The only time you would have got this view a few years ago was if you were on the steel works, but it does show the jetty off very well.
(photo courtesy of Pem Holiday)

Thanks to Owen Rooks for this photograph and following caption:

This is a shot I took from a helicopter of the works site in June 2006. I don’t know what goes on there these days so I’ll leave it to the experts to identify any noteworthy features!

Sandra tells us that Brian took this photo of the train crossing the bridge below Carlin How, and the next photo, from their bedroom window on St. Hilda’s Terrace.  

The train is ’The Boulby Flyer’ on the first excursion organised by Saltburn Railtours in August 1995.  This trip took place in the Saltburn Victorian Week.  (Thanks to their website for this information). 

Thanks to Sandra Hutchinson for the photograph.

The train going over the viaduct towards Loftus, with Kilton shale tip in the background.   The excursion was on the Boulby mineral line from Saltburn to Boulby Potash Mine and back.

Thanks to Sandra Hutchinson for the photograph.

A view of the steel works from High Street, Skinningrove.

(Image courtesy of Pat Sparkes).

As the caption says bridge over jetty nearing completion 1950.
(photo courtesy of Pem Holiday)

Not a very clear picture, but as we don’t have many of Grinkle mine we felt we had to publish it. Anyone got any more photos they would like to share with us?
(photo courtesy of Pem Holiday)

A photograph taken after Skinningrove station was closed.
(photo courtesy of Pem ?Holiday)

Quite a few comments about the brickwheel gang, this one has Harry Dack’s twin brother second from the right.  Anyone know th names of the other men?
(photo courtesy of Derick Pearson)

This photograph of Harry Grange and Mr. Burnley was taken on Skinningrove Works.  Mr. Grange was a research chemist at the steel works. His daughter Carolyn is unsure about the identity of the other gentleman in the image, it could possibly be Norman Dales?

(Image courtesy of Carolyn Richards)

I don’t know what the occasion was.   Carolyn Richard’s father, Harry Grange, is standing in the middle at the back of the group.

(Image courtesy of Carolyn Richards).

We haven’t many photo’s of this pit not as well known as many of the others in the area.
(photo courtesy of Derick Pearson)

Part of the Laboratory staff photographed during lunch break outside the laboratories in January 1947, the photograph bears this date on the back. 
Back row: Alf James, Clive Lawson, Norman Dales.
Front row: Harry Grange, Donald Pell, Nancy Rudham, John Donavon, Elizabeth Ferrer, George Allison, Audrey Keen (later Dales). Harry Grange apparently set the camera up to take a time release exposure and then joined the group.

(Image courtesy of Carolyn Richards, thanks to Jean Yardy and Elizabeth Ferrer for names and information updates)

One of Brotton Lumpsey Mine in 1920s. Police and Mine security out in force. Possibly linked to the General Strike in 1926, except that after World War I, Constables and Sergeants wore helmets. Eric Johnson suggests they could be Special Constables.

(photo courtesy of Derick Pearson)

South Skelton mine, pre electrification(which occurred 1912-1914).
Thanks to Simon Chapman for the information.
(photo courtesy of Mike Holliday)

A rather good shot of Liverton Mine, waiting for someone out there to tell me where it was taken from.

(photo courtesy of Mike Holliday)

The last three men to leave Loftus mine, (South drift), on 27th September, 1958:

Jack W. Cooke, Arthur Thompson, and William Adamson.

(Image courtesy of Keith Bowers)

Another memory jogging photo of when the train could pull right up to the Zetland Hotel

(photo courtesy of Mike Holliday)

Now you train spotters out there where is this I know you wil be able to tell me,  just reminds me of Thomas the Tank Engine

Derick Pearson with assistance from Russ Piggott informs us:
Image shows Left to right…
67281. was the last surviving example of a G5, She was an 0-4-4T type. She was withdrawn by British rail in 1958.

43073. is definitely a Ivatt Class 4 and the last photo I have of her is leaving Roose Railway station, Barrow-in-Furness in 1960. Where she ended up I do not know.

67663. Was a V1 2-6-2T Gresley. The Class V3 Gresley was introduced 1939, built on the same chassis and everything else. Appearance was much the same as the V1 but the V3 had a Higher Boiler Pressure. This one is the earlier V1.

63340. Is as Russ says a Q6. It was originally a N.E.R class T2 0-8-0. Classified as a Q6 by the L.N.E.R. 120 were built at Darlington works between 1913 and 1921 to the design of Vincent Raven. They were based on the N.E.R Class T and T1- L.E.N.R – Q5s.
All passed into British Railways ownership in 1948 and they were numbered from 63340 to 63459. 63372 was withdrawn in 1960 after an accident. The others were withdrawn from 1963 to 1967. Only one of them, the 63395 has survived to preservation on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. She re-entered service after a major overhall in 2007.

67685. Was A Gresley 3 cyl V3. The last reference I have to her is at Battersby Junction near Gt Ayton.
Hope this sorts that one out

(photo courtesy of Mike Holliday, but now known to be from a CD produced by Derick Pearson.)

