Steam Driven Crane at Ecclesfield Works

[Albert T Smith]

When I start work at Brightside Foundry, Eccelsfield in Jan 1953. I can remember a Steam Driven Crane which ran by the side of the railway, if not occasionally on it, though I'm almost sure that it was owned by Brightside Foundry.

 

Its use was to load ' Iron Pigs ' using a electro-magnetic round flat dish and fed them for melting down into the Cupola. It also unloaded the pigs from rail wagons and stacked them them in neat piles. Where the electric came from to operate the electro-magnetic dish, I haven't a clue. I do hope someone can tell us all.

 

Does anyone else remember it and/or what happened to it now Brightside Foundry is closed.

 

Mr Frank Woolhouse was the Engineering Shop Manager. His Assistant Manager being Mr Ridge.

 

Mr Ward was the Engineering Works Senior Foreman who lived on Hereward Road near Elm Lane, Sheffield Lane Top and the Junior Foreman were Mr Oxspring who lived on the Shiregreen, Sheffield and Mr Freeman who lived on Industry Road, Walkley Sheffield I believe.( But its a long time back to remember the exact details )

 

During 1955. A Mr Salt who lived either at Grenoside or Eccelsfield was appointed to junior Foreman status after spending a long time working as the Marker Out of the huge casting's prior to machining. The Marker Out had to be responsible and very clever. If he made a mistake on his calculations. Tons of scrap metal was the result costing a few thousand pounds.

 

It should be remembered that the Managers were expected to have passed the Higher National Certificate Diploma and the Foreman up to the Higher Nation Certificate.

 

These objectives were a condition of a Engineering Apprenticeship up to the early 1950s and entailed attending evening school four nights per week taking Maths, Science, Technical Drawing and Chemistry. No one was really bothered about English. This subject was for woman to learn in those days, simply because woman were expected to work in a clerical capacity not in a manual one. You attended evening classes four nights per week, the first year was the Prim & Prep, Second year S1. Third S2. When the Nation Certificate was taken. S3 Higher National then the S4. The H.N.C.Diploma. After which you went into the Army to serve your two years conscription.

 

Attending Day school instead of evening school became standard about 1955 a few years afterwards the student apprenticeship scheme started. I was very pleased to see this introduction, but I felt more direct practical work should have been involved.

 

Whilst I worked at Brightside we made the Parkgate Steel Mill another that went to Turkey (??????) where a earth quake occurred a few years ago and one which went to India at ( Durg ger per ? ).

 

I realise that I've wandered off the original posting but it is information that could be forgotten and it would be nice to know if a Forum member is related to the old gaffers who would habitually give the apprentice a clout for not listening!!.

[e barker]

Hi Albert, I read your post with great interest, I'm doing family research and my Nan was a Ridge, so on tracing back i now know that they were a family of gimlet and joiners tool makers, Ive found reference of them being at the Union works at Ecclesfield from the trade directory. Do you know of this Union works? or where i may find more information?

I wondered if your managers assistant could have been from the same family, there was certainly plenty of Ridges about.

On the other side of my family are Ashforths, Joseph Ashforth was supposed to have something to do with a steel works, but yet again, information is thin on the ground, the history sites only seem to cater after the big players, yet there must have been hundreds of small steel manufacturers dotted around.

I'm coming back up home this weekend to visit my daughter at Shiregreen, while I'm there I hope to pick up a few local history books, do you have any pointers as to which ones would be usefull to me?

I'm sorry, but I don't know what happened to your crane, but did you get plenty of clouts for not listening then, or did you learn pretty quickly?

Elaine.

[Greybeard]

 

Its use was to load ' Iron Pigs ' using a electro-magnetic round flat dish and fed them for melting down into the Cupola. It also unloaded the pigs from rail wagons and stacked them them in neat piles. Where the electric came from to operate the electro-magnetic dish, I haven't a clue. I do hope someone can tell us all.

