1893 Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Visits to Works
Note: This is a sub-section of 1893 Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Visits to Works (Excursions) in the Middlesbrough and Hartlepool areas
Newport Iron Works
SIR B. SAMUELSON AND CO., NEWPORT IRON WORKS, MIDDLESBROUGH.
Newport Ironworks
These works, situated at A, Plate 55, may be divided into two portions: the western or older portion, built in 1863 and comprising five blast-furnaces; and the eastern or newer portion, built in 1870 and comprising three blast-furnaces. The eight blast-furnaces are from 84 to 85 feet high, with boshes varying from 20 to 28 feet diameter. One furnace has recently been re-lined upon Messrs. Hawdon and Howson's plan (page 263), having three boshes, or shoulders, varying from 20 to 25 feet diameter; it is said to give excellent results, yielding no less than 700 to 800 tons of Cleveland iron per week.
Blast at a pressure of 5 1/2 to 6 lbs. per square inch is supplied by two double and eight single blowing engines. Two furnaces in the western group are blown independently, each by its own engine; but in other cases the blast mains are common to several furnaces. The two double engines are simple non-condensing. Of the eight single engines, five are simple non-condensing, two are compound condensing, and one is simple condensing. The three last have recently been altered from simple non-condensing, and considerable saving in steam has thereby been effected. The blast is heated to a temperature of 1,400° Fahr. by Cowper stoves, of which there are seventeen in all; ten are 54 feet high by 23 feet diameter, four are 64 feet by 21 feet, and three are 64 feet by 23 feet. Steam at a pressure of 65 lbs. per square inch is supplied to the blowing engines by thirty-eight boilers, 35 feet long by 5 ft. 6 ins. diameter, each having a single flue 2 ft. 8 ins. diameter, in which furnace gas is burned. The feed-water is heated by the exhaust steam to 208° Fahr. There are in all thirteen calcining kilns, of which a portion are employed for roasting Cleveland ore, the remainder being used as bunkers for ore. Behind each row of blast-furnaces is a gantry running parallel thereto, and surmounting the kilns and bunkers. The hoists for lifting loaded trucks at one end are worked by a direct-acting steam cylinder, while the drops at the other end are worked by brakes. The furnace hoists which serve the western group are of the water-balance kind; and those which serve the eastern group are worked by winding engines placed in a house above the charging platform.
Three classes of pig-iron are produced, namely:— hematite from Spanish ore; Cleveland from ore obtained from their Slapewath mine near Guisborough, and other Cleveland mines; and basic for use in the Bessemer basic steel-making process, containing about 21 per cent. of phosphorus. The outputs per furnace are respectively 800, 700, and 600 tons per week. Each furnace is provided with one of Hawdon's slag machines (Proceedings 1892, page 70), whereby the molten scoria is cooled and loaded into trucks in the form of shingle, which is subsequently deposited out at sea. About 5,000 tons of slag per week are at present dealt with. Belonging to the works is an extensive wharf on the river side, where ore is unloaded and pig-iron shipped; and also a wharf where slag is tipped into hopper barges.
Newport Rolling Mills
MESSRS. JOHN HILL AND CO., NEWPORT ROLLING MILLS, MIDDLESBROUGH.
Newport Rolling Mills
These works, situated at B, Plate 55, were built in 1864 by Messrs. Fox, Head and Co., by whom they were owned and operated, until in 1888 they were leased by them to Messrs. John Hill and Co., who subsequently purchased and remodelled them. The manufacture carried on is that of iron plates and sheets for ships, bridges, etc. Steel plates and sheets are also rolled from blooms supplied by local steel-makers.
The forge contains fifty puddling furnaces, two 50-cwt. steam hammers, and a 22-inch forge-train fitted with clutch reversing-gear and a four-cylinder steam screwing-gear. The train is driven by a 28-inch horizontal non-condensing engine. In the mill department there are fourteen heating furnaces, fitted with charging gear worked by a small steam engine through Weston friction-clutches; a blooming mill driven by a pair of 24 x 30 inches vertical engines; and a 28-inch finishing mill containing three stands of rolls, namely roughing, finishing, and sheet rolls. The mill is reversed by a steam clutch, and is driven by an unusually powerful horizontal non-condensing steam-engine with cylinder 48 inches diameter and 54 inches stroke, controlled by Schaeffer and Budenberg's governor and variable expansion-gear. The slide-valve can be put in gear with a special steam-cylinder, and so moved or reversed. There are three plate-shears. The heavier plates are handled by means of chains, which are worked from drums driven by an auxiliary engine.
Steam at a pressure of 50 lbs. per square inch is supplied by twenty-four vertical boilers heated by the waste gases from the puddling and heating furnaces. No hand-firing is necessary since the works passed into the hands of the present firm.
The output of the works is about 800 tons of iron and steel plates per week. They vary in thickness from 1/8 inch up to 1 1/4 inch, and in area sometimes reach 230 square feet.
Britannia and West Marsh Steel and Iron Works
MESSRS. DORMAN, LONG AND CO., BRITANNIA and WEST MARSH STEEL and IRON WORKS, MIDDLESBROUGH.
Dorman, Long and Co
The product of the Britannia Steel Works, situated at D, Plate 55, consists of steel joists, tees, angles, and bars of all sections. The steel-melting shop contains ten acid-lined open-hearth furnaces, namely five of 40 tons capacity, which are among the largest in the district, and five of 30 tons capacity. Each is provided with a separate wrought-iron chimney. Gas is generated by producers of the Ingham type. The steel is cast into 3-ton ingots, which are carried by a narrow-gauge railway to the vertical heating furnaces. The latter are heated by producer gas on the regenerative reversing principle, being provided at each end with a pair of chambers, that is one chamber for air and one for gas. The furnaces can each accommodate from twelve to fourteen ingots, which are introduced and withdrawn by a crane through lids in the top. From the heating furnaces the ingots pass on to the 36-inch cogging mill, which is provided with live-roller gear, and is driven by a pair of 50 x 60-inch reversing engines, made by Messrs. Davy Brothers, Sheffield. The bloom passes thence on live rollers to the hot-bloom shears, capable of cutting a sectional area of 140 square inches. The blooms so cut are taken by a self-moving crane to the re-heating furnaces, each capable of heating a bloom 11 1/2 feet long. When re-heated the blooms are taken by a narrow-gauge locomotive to the finishing mills. The larger of the two mills has lately been provided with live rollers, one set for each stand. They are driven by a pair of auxiliary engines, fitted with friction clutches, by means of which any one set can be put into operation without the rest. The mill is also provided with traversing gear. The joists are sawn to length while still hot; overhead steam travelling cranes are used to take them from the hot bank to the straightening machines, and from the latter to the railway trucks and to the wharf for shipment. The output of steel joists and bars is about 1,500 tons per week. The new girder-shop is fitted with every facility for producing girder work or columns, built up of section bars. Both air and hydraulic riveting are used, but the former is preferred. The largest joists here rolled are 18 inches deep and 7 inches broad. The strength of the material is as follows:— breaking stress 28 to 32 tons per square inch; elongation 20 per cent.; contraction of sectional area 40 per cent.
The West Marsh Iron Works, situated at C, Plate 55, produce iron angles and bars. The forge contains twenty puddling furnaces, one 4-ton steam-hammer, and a 20-inch forge train. The mill comprises eleven heating furnaces, and a 16-inch and a 10-inch mill.
The output is about 600 tons per week.
Galvanizing Works, Ayrton Rolling Mills
MESSRS. R. P. DORMAN AND CO., GALVANIZING AND CORRUGATING WORKS, AYRTON ROLLING MILLS, MIDDLESBROUGH.
R. P. Dorman and Co, Ayrton Rolling Mills
Situated at E, Plate 55, these are at present the only works in the Cleveland district where galvanized and corrugated sheets are made; their manufacture was begun about three years ago. The forge contains thirty puddling furnaces, two steam-hammers, and a forge train. There are five sheet mills with the necessary heating and annealing furnaces. The galvanizing and corrugating department contains the usual pickling troughs, galvanizing baths, and corrugating machinery. The sheets vary in thickness from No. 18 to No. 30 Birmingham wire-gauge, that is from 0.049 to 0.012 inch; in size they can be rolled up to 10 feet by 40 inches. The output is about 200 tons of galvanized and corrugated sheets per week, most of which is sent to India, Australia, and China.
The works also produce puddle bars, wedge and packing iron, and black sheets.
Ayresome Iron Works
MESSRS. GJERS, MILLS AND CO., AYRESOME IRON WORKS, MIDDLESBROUGH.
Gjers, Mills and Co
Situated at F, Plate 55, these works were built in 1870. They comprise four blast-furnaces, each 85 feet high by 25 feet diameter at the bosh, and 8 ft. 6 ins. diameter in the hearth. The present output is about 2,900 tons of hematite and special foundry pig-iron per week, made principally from Spanish ore. Air is supplied to the furnaces by three vertical blowing-engines, having 40-inch steam and 96-inch air cylinders, with 48 inches stroke. These deliver into a common main at a pressure of 5 lbs. per square inch. The blast is then heated to a temperature of 1,100° Fahr. by pipe stoves, of which there are four blocks, each comprising six stoves, and each stove containing fourteen pipes. Steam is supplied to the blowing engines at a pressure of 50 lbs. per square inch by twelve plain cylindrical boilers, 60 feet long by 4 1/2 feet diameter, and four new Lancashire boilers 30 feet long by 8 feet diameter. The flues of the former are all connected to a brick chimney 120 feet high; while those of the latter end in a separate wrought-iron chimney 50 feet high to each boiler. All the boilers are fired by waste gas. The furnace walls are cooled by water-blocks, and also by water trickling over the outside of the brickwork.