This is a nice photo of Carlin How Square in the early 1950s. Notice all the telephone wires going to the large chimney stack on the centre house rather than to the lamppost as today. Also note the bus stand on the left where everyone used to catch the bus Loftus / Whitby Bound. The Bus on the right is marked Workmen, it is obviously the day shift ending time from Skinningrove works. Note also what was called Cunningham’s house in the centre of the junction at that time.

(photo and caption courtesy Derick Pearson)

I remember when we lived at East Loftus about this time a ’works return’ for dad used to be 3d a day, what’s that in today’s money less than 2p? joanj

This mine was worked from 1863 until 1923.

A lot to see here, Liverton Mine in the background, the viaduct cutting through the photo and the railway on it’s way to Carlin How and to Loftus Mine (via the ’Z’).

The calcining kilns at Liverton Mines produced so much ”muck” that the whole area was in perpetual smog.  It is said that the clothes of the workers on the kilns used to rot in the acid air.

A view of the works looking over the top of the valley from the cliffs near Hummersea. 

Eric Johnson tells us:
From the left. the new 36 inch mill can be seen; moving right the soaking pits, then next right the solitary large chimney of the original 250 ton tilting furnace of the talbots (melting shop). At the right of the photo, in front of the blast furnaces, the coke ovens are under construction, I believe they came on stream in 1911. During the Great War, extra furnaces and mixer were added to the talbots, the soaking pits were extended, a second battery of coke ovens erected, and in 1918/19 a 18,000 hp electric motor installed in the 36 inch mill.I would date this photo to 1910.

Thanks Eric for the update.

This is a BR Standard loco, number 77012, standing light engine in Kettleness Station.

Another station which has found a new lease of life – as a Scout Activity Centre – the coast line being closed some 5 years before Dr Beeching. Useage was only heavy in the summer, whilst the tunnels and bridges were expensive to maintain. (Thanks to Simon Chapman).

One of the pit horses at the Boulby ironstone mine.  I believe it is by the Travelling Drift.

One of the men to be seen working behind the horse was known as Pidge.

(Image courtesy of Mr. R. Conn)

An excellent hand tinted postcard of the railway station in possibly 1907.

Looks different now.

Once again a lovely drawing of a mine I must admit I hadn’t heard of before, are there any other photographs of this mine out there?  Please share
(image coutesy of Joan Webster)

Skelton station as we have never seen it, once again a lovely drawing, but where was Skelton station?
(image courtesy of Joan Webster)

The station was South-East along the railway from Hollybush Bridge. It opened on 01.07.1902 and was closed to passangers on 10.09.1951, it was completely closed on 21.01.1964.    The building to the left of the picture was the Station Masters house which still stands.

I feel certain that North Skelton Station was at Holybush where Wilkinson Brothers Car Breakers yard is. I can remember some platforms still being there and am sure this is the one depicted in the etching. Stonehouse Brothers had this yard for coaches before Wilkinson Brothers and they would probably be able to confirm this if they see it. Just a little further along the line was Long Acres Pit which is also shown on site.

Thanks to David Richardson and Derick Pearson I now know where Skelton station was, all information gratefully received

Yes I know we have a photo of this bridge but not like this look at all those bricks, how long to draw all those?
(image courtesy of Joan Webster)

Calacine Kilns at Lingdale mine
(image courtesy of Joan Webster)

How clearly the pit wheel shows up.
(image courtesy of Joan Webster)

Another dawing by Mr Harrison, look at all those pit props carefully drawn.
(image courtesy of Joan Webster nee Robinson)

A wonderful drawing of Skelton mine by H Harrison,
(image courtesy of Joan Webster nee Robinson of Skelton)

Possibly ”Slaggers and Pig Bed Crew” in Skinningrove works,  must be quite an early photo as none of the men are wearing a safety helmet. Middle man front row has his feet in ”Sow” channel for the molten iron.

That looks like a ”Front Side Crew”, iron furnace in the background and the gentleman in the centre seems to be standing over the sow channel for the molten iron. Far right hand side possibly ”Furnace Keeper”.

I don’t think it’s No. 5 which was an altogether larger affair and tipped into ladles, not pig-beds, so it must be one of the earlier bank of 5 furnaces which have adorned quite a few postcards, but which furnace and why the occasion for a photograph?

It couldn’t be a steel furnace, because Skinningrove furnaces were Siemens-Martin Basic Open Hearth furnaces and they all tilted back to tap (and forwards to tip slag). The problem is that there are the right number of men to crew a steel furnace (and that seems to be the progression from right to left, foreman then 1st hand through to 4th hand) – this one is a real enigma – anybody out there who can shed some light on the situation?

The gent on the right is wearing a fob watch which would suggest pre-1918.

One of the two Rail Bridges at Claphow, Stanghow Road (the road connecting New Skelton directly to Lingdale). Due to mining subsidence the bridge was strengthen with the addition of a second arch inside the original arch. A buttress was added at the right hand side and four iron rods inserted through the parapet, whilst the left hand side was concreted.