 

 

Just guessing Albert, but I imagine the electro-magnet was powered by a generator which in turn was driven by a power take-off from the fly-wheel ?

 

I can remember seeing a steam crane but not sure now whether it was in the Wicker goods station or the depot at Grimesthorpe. Also remember a steam-shovel on an open-cast site in Lancashire. I watched this for ages as the bus I was on broke down and we had to wait for over an hour for a replacement, that was in 1950 or 1951.

[Albert T Smith]

Hi Albert, I read your post with great interest, I'm doing family research and my Nan was a Ridge, so on tracing back i now know that they were a family of gimlet and joiners tool makers, Ive found reference of them being at the Union works at Ecclesfield from the trade directory. Do you know of this Union works? or where i may find more information?

I wondered if your managers assistant could have been from the same family, there was certainly plenty of Ridges about.

On the other side of my family are Ashforths, Joseph Ashforth was supposed to have something to do with a steel works, but yet again, information is thin on the ground, the history sites only seem to cater after the big players, yet there must have been hundreds of small steel manufacturers dotted around.

I'm coming back up home this weekend to visit my daughter at Shiregreen, while I'm there I hope to pick up a few local history books, do you have any pointers as to which ones would be usefull to me?

I'm sorry, but I don't know what happened to your crane, but did you get plenty of clouts for not listening then, or did you learn pretty quickly?

Elaine.

 

I will endeavor to think more deeply about this. One thing that comes to mind, though I'm not certain, that is a Mr Barker worked in the Engineering Machine shop office. I believe that he was employed in checking the Engineering Plans ( Called Drawings ) of articles whilst they were being worked on.

 

Some of those articles were very heavy and were normally conveyed by those Pickford Low Loading lorries, One pulling another pushing.

 

First of all, Mr Ridge was the assistant manager, not a managers assistant.

He was very intelligent and qualified to able replace Mr Frank Woolhouse immediately.

I believe that he lived on Cross Hill at Eccelsfield. He frequently asked questions to make certain that we knew what a piece of work was for or did. Often questions were about our evening class. I never got a clout from him because I'd make certain I gave him the correct answers. Mr Ward the Senior Foreman was not so easily put off giving me a clout or dishing out a bit of shoe!! But what he taught me stood me in good stead all my life.

 

I believe that ' Twinky1 ' as got details on the Eccelsfield Village Web Site.

I'll have a fish around and post it ' Here ' if I find it. Probably you will find this site very useful and after visiting it you may find suitable books for your searches.

May I suggest that when you have finished with them you donate them to a library.

 

I can assure you that an apprentice up to the early 1955s listened, asked and learned very quickly. I've always thought that after the day release scheme came in and later the six month alternating apprentice scheme arrived. A great deal of discipline was lost off the shop floor. A lot of intelligent apprentices were brought into being, who knew their rights, but did not want to know the responsibilities which came along with them each one expecting to become the gaffer!!.

 

I hope someone else can join the thread who also worked at Brightside in the early 1950s.

Such as:-Les Callow, Don Fillingham. ?? Mellor, ( All lived on the Shiregreen) ?? Thatcher ( He lived on City Road, Deep Pits). Mr Wards son, (Who lived at Grindleford). Ralph Blackburn who lived near Hoyland. He was a nature lover often going to Wortley Hall Park.

I can't be the only one left!!

[Albert T Smith]

Just guessing Albert, but I imagine the electro-magnet was powered by a generator which in turn was driven by a power take-off from the fly-wheel ?

 

I can remember seeing a steam crane but not sure now whether it was in the Wicker goods station or the depot at Grimesthorpe. Also remember a steam-shovel on an open-cast site in Lancashire. I watched this for ages as the bus I was on broke down and we had to wait for over an hour for a replacement, that was in 1950 or 1951.

 

I do hope that someone can let me know the answer.

When you are in your early teens things like this are not really interesting.