The hoists are on the pneumatic principle invented by Mr. Gjers. A central vertical tube or air-cylinder, 36 inches diameter inside, extending from the ground to the charging platform, acts as a guide to the cage. A heavy piston inside, connected with the cage by means of wire ropes and pulleys, counterbalances the weight of the latter and of a set of barrows and of their contents when half full. The top of the tube is open to the air. The lower end is connected through a D slide-valve, worked by hand, with the suction or delivery pipe of an air pump worked by a steam engine. When the cage ascends, the piston is drawn down from the top by a vacuum of about 3 to 5 lbs. per square inch; when it descends, a pressure of about 4 lbs. per square inch forces the piston up to the top.
Behind the blast-furnaces is a gantry 36 feet high, for charging the calcining kilns and mineral bunkers. Of the former there are in all eight, 33 feet high by 24 feet diameter; but of these only one is in use. At one end of the gantry the full trucks are raised by a pneumatic hoist on the principle just described, and at the other end are lowered by a pneumatic drop, the air being made to act as a brake. The works include three wharves upon the river, one for shipping pig-iron, one for unloading ore, and one for taking slag out to sea in hopper-barges.
The following kinds of iron, branded "Ayresome," are made here — special foundry iron; hematite for either Bessemer or Siemens steel; ferro-silicon; and silico-Spiegel.
North Eastern Steel Works
THE NORTH EASTERN STEEL WORKS, MIDDLESBROUGH.
North Eastern Steel Works
These works, situated at G, Plate 55, were built in 1883. for the manufacture of basic Bessemer steel by the Thomas-Gilchrist process. They are within a short distance of several blast-furnace works, from which iron may be obtained as pig or in a molten condition.
The Bessemer department contains four 10-ton converters. They are mounted upon a gantry 22 feet high, to which bogie ladles or trucks are raised by two 20-ton hydraulic lifts. There are six cupolas for melting pig-iron, with charging platforms on the gantry level; they are used when molten iron is not obtained direct from the blast-furnaces. On the gantry level are also the tapping holes of the spiegel cupolas, the charging platforms being 12 feet higher, to which the necessary minerals are elevated by means of a 2-ton hydraulic hoist. Behind the converters is the basic shop, where the linings are made for the four portions of the converters, namely nozzle, body, bottom, and plug. The lining consists of shrunk and ground dolomite (magnesian limestone, a double carbonate of magnesia and lime), mixed with boiled tar and baked. The raw dolomite is shrunk in cupolas, into which it is charged with coke, and from which it is drawn at intervals. It is then ground, together with about 10 per cent. of its weight of boiled tar. The ground mixture is formed into bricks, with which the body of the converter is lined. The nozzle and bottom are formed of the same material in a plastic state, rammed in and baked by a fire placed in the centre. The plug is similarly formed by ramming round steel pins, which are subsequently withdrawn, thus leaving the necessary blast-holes; a week's baking completes the plug. Over the converter shop is a 10-ton travelling crane, and over the basic shop a 30-ton. Blast is supplied to the converters by two vertical non-condensing blowing engines, each having a 40-inch steam and a 54-inch air cylinder with 60 inches stroke.
The contents of the converters are poured into one of two ladles carried on hydraulic radial cranes. These transfer the ladle to a central casting-crane, commanding a circular casting-pit 60 feet diameter. The ingots when sufficiently cool are stripped and removed by ingot cranes, of which there are four, and are conveyed to the cogging mill. This consists of a single stand of rolls 36 inches diameter, and is connected by spur gearing with a pair of horizontal non-condensing reversing engines, having cylinders 40 inches diameter and 60 inches stroke. The ingots after being cogged down into slabs or billets are cut by a horizontal shears, and are then conveyed by live rollers to the finishing mill. This comprises two stands of 28-inch rolls, driven direct by a pair of horizontal engines having cylinders 50 inches diameter and 54 inches stroke. The finished rails or bars are then sawn to length, and passed on to the loading bank.
Near the cogging mill are the heating furnaces, which are vertical and coal-fired. There is also a range of twenty-four Lancashire boilers, 28 feet long and 7 feet diameter, working at a pressure of 90 lbs. per square inch. The feed-water passes through economisers, in which the temperature is raised to 250° Fahr. The hydraulic pumping apparatus includes two pairs of horizontal pumping engines with cylinders 26 inches diameter and 36 inches stroke, each cylinder working two 6-inch rams; also two accumulators with 24-inch rams and 15 feet stroke.
The output of the works per week is about 3,000 tons of ingots and 2,600 tons of finished steel. The latter comprises rails, blooms, billets, and bars, for sleepers, tinplates, stampings, wire, nail strips, tubes, etc.
Acklam Iron Works
THE ACKLAM IRON WORKS, MIDDLESBROUGH.
Acklam Iron Works
These works, which were established by Messrs. Stevenson, Wilson, Jaques and Co. in 1865, are situated at H, Plate 55, and comprise four blast-furnaces, 70 feet high by 22 1/2 feet diameter at the bosh, with usual accessories. The minerals are raised to the charging platform by a winding engine and inclined plane and by a vertical lift. The blast is supplied by four vertical non-condensing blowing engines, two having 48-inch steam and 100-inch air cylinders, and the two others 44-inch steam and 96-inch air cylinders. The blast is heated by Cowper stoves, of which there are twelve. Steam is generated in twelve Beeley three-flued boilers heated by the furnace gases; six of these are 35 feet long by 8 1/2 feet diameter, five are 37 1/2 feet long by 8 1/2 feet diameter, and one is 30 feet long by 8 feet diameter. Behind the furnaces there is a row of eight calcining kilns, 60 feet high by 30 feet diameter, and the usual mineral bunkers. All are surmounted by a gantry, from which the trucks discharge their contents. Basic and Cleveland pig-iron are here produced, the average output per furnace per week being about 650 tons. The company own a wharf having a frontage of 220 feet, for exporting their pig-iron and importing materials. The slag is tipped on an adjacent heap. The works are connected by a siding with the North Eastern Railway. The total number of men employed is about 300.
Linthorpe Iron Works
EDWARD WILLIAMS, LINTHORPE IRON WORKS, MIDDLESBROUGH.
Linthorpe Iron Works
These works, situated at I, Plate 55, were erected in 1864 by Messrs. Hopkins, Lloyd and Co. to the designs and under the supervision of Mr. John Gjers, and subsequently passed into the hands of the late Mr. Edward Williams. They comprise six blast-furnaces, 78 1/2 feet high by 21 to 22 feet diameter at the bosh. The three furnace-hoists are on Gjers' pneumatic principle (page 342). Blast is supplied up to a pressure of 6 lbs. per square inch by seven blowing engines of the vertical non-condensing kind usual in the Cleveland district. Steam at a pressure of 53 lbs. per square inch is generated in seven Lancashire boilers, 30 feet long by 71 feet diameter, and fifteen plain cylindrical boilers, 60 feet long by 4 feet diameter. The blast is heated by Cowper stoves. Behind the furnaces is a row of calcining kilns and mineral bunkers, surmounted by a gantry 50 feet high by 600 feet long. Loaded trucks are raised at one end and empties lowered at the other, by means of a pneumatic hoist and drop, similar to those in use at the Ayresome Iron Works. The iron is removed from the six pig-beds and loaded direct into trucks by means of a rope-driven travelling crane, which can reach every part of the pig-beds. The slag is removed by Truran's and Hawdon's machines, and is subsequently deposited out at sea by hopper barges. The works are connected by sidings with the North Eastern Railway, and include a wharf on the river Tees, where ore is imported and pig-iron shipped. Both hematite and Cleveland pig-iron are produced.
Teesside Iron and Engine Works
THE TEES SIDE IRON AND ENGINE WORKS CO., MIDDLESBROUGH.
The Tees Side Iron Works, situated at J, Plate 55, were established in 1857 by Messrs. Snowdon and Hopkins. They comprised two small furnaces, as well as bar and rail mills. In 1865 the firm amalgamated with Messrs. Gilkes, Wilson and Co., engineers, and was thenceforth styled Messrs. Hopkins, Gilkes and Co. In 1867 the original blast-furnaces were rebuilt, and two new ones were added. The present furnaces are 75 feet high by 24 feet diameter at the bosh. The hoists are two in number, and constructed on Gjers' pneumatic principle (page 342). Blast is supplied by five vertical non-condensing engines, two with 48-inch steam and 100-inch air cylinders, and three with 36-inch steam and 72-inch air cylinders. Steam at a pressure of 55 lbs. per square inch is generated in fourteen plain cylindrical boilers of various lengths and diameters, heated by the furnace gases. The blast is raised to a temperature of 1,500° Fahr. in Cowper stoves, of which there are nine, 60 feet high by 20 feet diameter. Behind the furnaces is a row of nine calcining kilns with mineral bunkers, surmounted by a gantry. To this the full trucks are raised, and from it the empties are lowered, by a pneumatic hoist and drop. The slag is loaded into trucks as shingle by Hawdon's machine, and is subsequently sent out to sea. Cleveland and hematite pig-iron is here made.
With the blast furnaces are associated the extensive Tees Side Engine Works in Lower Commercial Street and Grey Street, covering some 6 1/2 acres at O, Plate 55. The nucleus of this engineering establishment was founded in 1844; and in 1880 it became included in the present Tees Side Iron and Engine Works Co. The works embrace two large foundries, together capable of producing 500 tons of castings per week. They are laid out with every appliance of the most recent and approved kind for the production of castings of the heaviest description, whether for engines of colossal make or for mill and forge purposes. A speciality is made of cylinders for bridge piers, and every class of casting for general builders, such as columns, girders, and stanchions, now so extensively used. The stoves for drying cores are heated by gas in the most efficient and economical manner. A large bridge-building yard is attached to these works, replete with every description of labour-saving machinery; and extensive contracts have been carried out for railways both at home and abroad.
Two bridges of great magnitude which were built here are that over the Nerbudda River for the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway, and a bridge of many spans for the Madras Railway. The engineering and fitting shops are of considerable size, and have attached to them smiths' shops and a forge, with all appliances for the preparation of bolts and nuts, rivets &c., on an extensive scale. The shops have turned out many works of considerable magnitude, embracing the entire plant for the Leang Hoo Iron and Steel Works, in China, which comprised blast-furnaces with all the necessary accessories for making pig-iron, as well as rolling mills for making both steel and iron rails and bar iron, and complete appliances for the Bessemer and Siemens-Martin processes. Blowing engines are here made up to cylinders of 100 inches diameter, to produce blast having a pressure of 8 to 10 lbs. per square inch; and also every requirement for either gas or water works.
