden-Irlam line is to the right, on an embankment, as it drops down from the high level crossing over the Manchester Ship Canal. Despite the proximity of this line, and because of difficulties presented by the height difference, the works didn't have a direct link with the national network until the mid 50s, prior to that all rail traffic was handled by the Manchester Ship Canal system. Within four years of opening these sidings had handled a million wagons. Note the L type containers on the left carrying dolomite used to fettle the open hearth furnaces.

Bit of a diversion, and not a great photo, but worthwhile because Gjers. Mills and Co., were one of the longest established of the Teeside Ironmakers. Their Ayresome works, in the old ironmasters district, was established in 1870 and produced high quality hematite iron for the foundry trade. After the first, brief, period of nationalistaion in 1951 they were acquired by the Millom Hematite Ore & Iron Co., of Cumberland. The demand for such high quality foundry irons dropped sharply after world war two and the ageing plant, by then down to a single operating furnace, closed in 1965 with the loss of 400 jobs. The image (probably mid 1950s) is looking south across the Tees with the row of blast furnaces to the left. There appear to be four or five standing, they are small, hand charged and a real anachronism. Hand charging means that the raw materials are gathered at the foot of the furnaces in wheeled skips, hoisted to the top in a hydraulically powered elevator and then wheeled out across the 'skip bridge' linking all the furnaces and tipped manualy onto the top bell. The elevators, there seem to be two, are the brick towers between the second and third and third and fourth furnaces. Open pig beds are in front of the furnaces complete with overhead crane and the plume of steam could be from a cast being cooled. And this is hand charging, Brymbo in 1964, hard graft in all weathers and with the ever present risk of carbon monoxide poisoning atop the furnace.

Though already posted under another thread, Brian made the very sensible suggestion that these images would aslo fit nicely here; The first two are BR publicity shots, sadlys no locations given but firstly an Austin WE and Pagefield crane; and a Thornycroft Nippy of the Western Region; This is a BICC publicity shot from Leigh, Lancs where BICC had a factory; And three more BR publicity shots; A Bedford OSS with Scammell drop frame trailer; A 3t Scarab loaded wth carpets (according to the caption?); and a Dodge being loaded with steel coil at Great Bridge, Birmingham;

An AEI ad. from 1962 showing a locomotive built in 1931. A diesel electric Bo-Bo built by Metropolitan Vickers for service at Fords Dagenham plant. AEI was a holding company formed in 1928 and included both Metro Vicks and BTH. Up to 1959 both companies operated largely independenty and competed with each other but from 1959 the separate names were dropped and the all the AEI companies operated as a single marketing unit. The photo shows the locomotive at work in the vicinity of the Dagenham blast furnace, the only 'modern' blast furnace to operate in the South East.

Blimey, that must have been some task, thanks Brian, that's excellent! Arthur

Hi Paul, Thanks for the photos and current update, it's good to see that at least something has survived of what was once one of the UK's most progressive ironworks. Sorry but I'm afraid that I don't have any photos of local ironstone trains, my collection covers pretty much the works themselves. I will be posting some photos of Dorman Long's internal rail operations later on. Some more on Dorman Long; Firstly two of the three Bessemer blast furnaces as they were in the 1930s and 40s. In 1947 they were modernised and rebuilt with 18' 6" hearths and in this form two of them lasted into the 1990s, outlasting the more modern Clay Lane furnaces. One of them was assigned to the arduous duty of smelting ferro manganese, Dorman Long was one of five companies in a government supported manganese cartel. Manganese and it's ferro alloys were of strategic importance as manganese was essential in the production of armour plate. It was used generally to make hard wearing steel e.g. parts of track turnouts. Two of the Redcar blast furnaces were modernised in 1953 with 18' hearths and they supplied basic iron to the Redcar open hearth shop for conversion into steel for the plate mills. An aerial photo of Dorman Longs Cleveland works complex from the mid 1960s. Top left is the River Tees with the South Bank ore wharf and the ore stocking grounds behind. To the the left rear of the gasometer are the South Bank coke ovens and, to the right rear of the gasometer, the sinter plant. Running between the sinter plant and the gasometer is the Middlesborough-Redcar main line. In front of the gasometer are the three Clay Lane blast furnaces. Running vertically from the centre lower edge are the Bessemer coke ovens and blast furnaces. To their right is a crowded complex of rolling mills bounded top and bottom by the Cleveland North and South open hearth melting shops respectively. Open hearth plants are readily identified by the row of evenly spaced chimneys serving the individual furnaces. Should you feel inspired to model this lot, here is a plan. Let me know before you buy any track, I'll get some PECO shares...... and a drawing of one of the Clay Lane furnaces, around 250' high, so in 4mm, thats 1 metre or 40".

Three more, Firstly a Yorkshire one off; Something from GEC and some Sentinels; The lower locomotive was one of three, a 200hp design, ordered by GKN for service at their East Moors works in Cardiff in 1956. They had followed on from an essentially similar design ordered by Dorman Long for use at their Cleveland Iron and Steelworks at Middlesborough. The DL locomotives had to pass under a bridge with restricted headroom and were supplied with a cab cut down so that it was little higher than the bonnet. To my eyes this gave them a much more powerfull and purposeful appearance. DL had eight and all were oil fired. DL then went one better and ordered a double ended articulated version of 400hp for service at the South Bank coke ovens. I'll post a picture of that under the Steelmaking on Teeside thread. Industrial Railway Record 168 carries an illustrated account of the Dorman Long locomotives.

Brilliant, I half expected Mr Cholmondley-Warner to appear with a public information film on the dangers of shunting!!

