Stick Set

[octo0072000]

here you go kelham island museum must go there again been years since i last went
i have some sheaf knives from there made by Swindon and Clayton no idea if they are still going

http://www.simt.co.uk/kelham-island-museum

 

[brightspark]

that engine powered a steel plate rolling mill once on a time .massive

 

[Benthosboy]

Pride of place on my workshop walls are a collection of stove enamelled signs from the sadly-gone Tinsley Park stainless works on Shepcote Lane. They somehow ended up in the cab, ahem, when I was running 40 foot containers into the works which we're being stripped out and shipped to India from Hull docks. I still get down there but it's across the road at Progress Rail, what was formerly Edgar Allen's, another famous Sheffield name that' s practically a memory.

Possibly one of the saddest jobs I've ever done, but at least a little part of British Steel lives on.

And one of these days I'll get round to seeing the Magna Project at Templeborough. I used to load wire rods out of Templeborough Rolling Mills many moons ago. The first time I went in to load, I told my dear old Dad about it. He told me that he used to load out of there when I was a bairn, and he used to back the artic trailer down a ramp and under the steel floorpates. The forklift then drove up to the edge of the plate and dropped the rods on the trailer. 25 years on, and I was doing exactly the same.

I also remember stripping out a big hydraulic press from the old River Don works. One day at snap time, I wandered into Firth Brown Forged Rolls. I stood mesmerised watching a 15 ton square section lump of steel forged into a roll. 30 years on and I can still see every detail. All voices were drowned out by the noise of the press but no one needed to speak. Everyone knew what wanted doing and they just did it. The term "poetry in motion" applied perfectly to these lads but again, sadly, it's all gone.

I used to say that everyone should watch steel being rolled or forged at least once. I count myself incredibly lucky to have seen it as often as I have, but feel very sad that other than on film, most people will never experience it.

 

[pedrobedro]

I've got some photos somewhere of the vertical lathe at Markham's in Chesterfield used to cut the 8.5m drilling faces of Channel Tunnel drilling machines. My dad and I visited when they'd finished the first machine and were testing it. Now that was a big lathe. Sadly all gone now.

My brother in law worked on the Channel tunnel machines while he was at Markham Engineering, he had some interesting jobs while he was there. He was sent out welding on site a few times for them as well doing turbine rotors at generating plants around the country. A foundry I worked at used to send ingots to Sheffield for rolling and forging into billet. Another old name I remember was Firth Derihon at Tinsley and I used to load a billet rolling plant when I was fork truck driving at IMI.
There's a beam engine at Papplewick pumping station that sounds like the one in Sheffield, it goes from forward to reverse at the throw of a lever and is almost silent in operation.

 

[Pid]

The train I work on was sent for wheel turning, all done whist on the machine drive over the lathe moves one side and cuts the other wheels fantastic to watch some big machines and lathes in that workshop.

 

[brightspark]

The train I work on was sent for wheel turning, all done whist on the machine drive over the lathe moves one side and cuts the other wheels fantastic to watch some big machines and lathes in that workshop.

theres one at thornaby rail workshop that cuts the rims whilst still on the engine

 

[Benthosboy]

theres one at thornaby rail workshop that cuts the rims whilst still on the engine

Where might that be?

I load out of Valmont Staintons on Teesside Industrial Estate quite often. Anywhere near?

 

[brightspark]

Where might that be?

I load out of Valmont Staintons on Teesside Industrial Estate quite often. Anywhere near?

its down the old road from thornaby to middlesbrough it runs parallel to the a 66 the marshaling yard is massive u cant miss it on google it follows next to the river