The company possess a ship yard at K, Plate 55, covering about six acres, and capable of building six vessels at a time, the largest 600 feet in length; it is furnished with all the requisite appliances. They have also a wharf at N.
Wilsons, Pease and Co
MESSRS. WILSONS, PEASE AND CO., TEES IRON WORKS, MIDDLESBROUGH.
Wilsons, Pease and Co
These works, which are situated at P, Plate 55, close to Cargo Fleet railway station, are divided into two portions namely the eastern or old side, comprising three blast-furnaces; and the western or new side, comprising two additional furnaces. Those on the old side are 75 foot high by 22 ft. 8 ins. to 24 foot diameter at the bosh, and 8 feet to 8 ft. 6 ins. at the hearth; those on the now side are 85 foot high by 27 feet diameter at the bosh, and 9 feet at the hearth. Each group is provided with a hoist driven by a winding engine. Blast is supplied on the old side by a horizontal non-condensing blowing engine, with 108-inch air cylinder by 9 feet stroke, and by three smaller engines; and on the new side by two vertical non-condensing engines made by the Tees Side Iron and Engine Works Co., with 44-inch steam and 100-inch air cylinder by 54 inches stroke. The blast is heated to a temperature of 1,500° Fahr. by twelve Cowper stoves, seven of which, 55 feet high by 22 foot diameter, are on the old side, and five, 55 foot high by 24 foot diameter, are on the new side. Steam at a pressure of 60 lbs. per square inch is generated in sixteen elephant boilers, 42 feet long by 4 ft. 6 ins. diameter, of which eight are on the old side, and eight on the new; the former are supplemented by two plain cylindrical boilers, 60 foot long by 4 ft. 6 ins. diameter. There are seven calcining kilns on the old side and six on the new, all of which are 42 feet high by 24 to 25 feet diameter. In each case the kilns are filled from a gantry, to which loaded trucks are raised by an incline on the old side, and by a direct-acting steam-ram on the new side. The product is solely Cleveland pig-iron, and amounts to about 500 tons per furnace per week. The ore is obtained from the mines in the vicinity owned by Messrs. Pease and Partners. Besides the smelting plant, the works comprise extensive foundries, from which railway and tramway chairs, pot sleepers, and other castings are turned out in large quantities.
Ormesby Iron Works
MESSRS. COCHRANE AND CO., ORMESBY IRON WORKS, CARGO FLEET.
Cochrane and Co
At these works, situated at Q, Plate 55, there are four blast-furnaces, with accessories. The dimensions of the furnaces, which comprise the largest in the district, are as follows:- height 90 feet, diameter at the bosh from 23 to 29 feet, diameter at the hearth 10 feet. The output from the three furnaces now at work is altogether 2,350 tons of pig-iron per week, all of which is of Cleveland quality from local ores. Air is supplied to the furnaces by four blowing engines, at a pressure of 6 1/2 lbs. per square inch at the engines. Three of the latter are simple non-condensing, discharging their exhaust steam into a common main. Part of this steam is employed to drive the fourth blowing engine, which is fitted with a surface condenser, the circulating water being drawn from the river. What remains of the steam is used in evaporators and feed-heaters, and is finally returned to the boilers as feed-water. The evaporators make up for loss of feed-water arising from waste due to steam used for driving hoist-engine and slag-belt engine, blow-off from safety valves, and sludging from boilers and heaters. Steam at a pressure of 50 to 60 lbs. per square inch is supplied by twelve Roots boilers, heated by the furnace gases. The blast is raised to a temperature of 1,500° Fahr. by Cowper stoves, of which there are three to each furnace, each 50 feet high by 26 feet diameter. Of the two furnace-hoists one is a counterbalance water-hoist, and the other is worked by a winding engine placed above the floor level. Behind the furnaces are situated a row of calcining kilns and coke bunkers, to which access is obtained from above by means of a gantry. Loaded trucks are raised at one end by an inclined plane, and lowered at the other end by a brake drop. The works throughout are lighted by electricity, both arc and incandescent lamps being used. The motive power is obtained from a single Parsons steam-turbine running at 8,000 revolutions per minute.
Normanby Iron Works
THE NORMANBY IRON WORKS, MIDDLESBROUGH.
These works are situated at R, Plate 55, a little to the east of the Cargo Fleet railway station. They were built in 1859 by Messrs. Jones, Dunning and Co., and were acquired by the present owners about two and a half years ago. They comprise three blast-furnaces, 75 feet high by 17 to 18 feet diameter at the bosh and 7 ft. 6 ins. at the hearth. The furnace hoist is driven by a winding engine, and has been lately erected to replace the original one, which consisted of a 22-inch direct-acting steam ram. Blast at a pressure of 5 lbs. per square inch is supplied to the furnaces by four blowing engines, all of the vertical simple non-condensing type. Of these two have 23-inch steam and 60-inch air cylinders by 36 inches stroke; one has a 32-inch steam and 72-inch air cylinder by 48 inches stroke; and one, which is kept in reserve, has a 23-inch steam and 60-inch air cylinder by 42 inches stroke. In the last engine the ingress and egress of the air are regulated by a slide-valve in the form of a circular casing moving outside the air cylinder and actuated by eccentrics.
The blast is heated by six Cowper stoves, 60 feet high by 21 to 22 feet diameter, two to each furnace. Steam at a pressure of 60 lbs. per square inch is generated in fourteen plain cylindrical boilers 50 feet long by 4 feet diameter, and two Lancashire boilers 30 feet long by 72 feet diameter, all being heated by furnace gas. These two are provided with fire-brick combustion-chambers, which when heated are able to re-light the gas, when the flame has been momentarily extinguished during the charging of the furnace. Behind the furnaces there is a row of calcining kilns and mineral bunkers. Above is a gantry, to which full trucks are raised by a 36-inch direct-acting steam hoist, and from which the empties are lowered by a balanced drop. The works are lighted throughout by electricity; the installation comprises seven arc-lamps and eighty incandescent, supplied by a continuous-current dynamo made by Messrs. Scott and Mountain, which is driven through a cotton and leather belt by a vertical engine having a single cylinder 71 x 10 inches. The output of each furnace is about 600 tons per week of hematite pig- iron made from Spanish ore. The ore is unloaded and the pig-iron shipped at a wharf on the river Tees, belonging to the firm and provided with three steam-cranes of 7, 5, and 3 tons capacity. Another wharf is used for loading slag into hopper barges, to be deposited out at sea.
Cargo Fleet Iron Works
THE CARGO FLEET IRON WORKS, MIDDLESBROUGH.
Cargo Fleet Iron Co
These works are situated at T, Plate 55, about half a mile to the east of Cargo Fleet station, on the Middlesbrough and Redcar branch of the North Eastern Railway. They were built in 1866 by Messrs. Swan, Coates and Co., which firm was converted in 1879 into the Cargo Fleet Iron Co., and in 1883 into a limited company with Mr. J. G. Swan as managing director. They comprise five blast-furnaces, of which two are 75 feet high by 20 feet diameter at the bosh and 8 ft. 6 ins. at the hearth, and three are 75 feet high by 24 feet diameter at the bosh and 9 feet at the hearth. One of the larger furnaces is at present out of blast. Air at a pressure of 5 lbs. per square inch is supplied by four blowing engines: namely two vertical non-condensing by Messrs. Coulthard of Blackburn, with 35-inch steam and 78-inch air cylinder by 4 feet stroke; one of like construction by Messrs. Cochrane, Grove and Co., with 40-inch steam and 96-inch air cylinder by 4 feet stroke; and one jet-condensing beam-engine by Messrs. Hawks, Crawshay and Co., with 40-inch steam and 100-inch air cylinder by 9 feet stroke. There is also in reserve a vertical engine by Messrs. Kitson and Co., with 42-inch steam and 84-inch air cylinder by 5 feet stroke, fitted with a Morton ejector condenser from which a vacuum of about 20 inches of mercury is obtained. The blast is heated to a temperature of about 1,500° Fahr. by ten Cowper stoves, that is two to each furnace; all of these are 55 feet high by 21 feet diameter. For the easy removal of dust, each stove is provided with a hopper bottom, communicating by way of a trap door with a tunnel, which is accessible to barrows on the floor level. Steam at a pressure of 55 lbs. per square inch is generated in fifteen plain cylindrical boilers, 75 feet long by 4 ft. 6 ins. diameter, and five of 60 feet length by 5 ft. 6 ins. diameter, all being heated by the furnace gases. The furnace hoists are two in number of the water-balance kind. Behind the furnaces is a row of ten calcining kilns, each 35 feet high by 21 feet diameter; the gantry surmounting them is approached by an incline, up which the loaded trucks are pushed by locomotives, the empties afterwards descending by the same route. The output of the four furnaces now in operation is about 2,000 tons per week of Cleveland pig-iron. The ore is obtained from the company's mines at Normanby, Liverton, and Waterfall; and the flux from their Mickleton limestone quarries. At the Liverton mine the ironstone is calcined before being sent away to the furnaces; for this purpose a plant has been erected comprising seven kilns with the necessary gantry and hoists. The company own a wharf on the river Tees, having a frontage of 215 feet. Of the total quantity of slag produced, three-fourths is tipped upon the land adjoining the works, and one-fourth is converted into slag blocks by the Tees Scoriae Brick Co.
Tees Scoriae Brick Co.
THE TEES SCORIAE BRICK CO., AT CARGO FLEET IRON WORKS, MIDDLESBROUGH.
The manufacture carried on at these works is that of slag blocks for paving. The plant comprises one rotating wheel, fitted with 140 moulds; and also eighteen kilns, each capable of holding 1,000 blocks. From twenty to thirty different sizes of blocks are made. By arrangement with the Cargo Fleet Iron Co. these works are carried on at U, Plate 55, within the boundary of the Cargo Fleet Iron Works.