Redemption - Shadows Fall

Thanks Marc, I've used Wills corrugated iron sheeting but not the asbestos, I'll have to check it out. Hope to get to Taunton and see it in the flesh. Arthur

Terrific work Marc, I've been following from the start and it has come together really well, captures the look perfectly. I've been looking at the new grey building to the left, the corrugated sheeting is excellent. Is it the Wills corrugated sheeting that you've used on that building?

I think that anywhere that the NCB had running powers over BR lines the regulations demanded the use of a brake van.

Hearing that turbine spin up I almost expected to hear the brakes release and the thing to shoot off like a 747! Really nice that, always had a soft spot for UP super power

I had work related cover for myself and my wife until May last year when I took voluntary redundancy/ early retirement. As with you Gordon, we looked at the premiums and it wasn't really viable to continue. Inevitably, come September, we wished we had when my wife suffered a prolapsed disc and couldn't walk or even sit. Cutting a long story short, the NHS were so uncertain about when it could be operated on that we went private and paid ourselves. The op was done in early November on the day that she would have had her first Consultant appointment with the NHS. Very possibly she might still not have had the op. on the NHS. We were very lucky that we could afford it and feel for those who cannot. On a lighter note 'and with a 'contains topics of a sexual mature warning' An MP is having a tour of his local hospital. Looking into a side ward he spots a male patient, eyes bulging and red faced, furiously (and I can be no less direct) relieving himself with his right hand. "GOOD GOD" explodes the MP,  "that's absolutely disgraceful, and in an NHS hospital!"  The doctor glances in the room and says "Ah, he has a rare condition called Seminal Hypertension, unless the pressure is relieved every hour or so his testicles will rupture and his ###### split". "Oh! The poor man" says the MP, "what marvellous work you do here". A little later in the tour, as the surroundings become a good deal more pleasant, the MP catches the most outrageous sight in plush, private room. Easing back over the bed, eyes glazed, is a patient. Kneeling before him and performing the most intimate and personal service is a busty young nurse. Before the incandescent  MP can speak the doctor raises a calming hand and says, "Same condition but he's with BUPA....."

Moorlander, yeah, bit of an own goal that and unbelievably insensitive, half your fans rely on local steel for employment and you buy it in Germany! A bit about Cargo Fleet; Like most of the U.K.'s integrated works Cargo Fleet started off as purely an iron works using the typical Cleveland practice of large blast furnaces. Situated in the heart of Middlesborough's ironmasters district it had it's own wharfage on the Tees and good rail links, though in later years the site became a little cramped. At less than 200 acres, by the 1950's, that was one of the smaller works sites. Cargo Fleet iron works was acquired by the South Durham Iron & Steel Co. in 1901 and the works completely redeveloped, the five blast furnaces were demolished and a new integrated works with coke ovens, blast furnaces, open hearth steel plant and rolling mills based on the best U.S. and German practice. Despite this Cargo Fleet always struggled financially, it's products were rails, beams and sections, all very straightforward and with a lot of competition, specially from cheap, dumped, imports. Cargo Fleet secured a licence to roll Larrsen steel piling which gave it a good trade for over forty years. Here's the works sometime between the mid 1930's an 50's. River Tees to the north with ore wharf and export dock, coke ovens centre right with three blast furnaces in front of them. Centre left, under the drifting smoke, is the open hearth plant, soaking pit chimneys in front of that and rolling mills cente left foreground. Output was around 350,000 ingot tons per annum. Considerable development took place post war including new a new ore wharf and extra coke ovens. Two of the blast furnaces were rebuilt in the 1950's by Ashmore Benson Pease & Co., No.1 in 1952 with a 20 ft hearth and No. 3, shown here, around 1956 with a 22ft 6ins hearth. No 3 cost just over £1 million and these were typical medium sized units of their day. Between them stood No. 2, you can just see it's downcomer in this shot, and I'm unsure how much it worked from this period on. These were the furnaces which supplied the Consett Works in 1969 with hot metal via a 63 mile run over B.R. rails. Cargo Fleets coke ovens closed in 1961 and coke was brought in after that, possibly from the new batteries at South Durhams new South Works. The largest post war development at Cargo Fleet was the building of the Universal Beam Mill, seen to the right in the colour photo, to compete with that at Dorman Longs and take advantage of the demand from the building and civil engineering trades. This cost South Durham over £4 million and was commissioned in 1962. A universal beam mill is fed with a billet, something like a large bullhead rail in section, and is then able to roll every facet of the beam, and produce a deep 'H' section, in a single stand though it is not a continuous mill, the section needs to be rolled back and forth. The beams produced can be used as they are or provide other options; As nationalisation approached in 1967 Cargo Fleets future was bleak, it was a small works with little space for development and dependent on open hearth steel making. It was one of the first works, around 1971, to lose it's iron and steel making capacity under the British Steel Corporation. Cargo Fleet became a secondary mill under the Steel Corporation producing rails, beams, sections and piling from it's Heavy Section and Universal mills.

I've found that Telphers do not need to have man riding capability so pretty much what you've built, anybody asks and it's a Telpher!! I've also remembered that the L&Y installed a lightweight version at Manchester Victoria. It had a man riding carriage and spanned the through lines to link both sides of the station. Slung beneath was a large wicker basket used to transfer parcels across the station. I think it went out of use in LMS days.

Dave, that arrangement is very like a simplified Telpher, so no reason at all that it shouldn't work. If you look at my Loco ads and find the Ruston one at Ravenscraig, there is a Telpher operating at the front corner of the melting shop, supported on splay legged gantries. A Telpher has a man riding car, suspended from a single girder monorail, with a grab under it. They do just what your system does but on a larger scale. I've photos if it's of any interest.

Also Chilton Ironworks and, again, subject of an MRJ build article.

How about this for some industrial modeling, a 1/32 scale coking plant; http://modeltrainsweathered.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4411 Every garden should have one.