Clay Lane Iron Works
THE CLAY LANE IRON WORKS, SOUTH BANK.
Clay Lane Iron Co
These works are situated at V, Plate 55, about half a mile to the east of South Bank station on the Middlesbrough and Redcar branch of the North Eastern Railway. They were built in 1859 by Messrs. Elwon, Malcolm and Co., and comprised three blast-furnaces until 1863, when three more were added; they subsequently became the property of Messrs. Thomas Vaughan and Co., and are now owned by the Clay Lane Iron Co. The works cover an area of 21 acres and include six furnaces: namely three 85 feet high by 25 feet diameter at the bosh and 9 feet at the hearth, of which two are being relined; one 85 feet by 25 feet and 9 ft. 6 ins., which has lately been remodelled; and two 85 feet by 20 feet and 8 feet. Air is supplied to the furnaces by three beam and three vertical non-condensing blowing engines. Of the beam engines two have 40-inch steam and 100-inch air cylinders by 8 feet stroke, and one has 38-inch steam and 84-inch air cylinder by 7 feet stroke; one only is in regular use. Of the vertical engines one has 45-inch steam and 100-inch air cylinder by 54 inches stroke; and two, which are quite new, have 48-inch steam and 100-inch air cylinders by 54 inches stroke. The blast is raised to a temperature of 1,500° Fahr. by Cowper stoves, of which there are thirteen, 55 feet high by 19 to 21 feet diameter; two of them have external combustion chambers 9 ft. 6 ins. diameter. The furnace hoists are three in number, one being of the water-balance type, and two driven by winding engines. Behind the furnaces is a row of mineral bunkers, surmounted by a gantry which is reached by an incline of 1 in 25. The loaded trucks are pushed up by a locomotive; the empties descend by the same route. Behind the mineral bunkers is a row of ten kilns, 47 feet high by 24 to 29 feet diameter; one of them is elliptical in section, which is said to effect a saving in coal. The kilns are charged from another gantry, to which the trucks are hauled up an incline of 1 in 4 by a winding engine; the empties are lowered at the other end by a balanced drop controlled by a brake. Steam is raised for the blowing and other engines by sixteen boilers, all heated by the furnace gases namely ten three-flue Beeley boilers, 30 feet long by 8 feet diameter; three Lancashire boilers, 30 feet long by 7 feet diameter; and three plain cylindrical, from 70 to 75 feet long and 4 feet 6 inches diameter. The feed is heated to 200° Fahr. by the exhaust steam from the blowing engines. The output of the larger furnaces is 600 tons of pig-iron per week, and of the smaller 450 tons. Cleveland ironstone only is smelted, which is obtained mostly from the company's South Skelton mine. The works include a jetty on the river Tees for shipping the pig-iron, nearly all of which is exported.
Cleveland Steel and Iron Works
MESSRS. BOLCKOW, VAUGHAN AND CO., CLEVELAND STEEL AND IRON WORKS, SOUTH BANK.
Bolckow, Vaughan and Co
Cleveland Iron Works.— These works are situated at W, Plate 55, on the south side of the Saltburn branch of the North Eastern Railway, between South Bank and Eston Grange stations. They comprise eight blast-furnaces, Plate 56, of which Nos. 1, 2, and 3, forming the eastern group are now out of blast. When they were stopped a year or two ago, they had been at work for over twenty years without being re-lined. Nos. 4 to 8, which form the western group, are 92 to 95 1/2 feet high, by 20 feet to 25 ft. 8 ins. diameter in the bosh, and 9 to 10 feet in the hearth. Blast at a pressure of 5 1/4 lbs. per square inch is delivered to them from the same mains which also supply the three hematite blast-furnaces that make for the acid converters. The blowing engines for these two groups of furnaces are eight in number, having 40-inch steam cylinders with 96 inches stroke. The blast is heated to a temperature of about 1,500° Fahr. by twelve Cowper stoves, 60 feet high by 25 feet diameter. There are two hoists worked by water- balance. Steam for the blowing engines is generated in twenty-eight Lancashire boilers, 30 ft. 4 ins. long by 7 feet diameter, and eleven plain cylindrical boilers, 75 feet long by 5 feet diameter. Behind the blast-furnaces is a row of mineral bunkers, and another of fourteen calcining kilns 50 feet high. Both bunkers and kilns are surmounted by gantries to which access for railway trucks is gained by inclines. The output of these works averages over 600 tons of Cleveland pig-iron per furnace per week. The ironstone is obtained from the company's mines at Eston. The slag is tipped upon the foreshore of the river. The works are lighted by electricity, for which the current is generated at the central station in the steel works.
Hematite Blast-Furnaces.— Adjoining the steel works on the south are the hematite blast-furnaces, Plate 56, in which hematite pig-iron is produced for use in the acid-lined converters. The bulk of the ore which is used is that known as Rubio, and is obtained from mines in the north of Spain. The company are largely interested in the Luchana Co.'s mines at Bilbao, from which also a portion of their supplies are drawn. There are three blast-furnaces, 72 feet high, 23 to 24 feet diameter at the bosh, and 10 feet in the hearth. Blast at a pressure of 5 1/4 lbs. per square inch is taken from the same mains, which also supply the Cleveland Iron Works close by. Eight non-condensing beam engines supply blast to these two sets of furnaces. They have cylinders 40 inches diameter and 96 inches stroke. The blast is heated to a temperature of about 1,450° Fah, in eight Cowper stoves, 60 feet high by 25 feet diameter. There are two hoists, one water-balance and the other actuated by a winding engine. Behind the furnaces is a row of thirty-two mineral bunkers surmounted by a gantry, which is approached by an incline. The output of these furnaces is about 1,000 tons of hematite pig-iron per furnace per week as much as 1,080 tons has been produced.
Cleveland Steel Work.— The steel works, Plate 56, including the hematite furnaces, were erected in 1876 to the designs and under the supervision of Mr. E. Windsor Richards, for the manufacture of steel rails by the Bessemer process. Since then they have been much extended, and plant for the basic and open-hearth processes has been added. The works now occupy an area of sixty acres, of which twenty are covered with roofing. When in full operation they are capable of producing 5,500 tons of finished steel per week, and afford employment to 2,500 men.
On approaching the main building from the west, the recently erected mixing plant for the de-sulphurization and homogenization of pig-iron by the Massenez process is first passed; it comprises two mixers, each capable of holding 140 tons of molten pig-iron. They are mounted on trunnions and manipulated by hydraulic rams. The molten metal is brought by locomotives from the blast-furnaces in bogie ladles, and raised by an incline to the level of the gantry on which the mixers are placed. The metal is poured in at one end of the mixer, and run out at the other end as required by the converters.
At the west end of the main building are the Bessemer and basic shops. The Bessemer shop contains four 8-ten acid-lined converters, served by two centre cranes and six ingot cranes. The cranes and converters are actuated by hydraulic power. On the converter gantry are four small spiegel cupolas, served by a hydraulic lift. Another lift is employed to raise the molten metal to the gantry level. There are also cupolas for melting pig-iron when required.
The basic shop contains six 15-ton basic-lined converters, served by four centre cranes and eight ingot cranes, all worked by hydraulic power. The converters are tipped by worm gearing driven by steam-engines. On the converter gantry are six spiegel cupolas with two hydraulic lifts. The molten metal is raised to the gantry level by a hydraulic hoist, which by spiral guides is made to turn through a right angle during its ascent; this avoids the necessity for a turntable. A 30-ton overhead travelling crane commands all parts of the basic shop.
Behind the two groups of converters are the "plug" shops where the linings are prepared. They contain sixteen drying stoves, five pug-mills, one stone-breaker, five cupolas for shrinking dolomite for basic linings, and one steam-hammer for consolidating the perforated plugs. These shops are served by two 25-ton overhead travelling cranes. A special underground railway with frequent openings affords a ready exit for slag and refuse of all kinds.
The blowing engines and pumps are situated in a large building at the southern end of the Bessemer shop. There are four double blowing engines with 40-inch steam and 50-inch air cylinders by 60 inches stroke, of which three are by Messrs. D. Adamson and Co., and one is by Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan and Co. There are five pairs of horizontal hydraulic pumps, with 18 x 24-inch cylinders and 6-inch plungers. The accumulators, of which there are two, have 18-inch rams, and are loaded to a pressure of 600 lbs. per square inch. In the same building are situated cupola blowers, pumps, and a feed heater.
Proceeding in an easterly direction to the mills, the ingot-heating furnaces are next passed, of which seven are horizontal and six vertical. All are on the regenerative principle and heated by producer gas. The ingots are charged and drawn by hydraulic power in the horizontal furnaces, and by steam overhead travelling cranes in the vertical ones. Producer gas is supplied by producers of the Siemens type.
The cogging mill consists of a stand of 48-inch rolls, fitted with hydraulic screwing-gear, and provided with live rollers and tilting gear. It is driven by a pair of horizontal reversing engines, made by Messrs. Davy Brothers, having 40-inch cylinders by 60 inches stroke, and geared in the proportion of 2 to 1.
The plate mill is in line with the cogging mill, and consists of two stands of rolls 36 inches diameter by 9 feet long. It is provided with a traversing table of live rollers on each side, and is driven by a pair of horizontal reversing engines, made by Messrs. Thwaites and Carbutt, having 36-inch cylinders, and geared in the proportion of 3 to 1. One of the plate shears, which is said to be the largest in the world, was made by Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan and Co. at their Middlesbrough Engineering Works, and is capable of cutting cold steel plates up to 21 inches thick. The blades are 12 feet long with 4 ft. 8 ins. gap, the standards being 9 feet apart. The shears are driven by a single 26-inch cylinder through helical gearing.
The plate cogging mill, to the north of the 48-inch cogging mill, consists of a single pair of 60-inch rolls, and is provided with steam screwing-gear, live rollers, and Richards tilting gear. The engines, made by Messrs. Galloway, are horizontal reversing, having two 40-inch cylinders, and geared in the ratio of 2 to 1. Each of the two cogging mills is provided with a pair of horizontal hot-bloom shears, made by Messrs. Davy Brothers, capable of cutting 250 square inches in section.
No. 1 mill is capable of producing 500 tons of rails of heavy section per shift. It comprises two stands of 30-inch rolls, one provided with live rollers and the other with loose rollers. The roughing rolls are driven direct by a pair of horizontal reversing engines made by Messrs. Tannett, Walker and Co., having 54-inch cylinders with 72 inches stroke. The finishing rolls are directly connected with a pair of horizontal reversing engines made by Messrs. Davy Brothers, having 48-inch cylinders with 60 inches stroke.
No. 2 mill is used for the production of sleepers, angles, and rails. It comprises two stands of 26-inch rolls, and is in connection with the engines which drive the roughing rolls of No. 1 mill.
No. 3 mill is capable of producing 1,500 tons of angles or light rails per week. It comprises two stands of 30-inch rolls, and is driven direct by a pair of horizontal reversing engines made by Messrs. Tannett, Walker and Co., having 60-inch cylinders with 60 inches stroke.
No. 4 mill is capable of producing 250 tons of fish plates or merchant bars per week. It comprises three stands of 16-inch rolls, and is driven direct by a pair of horizontal reversing engines having 32-inch cylinders with 52 inches stroke. In connection with this mill there is a blooming mill driven by the same pair of engines through gearing in the proportion of 2 1/4 to 1.
All the above mills are provided with suitable shears and saws. There are in all eight re-heating furnaces, namely four for the plate mill and four for the various rail and bar mills. Nos. 1, 2, and 3 mills are assisted by a 25-ton overhead travelling crane for changing the rolls. The same crane has access to the roll-turning shop. The rail bank is under a commodious roof, and is supplied with the usual straightening, drilling, and knifing machinery, and inspection benches. Close by is the testing house, containing a 100-ton Buckton and an Adamson testing machine.
The steel-melting furnaces are seven in number, and are all acid lined. Two are of the original Siemens type, and have a capacity of 12 tons each. Five have iron-cased regenerators, two being of 20 and three of 30 tons capacity. In front of the latter is the casting pit, in which ingots up to 5 tons in weight are cast. At the east end of the range of melting furnaces is a steel foundry, having a 25-ton overhead crane and two drying stoves. Steel castings up to 10 cwts. in weight are here made for use in the works.
Steam is supplied for general use at a pressure of 80 lbs. per square inch by Lancashire boilers 30 feet long and 7 feet diameter. A railway of 3 feet gauge permeates the entire steel works, in addition to the ordinary-gauge sidings. The steel works as well as the adjoining Cleveland and South Bank blast-furnaces are lighted by electricity, both arc and incandescent lights being used. The generating station comprises eleven continuous-current dynamos driven by a pair of horizontal engines, one single-cylinder horizontal engine, and one Brotherhood three-cylinder engine.
South Banks Iron Works
MESSRS. BOLCKOW, VAUGHAN AND CO., SOUTH BANK IRON WORKS, SOUTH BANK.
Bolckow, Vaughan and Co
These works are situated at X, Plate 55, on the north side of the Saltburn branch of the North Eastern Railway, and immediately opposite the Cleveland Iron Works, Plate 56. They comprise eight blast-furnaces, 78 to 79 feet high by 19 to 23 feet diameter in the bosh, and 9 to 10 feet in the hearth. Blast is supplied by seven blowing engines, of which three are of the beam, three of the horizontal; and one of the vertical kind; none of them are compound and none are condensing. The air is heated by fifteen Cowper stoves, 64 feet high by 25 feet diameter. Steam is generated in fourteen Lancashire and twelve plain cylindrical boilers. There are two water-balance hoists, and one worked by a winding engine. Behind the furnaces is a row of nineteen calcining kilns built of brick, and behind these a range of mineral bunkers. All are surmounted by gantries and approached by inclines. The output of the works is about 600 tons of Cleveland pig-iron per furnace per week, the ore being obtained from the company's mines at Eston. The works are lighted by electricity throughout. The slag from these, as well as from the other furnaces, is tipped upon the foreshore of the river Tees, where the company own 113 acres of land. For the Cleveland Steel Works, and the Cleveland and the South Bank Iron Works, raw materials are imported and finished products shipped at a wharf upon the river Tees with 801 feet of frontage, 50 feet wide, and provided with five 5-ton and three 35-cwt. cranes. The wharf is approached from the South Bank works by a jetty about 2,000 feet long.
Clarence Iron Works
MESSRS. BELL BROTHERS, CLARENCE IRON WORKS, PORT CLARENCE.
Bell Brothers
These works are situated at Y, Plate 55, on the north or Durham side of the river Tees. They are connected with the Port Clarence branch of the North Eastern Railway; and are also reached from Middlesbrough by the Corporation steam ferry. They are divided into two parts, namely the "old side" with eight blast-furnaces, and the "new side" with four.
The Old Side was erected in 1853 by Sir Lowthian Bell and his brothers, Messrs. Thomas and John Bell. The eight furnaces are 80 feet high, by 17 to 25 feet diameter at the bosh, and 8 feet at the hearth. There are six hoists, worked by hydraulic rams acting on ropes and pulleys. The speed of the ram is multiplied ten times. Blast at a pressure of 5 lbs. per square inch is supplied to the furnaces by five vertical simple non-condensing engines, of which two, having 36-inch steam and 100-inch air cylinders with 54 inches stroke, were built by Messrs. Cochrane, Grove and Co., and three, having 42-inch steam and 100-inch air cylinders with 60 inches stroke, by Messrs. Kitson and Co. Steam is supplied at a pressure of 90 lbs. per square inch by sixteen three-flue Beeley boilers, each being 30 feet long by 8 feet diameter. These are arranged in two rows, and are heated by the furnace gases; in case of necessity they can be fired by hand. They are fed by injectors worked by the exhaust steam from the blowing engines. The blast is heated to a temperature of about 1,400° Fahr. by eighteen Cowper stoves, each being 61 feet high and 21 feet diameter. Behind the furnaces is a row of fifteen kilns for calcining the Cleveland ore, which is exclusively used, and is obtained from the firm's own mines near Saltburn. The loaded trucks reach the top of the gantry by a long incline, and subsequently descend the same way. Behind and parallel to the calcining kilns is a row of bunkers surmounted by a gantry, to which access is obtained by the same incline.
The New Side was erected in 1873, and the four blast-furnaces are each 80 feet high, by 23 feet diameter at the bosh, and 8 feet at the hearth. The furnace hoists are on the hydraulic principle, as already described. The three blowing engines are by Messrs. Hopkins, Gilkes and Co., and have 48-inch steam and 100-inch air cylinders with 54 inches stroke. The exhaust steam passes through a heater, where it raises the temperature of the feed-water to 212° Fahr. Steam is supplied at a pressure of 50 lbs. per square inch by nineteen plain cylindrical boilers, 4 1/2 feet diameter, of which fourteen are 80 feet long, and five are 60 feet. All are heated by the furnace gases. The blast is heated by ten Cowper stoves. Behind the furnaces is a row of calcining kilns and bunkers, the gantry being approached by an incline. The hydraulic plant for working the furnace hoists consists of five double hydraulic pumps with 16 by 17 3/4 inches steam cylinder and 3 1/2-inch rams, working in connection with an accumulator having a 17-inch ram loaded to give a pressure of 800 lbs. per square inch. There are seven Cameron pumps for pumping tuyere and other water. The average output per furnace per week is 500 tons of Cleveland pig-iron. The Le Chatelier electric pyrometer is now in regular use at these works. By means thereof the temperature of the blast or of the gases in the downcomer of any furnace can be readily ascertained. An autographic recording instrument, the invention of Professor Roberts-Austen (Proceedings 1891, page 551), has lately been brought into use in connection therewith.
The Salt Union, Port Clarence
THE SALT UNION, PORT CLARENCE SALT WORKS, PORT CLARENCE.
Salt Union
These works contain two sets of evaporating pans, one to the west and the other to the east of Messrs. Bell Brothers' Iron Works. The western set at Z, Plate 55, comprises fifteen pans, each 60 feet long by 24 feet broad and about 1 ft. 9 ins. deep; they are heated by coal fires. Close at hand is a filter bed, into which the brine is pumped direct from the bore-holes about a mile distant. After being filtered the brine passes into a storage reservoir, and is thence forced by a Worthington pump into a tank, whence it flows down by gravity into the evaporating pans as required. The eastern set comprises four pans, which are heated by the waste gases from Messrs. Bell Brothers' blast-furnaces on their way to the chimney and after they have passed under the boilers. The total number of bore-holes in connection with these salt works is eight.
Thornaby Iron Works
MESSRS. WILLIAM WHITWELL AND CO., THORNABY IRON WORKS, THORNABY-ON-TEES.
William Whitwell and Co
These works, situated at A, Plate 57, are divided into two departments, namely the blast-furnaces and the finished-iron works.
The blast-furnaces are three in number, each 80 feet high by 19 to 22 feet diameter at the boshes. They were built in 1873 to replace three others erected in 1859. Air is supplied to the furnaces by four blowing engines: namely two simple non-condensing by Messrs. D. Adamson and Co., having 47-inch steam and 100-inch air cylinder with 60 inches stroke; one simple jet-condensing engine by Messrs. Galloway and Sons, having 50-inch steam and 100-inch air cylinder with 60 inches stroke; and one simple non-condensing engine by the Tees Side Iron and Engine Works Co., having 48-inch steam and 100-inch air cylinder with 54 inches stroke. The blast is heated to a temperature of 1,450° Fair. by Whitwell stoves, of which there are fourteen in all. Of these the newer and larger ones are 65 feet high and 22 feet diameter. The weekly output of the three furnaces together is about 2,500 to 2,600 tons of pig-iron, all hematite. The ores are obtained from Gellivara, Elba, Algeria, South Spain, and Bilbao, and need no calcination.
The finished-iron works were erected in 1866, and.have since been much extended. The manufacture here carried on is that of wrought-iron bars of various sizes and sections, including cables for Admiralty and merchant service, tee, angle, channel, hoop, round, square, bevel, flat, and many others. The output of finished iron is about 600 to 700 tons per week, a large proportion being for export to foreign countries. The forge contains thirty-three puddling and two ball furnaces; three 3-ton 24-inch cylinder steam-hammers; and an 18-inch and a 22-inch forge train. The 18-inch train comprises four stands of rolls, and is driven by a horizontal engine with cylinder 27 x 48 inches. The 22-inch train comprises two stands of rolls, and is driven by a horizontal engine with two cylinders, 18 and 26 1/2 inches diameter by 48 inches stroke, arranged tandem. Both engines are supplied with steam at 55 lbs. boiler pressure.
The mill department contains six mills, having 24-inch, 15, 10, 9, 8, and 7-inch centres. The new 24-inch mill comprises three stands of rolls, and is driven by a pair of horizontal reversing engines made by Messrs. Davy Brothers, having cylinders 24 x 36 inches. The mill is provided with live rollers driven by an auxiliary engine. There is also a pair of horizontal shears by Messrs. J. Buckton and Co., capable of cutting 49 square inches of sectional area; and a circular saw by Messrs. Kitson and Co. An overhead rope-driven travelling crane capable of lifting 10 tons has access to all parts of the mill, and conveys rolls to or from the roll-turning shop. The mill is served by seven heating furnaces, to each of which a vertical boiler is attached. The 15-inch mill comprises three ordinary stands of rolls, and one for planishing. It is driven direct by a horizontal engine with two cylinders 15 and 22 1/2 inches diameter by 30 inches stroke, arranged and supplied as previously described in the case of the 22-inch forge train. Attached to this mill are two circular saws by Messrs. Davy Brothers. The 10-inch and 9-inch mills are each driven by a vertical engine having a cylinder 24 x 30 inches, by Messrs. Perry and Co. Each mill comprises four stands of rolls. The 8-inch mill is driven by a vertical engine with cylinder 18 x 30 inches by Messrs. Perry and Co., and comprises five stands of rolls. The 7-inch mill is driven through a belt by a vertical engine with cylinder 211 x 26 inches, controlled by Schaeffer and Budenberg's variable-expansion gear; it comprises four stands of rolls. There is also a strip mill with a pair of 14-inch planishing rolls, driven by a horizontal engine with cylinder 21 x 30 inches. The total number of heating furnaces in all the mills is eighteen. Steam is supplied for the various steam engines at a pressure of 55 lbs. per square inch by 47 boilers, of which 4 are Cornish hand-fired boilers, 28 feet long by 6 feet diameter, and 43 are heated by waste gases from the puddling and heating furnaces; and of these 29 are vertical, 4 are horizontal with two flues, and 10 are of the elbow horizontal kind with central flue. In connection with the finished-iron works there are the usual fitting and roll-turning shops, pumping house, locomotive shed, and testing houses. The latter contain a fine 100-ton testing machine by Messrs. J. Buckton and Co., driven by a gas engine of 5 horse-power nominal; and a horizontal 100-ton testing machine by Messrs. Daniel Adamson and Co. The works include also a convenient wharf on the river Tees, 600 feet long, provided with six 3-ton cranes; here ore is unloaded, and pig-iron and bar-iron shipped.
Union Foundry
MR. R. W. CROSTHWAITE, UNION FOUNDRY, THORNABY-ON-TEES.
R. W. Crosthwaite
These works had their origin at Falkirk, where they were founded by Mr. R. W. Crosthwaite in 1849. In 1878 they woee removed to their present site in Thornaby at B, Plate 57. The works are now owned and managed by Messrs. J. R. Crosthwaite and J. P. Fry. The manufacture carried on is that of light castings of all kinds used by builders. They include rain-water pipes and gutters, baths, kitchen boilers, registers and stoves, stable fittings, &c. There are two moulding shops: a larger one in which light castings are made, covering an area of over an acre; and a smaller one provided with two cranes, for heavier work; one cupola, 4 1/2 feet diameter and capable of melting 6 tons per hour, is sufficient for both shops. No. 3 Cleveland pig-iron is used, mixed with one-third of its weight of scrap castings. Blast is supplied by a Baker blower. The cupola- hoist is worked by an inverted direct-acting steam cylinder 8 inches diameter. The molten iron is run from the cupola into bogie-ladles, which are taken on railways to various parts of the shops, and from them small hand-ladles are fed. The castings after leaving the moulding department pass through the fettling shop where they are cleaned, and the passing shop where they are examined by the inspector. The finer work is then taken to the grinding shop, which is provided with nine grindstones, and four sets of emery glazers. After being pickled in sulphuric acid to remove the surface skin, all ornamental castings, such as stoves and registers, are ground and polished, in order to prepare them for being subsequently japanned and polished. The fitting shop, where the various parts of stoves are fitted together, contains drilling machines, vices, emery grinders, &c. There is a large store-room where finished products are kept, and a show-room. All the machinery is driven by a horizontal engine, having a cylinder 16 inches diameter by 36 inches stroke. Steam at a pressure of 80 lbs. per square inch is supplied by a Cornish boiler 20 feet long by 6 feet diameter. On account of the large quantity of repetition, iron patterns are almost exclusively used. In the execution of highly ornamental work the design is first perfected in clay, and from this a wax cast is taken, which in turn is used as a pattern for a casting made of a mixture of lead and tin. From this, after it has been carefully finished, casts in iron are taken, each of which serves as a pattern. Besides the department already mentioned, there is a pattern shop and store, a japanning shop containing stoves, a graining shop where cast-iron is grained to imitate oak or marble, and a tile room where the tile work of the registers is put together. The speciality of the works is a register with semi-slow combustion grate, sloping fire-brick back, and adjustable canopy for the escape of waste gases. About 200 of these are made per week. The total output from the works is about 100 tons of castings per week, and the number of men employed is about 300.
Teesdale Iron Works
MESSRS. HEAD, WRIGHTSON AND CO., TEESDALE IRON WORKS, THORNABY-ON-TEES.
Head, Wrightson and Co
These works are situated in Thornaby at C, Plate 57, between the river Tees and the Darlington section of the North Eastern Railway. They were established in 1856 by Messrs. T. H. Head and J. Wright. Ten years later they were acquired by Messrs. C. A. Head and T. Wrightson, by whom in 1890 they were converted into a company, with Mr. C. A. Head as chairman and Mr. William Anderson as managing director. The manufacture carried on is that of bridges, piers, roofs, castings, and general engineering work. Numerous railway, canal, and road bridges have been constructed here for various parts of Great Britain, India, Egypt, China, Japan, the Cape of Good Hope, Spain, Mexico, New Zealand, and other countries. The works occupy 15 acres of land, and include an extensive wharf on the river Tees. The bridge yard is equipped with an efficient system of overhead cranes. Both pneumatic and hydraulic riveters are employed, the former being preferred. Holes are drilled wherever possible; but, if punching is resorted to, they are subsequently rimered out. In course of construction were seen several bridges for China, India, and the Colonies, and a large quantity of blast-furnace and other work. Also somewhat of a novelty in the shape of a large quarantine hospital, floated on ten pontoons which form a platform of about 140 x 90 feet. This structure is to be moored at the mouth of the Tees (page 325), for the reception of patients suffering from any infection which might be brought in by the large number of ships visiting the port; it is ordered by the Tees Port Sanitary Authority, the engineer being Mr. William George Laws, engineer to the city of Newcastle-en-Tyne.
Along the eastern boundary is a row of sheds, under which are all the necessary appliances for dealing with plates, angles, and other materials needed for bridge or roof work. They include punching and shearing machines, hydraulic bending presses, saws, grinders, plate-edge planing, drilling, and screwing machines, lathes, riveting machines, bending rolls, and hydraulic apparatus. Near at hand is an extensive smiths' shop, fitted with all usual appliances. The template shed is 51 feet long and 30 feet broad, and is conveniently equipped for laying down the various details full size on the floor.
At the south end of the works is a large brick building, once used as a cotton mill. Its several floors are now made use of as machine, pattern, and fitting shops, stores, etc.
The foundries are six in number, and are arranged along the western boundary. At the southern end is No. 1 foundry, provided with two drying stoves, and a travelling crane of 46 feet span having access to all parts. Outside this foundry there are four cupolas served by one steam-lift. Nos. 2 and 3 foundries are mostly engaged in the manufacture of repetition work, and are provided with light railways for easily handling the moulds. No. 4 foundry is furnished with three cupolas, which are served by one steam-hoist.
Next comes the chair foundry, No. 5, where railway chairs, of which a speciality is made, are cast in large quantities; here are two cupolas served by a pneumatic hoist. No. 6 foundry is comparatively, new, and is used for the manufacture of ingot moulds and heavy castings made principally of hematite iron. It is provided with a 10-ton steam travelling crane, two 5-ton swing cranes, and two drying stoves. Outside are two cupolas, with a 12-inch direct-acting steam-lift.
The offices are contained in a handsome and commodious building situated at the entrance to the works. The number of men employed is at present about 1,200.
Cleveland Flour Mill
MESSRS. APPLETON, FRENCH, AND SCRAFTON, CLEVELAND FLOUR MILL, THORNABY-ON-TEES.
Appleton, French and Scrafton
This is an imposing brick building situated close to the banks of the river Tees at D, Plate 57. It was built in 1871 by Mr. R. H. Appleton, whose business was amalgamated about three years ago with those of Messrs. T. French and Co. and Messrs. Scrafton Brothers. The main building is divided into two parts, called the north and the south side, each containing a complete set of milling machinery driven by a separate engine. In front of the main building and built upon the wharf is the elevator tower, provided with a trunk which is let down into the hold of a ship and elevates the grain therefrom at the rate of about 30 tons per hour, depositing it direct into the silos and storehouses. The latter occupy an adjoining building to the north of the mill. After undergoing the usual preliminary treatment, by which the wheat is separated from lighter and heavier particles of foreign matter and grain of other kinds, it is crushed by being passed through a succession of rollers, first fluted and then smooth. During its progress it is purified from the husks or bran, and pollard; and finally emerges in the condition of flour, middlings, or semolina. At present the south side is undergoing temporary repairs, and the weekly output is therefore only about 3,500 sacks of flour of 280 lbs. each. The machinery on the north side has recently been renewed, for the most part by Mr. Henry Simon of Manchester. The north side is driven by two complete compound tandem horizontal engines, working on one shaft with cranks at right angles. In one engine the cylinders are 20 and 28 inches diameter by 42 inches stroke, and in the other 18 and 27 inches diameter by 36 inches stroke. Both the engines are provided with jet condensers. On the crank-shaft is mounted a pulley 18 1/2 feet diameter, which drives the various lines of shafting by means of fifteen hemp ropes. The south side, when at work, is driven by a vertical compound engine of the marine type, having cylinders 19 1/2 and 33 inches diameter by 42 inches stroke, and provided with a jet condenser. Steam at a pressure of 75 lbs. per square inch is supplied by four hand-fired Lancashire boilers, 27 feet long by 7 feet diameter. The mill is fitted throughout with Grinnell's sprinklers, of which this is said to be the largest installation in any flour mill in the world. The total number of men employed is about 100. The company have mills, also in Stockton at E, Plate 57, in Middlesbrough at L, Plate 55, in. Darlington, and in Bishop Auckland.
Thornaby Shipbuilding Yard
MESSRS. CRAIG, TAYLOR AND CO., THORNABY SHIPBUILDING YARD, THORNABY-ON-TEES.
Craig, Taylor and Co
Situated at F, Plate 57, these works were established in 1884, and have already turned out many large vessels. A speciality of late years has been a number of vessels for carrying petroleum-oil in bulk. One of the largest of these was seen just finishing, namely the " St. Helen's," the dimensions of which are as follows:- 355 feet length by 45 feet beam and 30 feet depth. She is fitted, with engines amidships, which is a novelty first introduced by this firm, the engines. of the majority of oil vessels being placed aft; she consequently has a tunnel, which is thoroughly ventilated and provided with special means of entrance and exit; and the thrust seating is in the engine-room. All these vessels are fitted with a complete system of electric lighting, steam heating, and steam cooking, on account of the peculiar exigencies of the trade in which they are engaged.
Alongside was a handsome sailing vessel, the "San Ignacio de Loyola," also built for the purpose of carrying oil in bulk. Sailing craft lend themselves to the requirements of this trade with greater facility than steamers. A donkey boiler, Worthington pumps, dynamo, and electric light are also fitted in this vessel.
North Skelton Ironstone Mines
NORTH SKELTON IRONSTONE MINES.
These mines are on a portion of the Skelton royalty belonging to Mr. J. T. Wharton, and the two shafts were sunk in 1870-73, reaching the ironstone at a depth of 720 feet. The winding shaft is 14 feet diameter. During the sinking, feeders of water were met with, amounting to over 3,000 gallons per minute, which were ultimately tubbed off at a depth of 432 feet.
The winding engine, built by Messrs. Musgrave and Sons of Bolton, has two horizontal cylinders 36 inches diameter with 6 feet stroke. The drum is parallel, 18 1/2 feet diameter. The full load is about 3 3/4 tons.
The haulage is on the main and tail-rope system, by a 50-horsepower non-condensing compound engine, made by Messrs. Robey and Co. of Lincoln, having high-pressure cylinder 13 1/4 inches and low-pressure 23 inches diameter with 24 inches stroke, driving four drums for working the east and west sides of the pit; the boiler is multitubular, with 140 lbs. pressure of steam.
The mine is ventilated by a Guibal fan 36 feet diameter by 12 feet wide, producing about 120,000 cubic feet of air per minute.
The pumping engine on the surface, built by Messrs. Andrew Barclay, Son and Co., of Kilmarnock, is condensing, with inverted cylinder 65 inches diameter and 8 feet stroke. The beam extends to both pits, having a 20-inch set of pumps in the bottom of the upcast pit, with 8 feet stroke, which delivers at 504 feet from surface through a connecting drift to a 15-inch set in the winding pit; the latter set is divided into two lifts, and is hung on the other end of the beam.
The whole output is got by Walker's machine drills driven by compressed air. The compressing engine, built by Messrs. John Fowler and Co. of Leeds, is direct-acting, having a steam cylinder 20 inches diameter and an air cylinder 22 inches diameter, both with 60 inches stroke. The steam pressure is 50 lbs. per square inch.
Lumpsey Ironstone Mines
LUMPSEY IRONSTONE MINES.
These mines were sunk in 1878-80 on a portion of the Milton royalty belonging to Mr. J. T. Wharton. The shafts are 15 feet diameter, and reach the ironstone at a depth of about 600 feet. During the sinking, feeders of water amounting to 1,700 gallons a minute were met with; but these were successfully tubbed off at a depth of 504 feet, a suitable bed for the crib having been found in the Cleveland top seam at the bottom of the lower oolite.
The winding engine, built by Messrs. John Fowler and Co. of Leeds, has two 42-inch horizontal cylinders with 6 feet stroke. The drum is conical, being 17 feet diameter at the smaller end and 21 feet at the larger. A full load is nearly 4 tons of ironstone, and with this load 240 tons have been drawn in an hour.
The system of haulage is that of the endless rope, which is hung on hooks beneath the tubs. Self-acting engaging and disengaging appliances have been adopted.
The mine is ventilated by a fan, 14 feet diameter by 10 feet wide, producing about 90,000 cubic feet of air per minute.
Machine drills worked by hydraulic power and by petroleum engines are in daily operation.
Carlin How Ironstone Mines
CARLIN HOW IRONSTONE MINES.
These are in the Skinningrove valley upon Mr. J. T. Wharton's Milton estate. To suit railway requirements the shafts 156 feet deep are upon the rise of the royalty. The pumping is done by ropes. The engines for hauling are upon the surface. The winding is done by a Fowler semi-portable engine. Mechanical drills are worked by electricity (page 309) at about a mile inbye.
Loftus Ironstone Mines
LOFTUS IRONSTONE MINES.
These mines are leased to Messrs. Pease and Partners, the principal lessor being the Marquis of Zetland. The bed of ironstone 9 feet in thickness is worked from two drifts; but at the present time one drift only is being worked. The present output of ironstone is about 7,500 tons per week, of which 90 per cent. is won by Walker's pneumatic drilling machines and 10 per cent. by hand labour. The drilling machines are actuated by compressed air at a pressure of 55 lbs. per square inch. The compressor is a single tandem compound engine made by Messrs. J. S. Walker and Brother, Wigan. All the water issuing from the seam at a higher level than the entrance of the mine is conveyed down to the surface by gravitation through the air pipes, as often as is necessary.
pp 372-379 are not included in this transcription as they concern port activities/trades in Hartlepool
Hartlepool Engine Works
MESSRS. T. RICHARDSON AND SONS, HARTLEPOOL ENGINE WORKS, HARTLEPOOL.
T. Richardson and Sons
This business was commenced upwards of sixty years ago by the father of the late Mr. Thomas Richardson, M.P. for the Hartlepools, and is now carried on by the sons of the latter. At first the works were employed in iron founding and railway plant; then in building stationary engines, principally for collieries; and afterwards in making locomotives. In 1851 the first marine engine was built, and during the following ten years the marine engineering branch increased rapidly and became in 1861 the chief manufacture. Since then, marine engines of various kinds have been constructed, and in 1883 the first triple-expansion engine on three cranks was built for the s.s. "Para," owned by Messrs. Steel, Young and Co., of West Hartlepool (Proceedings 1886, page 484). This engine was immediately followed by another of larger power for the Dutch Mail; and from that date onward few engines of any other kind have been built. When in 1885 attention was being given to the conversion of old compound engines to the triple-expansion principle, the Union Company of Southampton decided on tripling their s.s. "Anglian" by adding a new high-pressure cylinder complete, making a three-crank engine. This alteration, carried out at the Hartlepool Engine Works, was attended with such success that six other engines of the same company's Cape mail steamers were subsequently altered in a similar manner. In addition to the foregoing, several vessels for the Castle and Orient Royal Mail Companies, as well as steamers of the mercantile class, have also been successfully tripled at these works. One of the largest was the royal mail steamer " Roslin Castle," having engines with cylinders 36 and 60 and 96 inches diameter by 60 inches stroke, and three double-ended boilers, each 14 ft. 4 ins. diameter by 17 ft. 9 ins. long. New engines and boilers have also been constructed at these works for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., the China Shippers Co., Messrs. T. and J. Harrison, Liverpool, and other well-known companies. Several specialities closely connected with marine engineering are also manufactured in large quantities; these include evaporators, feed-water heaters, feed-water circulators, etc. In 1886 the first pumping engines of the three-crank triple-expansion kind were built for the East London Water Works (Proceedings 1892, page 432), their capacity being three million gallons per day lifted to a height of 600 feet.
Situated at G, Plate 58, the works consist of engine-building shops, iron and brass foundries, forge, boiler shops, and all the usual departments necessary for the construction of marine engines and boilers. The iron foundry has a capacity for making all the machinery and other metal castings required in the engine works, besides supplying a large outside trade, the total output being about 400 tons monthly when the works are in full swing. The buildings consist of three spans of 53 feet, 43 feet, and 33 feet, the total length being 350 feet. The forge has a capacity for making 200 tons of forgings monthly; and besides all the heavy forgings and shaftings for the engines made in the works, a large outside demand is also supplied. The boiler department consists of two shops, one having two spans of 55 feet and 43 feet and a length of 270 feet, the other having two spans of 45 feet each and a length of 142 feet.
The principal hydraulic machines are a large flanging press and a 140-ton riveter, both by Tweddell; a 60-ton riveter by Berry, Leeds, and a smaller riveter by Hugh Smith, Glasgow. A radial steam-hammer by R. G. Ross, Glasgow, is also employed for levelling plates; and a complete system of pipes is laid down for pneumatic caulking. The boiler finishing shop is served by a 75-ton self- contained overhead crane by Joseph Booth, Leeds. The machine shops occupy a large portion of the works, and contain machinery capable of dealing with the largest class of marine engines. The bay containing the heavier machines is 360 feet in length; and amongst these machines may be noticed a crank-shaft lathe by Shanks and Co., Johnstone, which is 30 feet between centres and capable of turning a diameter of 12 feet. On this lathe the crankshaft of the " Roslin Castle " was finished in one piece, the diameter being 17 inches and the total weight 30 tons. There is also a vertical and horizontal planing machine by Shanks and Co., capable of planing a surface 19 feet high by 20 feet long; a large double-spindle horizontal drilling and tapping machine by G. and A. Harvey, Glasgow; and milling machines by various makers. The erecting shop, which is 175 feet long, consists of two spans of 60 feet and 30 feet, with a height of 50 feet from the floor to the crane rail; and is served by two 50-ton self-contained overhead cranes by Joseph Booth, Leeds, and 5-ton hydraulic jib-cranes by Hugh Smith, Glasgow. Adjoining the erecting shop is a bay 40 feet wide by 160 feet long, which is principally devoted to the manufacture of specialities. The copper shop is a building 90 feet by 60 feet, and is fitted with the newest plant, including hydraulic bending machine, pneumatic hammer, &c.
In addition to the works at Middleton there are repairing shops at the central 80-ton sheers, at the Union Dock 80-ton sheers, and at the Victoria Dock 60-ton sheers, the headquarters of the outside department being at the Union Dock.
Central Marine Engine Works
CENTRAL MARINE ENGINE WORKS, WEST HARTLEPOOL.
Central Marine Engine Works
These works, situated at H, Plate 58, were erected in 1883 and 1884 by Sir William Gray to meet the large demand of the shipyard belonging to his firm for marine engines. They were planned from the commencement on a large scale, and have since been extended so much as to cover an area of about ten acres. They stand on a site surrounded by favourable conditions, having along one side a quay fitted with 80-ton sheer legs, and along another side a dry dock 560 feet long, besides easy access by road and rail. There are five principal departments, namely engine shops, boiler shops, foundries, forge, and pattern shops; and a number of smaller, embracing brass foundry, copper shop, sheer-legs department, joiners' and painters' shops, tool fettlers', brass finishers', and stores. The forge also includes the smiths' department, the stern-frame and rudder-making plant, and the stamping machines. Thus every important process connected with marine engineering is here carried out, and the extent of each department is such as to meet the output of thirty to forty sets of marine engines and boilers per annum. About 1,500 hands find employment at these works.
The various departments were laid out with a view to economising as far as possible the labour of transit of material within the area of the works; and the placing of machines, &c., was done with the same object in view. In the engine and boiler shops the materials enter at one end, and progress through the various stages to the other, where they pass out to the sheer legs. The principal constructional features of these shops were described and illustrated in a paper read before the North-East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in 1887 (vol. 3, page 55), entitled "Construction of Marine Engine Works."
The first engine built at these works was on the triple-expansion principle, and was completed in October 1885. Since then the business has steadily increased, and all departments have now for several years been in full work. Some large cargo-steamers have been engined at these works, notably the s.s. "Rangatira" and the s.s. "Tekoa," vessels which carry about 50,000 frozen sheep carcasses from the antipodes to this country every voyage; the s.s. " Alberta " and s.s. " Arapahoe," sister ships carrying 7,500 tons dead weight; and engines are now in hand for a vessel of nearly 11,000 tons displacement, which is intended to bring home every voyage about 75,000 sheep carcasses.
All the engines manufactured at these works have the high-pressure cylinder placed between the other two, this arrangement being held to be conducive to economy of steam. A speciality in the manufacture of boilers consists in the welding and flanging of the cylindrical shell plates, and fitting thereto flat end plates, which are also welded at the corners of their seams. This method entirely obviates the joggling of one plate over another, and has other advantages which were fully described in a paper entitled "Some details in Marine Engineering," read before the Institution of Naval Architects in 1891 (vol. 32, page 212). The boiler shop contains heavy welding, hydraulic flanging, and hydraulic riveting machinery, for dealing with these special features of the boilers.
The engines and boilers manufactured at these works are noted for their high economy of fuel, as illustrated by the trials of the s.s. " Iona " carried out by Professor Kennedy for the Research Committee of this Institution (Proceedings 1891, page.200).
William Gray and Co's Shipyards
MESSRS. WILLIAM GRAY AND CO.'S SHIPYARDS, WEST HARTLEPOOL.
William Gray and Co
The North and South yards cover about ten acres at J, Plate 58, and are arranged for six building slips varying from 270 to 340 feet in length. The yards are fitted up with the most modern machinery for carrying on the work in an expeditious and economical manner, including special machines for flanging, riveting, and punching out large manholes. They are in direct connection with the North Eastern Railway. In the yards are shops for carrying out the whole of the requirements of iron and steel shipbuilding, such as joiners', smiths', fitters', riggers', painters', model makers', sail makers', mast makers', and tank, ventilator, and donkey-boiler building. The whole of the yards are fitted up with electric light. There are also two large graving docks opening into the wet docks, thus giving the advantage of being able to dock and undock at any time of the tide. With the facilities that are available in the way of machinery and travelling cranes, the yards are able to give great despatch to any ships that enter the docks for repairs.
The Central shipyard at I, Plate 58, covers about five acres, and is laid out for ships of 500 feet, the berths being specially piled to carry the heavy weight of such ships. Machines of the largest kind have been fitted up, including rolls 30 feet long, and a hydraulic bending machine for bending cold steel plates 24 feet long by 7/8ths inch thick. Railways are laid down in each berth for convenience in moving material. Both in this and in the North and South yards travelling cranes have been largely made use of. The Central yard is also in direct communication with the North Eastern Railway, and is fitted up with the electric light. There are also shops for carrying out the whole of the joiners', smiths', fitters', and painters' work. Large sheer-legs have been erected, so that immediately a ship has been launched she can go alongside the quay, and at once commence masting and taking on board her sundry fittings.
The three yards are together capable of turning out 60,000 tons of shipping per annum, and have recently built two vessels of 7,500 tons dead weight.
West Hartlepool Steel and Iron Works
WEST HARTLEPOOL STEEL AND IRON WORKS.
West Hartlepool Steel and Iron Co
These works, which occupy a site of twelve acres at K at the south end of the town, Plate 58, were originally laid out about thirty years ago; and after several vicissitudes — at one time being noted for their manufacture of iron rails — they passed in 1881 into the hands of the present proprietor, Mr. Matthew Gray, by whom they were re-arranged for the manufacture of iron plates. In 1887 it was decided to add the manufacture of steel plates, for which purpose a large portion of the iron works was dismantled, and a complete modern steel plant laid down; and the first steel plate was made in August 1888.
The present plant consists of seven large Siemens steel furnaces in a line, with a casting pit in front of them, served by three 10-ton locomotive cranes, which deliver the ingots to a hydraulic charging crane serving three ingot furnaces; these are arranged in a circle, and each holds four ingots of 4 to 5 tons weight, which are withdrawn by the crane and delivered by it to the live rollers of the 36-inch cogging mill; the latter is fitted with tilting gear and all modern improvements. After being rolled in this mill down to the required size, the ingots are passed on by live rollers to a powerful set of bloom shears, which cut them into slabs of suitable sizes. The slabs are then lifted by a 4-ton locomotive crane, and transferred to bogies which convey them to the plate mills. Of these there are three, having a combined capacity of 2,000 tons of finished plates per week. No. 1 mill is a 26-inch pull-over mill, driven by a 36-inch horizontal engine; here the thinner plates and chequered plates are rolled. No. 2 mill is a 28-inch mill, driven by a 42-inch horizontal engine, and reversed by gearing. No. 3 mill is a 30-inch mill, driven by a Ramsbottom reversing engine having two 60-inch cylinders with 42 inches stroke, which also drives the cogging mill. There are also forty puddling furnaces with three 4-ton shingling hammers and a 22-inch forge train, to provide puddled bars for the manufacture of iron plates, which are rolled in the same mills as the steel plates. No. 3 mill and the cogging mill are in one line at right angles to the Siemens furnaces; and above them all runs a 25-ton overhead travelling crane for changing rolls or gearing, or lifting heavy ingots. This crane also passes over part of the casting pit, which is thus available for making large steel castings when required; but at present the only steel castings made here are steel rolls for use in the works. Steam is raised by twenty-six vertical boilers, and seven large 500 horse-power marine three-flued boilers, and several donkey boilers. The works are also fully equipped with fitting shops, test houses, laboratory, and hydraulic machinery for the economical and rapid handling of material, and are equal in every respect to any modern works.
The plates made here are so well and favourably known that these works were the only plate mills in the North of England which were not stopped during the Durham coal strike of last year; and even in the present slack times they are very busy. Among the contracts at present in course of execution are five for the British Admiralty, besides others for most of the leading shipbuilders and engineers in the kingdom; and plates are exported from here to all parts of the world.
British Metal Expansion Works
BRITISH METAL EXPANSION WORKS, WEST HARTLEPOOL.
These works were laid out at L, Plate 58, adjoining the West Hartlepool Steel and Iron Works, for the purpose of carrying on a process invented by Mr. J. F. Golding of Chicago. The object of this process is to manufacture rapidly from thin flat sheets of steel a network or trellis that resembles in general appearance wire netting, but is much stronger than the latter. Besides the ordinary uses to which wire netting is put, this expanded steel or steel trellis makes strong fencing and hurdles; but perhaps its most important use is as a substitute for wooden laths in all kinds of lath and plaster work, rendering it fire-proof and eminently strong. The machine used is a kind of multi-bladed shearing machine, which nicks the plate through, but leaves a small piece solid between each nick and the next. The thin sheets of steel are thus slit up just as sheets of paper are slit in making fly-catchers; and the steel sheets are then opened out, in the form of netting (Proceedings 1891, page 382)
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