(Image and information courtesy of Eric Johnson)

A working photo of the aerial ropeway, locally known as ’the buckets’. We can see a full bucket of ironstone being taken up to the iron and steel works, with the mine in the distance at the bottom of the picture.

Loftus mines ironstone was transported up to Skinningrove Works from 1895 by connection into the abandoned workings of the North Loftus mine to avoid paying haulage charges to the N.E.R. By 1932 the North Loftus shaft steam winding equipment was thoroughly antiquated so the aerial ropeway was built to avoid using the shaft which was later filled in.

Thanks to Simon Chapman for information in the last paragraph.

X marks the spot not of treasure, but of the unsafe pillar of the viaduct that caused it to be filled in with spoil from the mines.

(X marks the unsafe pillar of the Loftus to Carlin How Viaduct. The condition of the pillar lead to the creation of the culvert to house the Kilton Beck and the infilling of the viaduct with iron stone mining waste to create the embankment we still see today. – John G)

Kilton Viaduct was infilled from 1907 to 1914 primarily so that ironstone could be worked from beneath it, particularly from the Carlin How mine. The picture was taken in 1911 when one pier cracked and train services were suspended for a fortnight while remedial action was taken.

Thank you once again Simon Chapman

A close view of the chimney at the mine at Loftus as it slowly falls.

I would suggest that this is Loftus (Skinningrove) mines chimney being demolished.
In the background you can see the Staple shaft from “Duckhole” mine. This is still in
existance today. This mine was eventually linked to Lumpsey mine at Brotton, and worked from that shaft. Just to the
right, off the photograph, is what we now know as the Cleveland Ironstone mining museum.

This was the chimney at Loftus mines being felled in 1912.

As the caption on the photo says – Liverton Mines chimney stack felled on Tuesday 24th August 1926

A view of the former Hummersea alum workings, almost disappearing under the eroded surface.

The stone outlines are the remains of liquor channels used to move the resultant liquids to the settling tanks.

Thanks to Eric Johnson for the photographs and information.

Obviously pre 1958 with a steam train, headed by A8 4-6-2T 67750, approaching Easington and the tunnel from Loftus. Can anybody date this picture? Or is it Easington?

Here L1 2-6-4T number 67754 stands adjacent to the signal box with a mixed train of 2nd/3rd class composite coaches, the first carriage being quite a modern example, while the rest are pre-1939.

Engine no 67754 was in charge of the last passenger train from Whitby to Loftus, in 1958. on the left of the photo behind the boys on the platform can be seen a camping coach, several of the stations between here and Scarborough had these carriages in sidings at the stations, for holliday makers. thank you for that information Eric,  all help gratefully accepted, joanj.

The old station building still stands, it is now a private house, but still is an obvious former railway building.

Not a very clear picture but we can make out Glover’s Path and Kilton Mill and on the hillside ’Duck Hole’ pit. It got this name because of the working conditions; it was so wet the men could be ankle deep or more in water while working down there – it’s real name was North Loftus Mine.

Also to be seen in the picture are the remains of the original Whitecliffe mine. North Loftus mine was completely separate and only worked as an independent mine in the 1870s’. Later the shaft was acquired by Skinningrove Iron Co. and used to raise ironstone from Carlin How and Loftus mines, only being infilled about 1947.

Thanks to Simon Chapman for the addition to this post

Liverton works, with the spray bars in the right-foreground

Taken in 1933 this shows the brick wheel and the work force on the steel works.

The purpose of the brick wheel was to make bricks from molten blast furnace slag, many of these bricks can be found in most back alleys. Eic Jonson supplies the following brief description of brickmaking: ”the slag was brought from the furnaces in slag ladles adapted with a tap hole. a chute was placed between this and led down to the wheel moulds. the making of slag bricks was a very labour intensive operation, once started was continuous, hard hot work. the wheel was a steel circular construction, with the steel moulds round the perimeter they had a hinged bottom held with a catch. this can be all be seen in the photo. the wheel was driven by a geared electric motor with hand operated backup. as the slag ran down the chute into the moulds, the wheel rotated, the filled moulds cooled down and at a point near the kilns, the catch was struck the hinged bottom opened the hot brick fell to the ground. It was picked up with the large “gripes”. some of the men can be seen holding in photo, carried to the kilns and stacked inside, when full the kiln was closed. as the kiln was already hot from the previous batch the working conditions for the men can be imagined.”

Second man front right is Harry Dack from Carlin How anyone know any more of the men here?

(photo courtesy of Derick Pearson and updates from Robert Proctor and Eric Johnson)

A lovely clear photograph of Lumpsey mine at Brotton. Some ruins of the buildings still remain with the shaft being capped off.

Bell’s pit, due to its ownership by Bell Brothers, at Carlin How, more popularly known as ”Duck Hole” (because of the very wet working conditions), was towards the end of its working life known as North Loftus Mine.

Seen here, the SS Northgate at Skinningrove jetty with the cranes busy at her side.

Skinningrove Station – ironically at Carlin How!

Who were the two people in the photograph?

Taken in the 1950’s the iron and steel works were at full production and covered a large area.

The 4 large chimneys are the exhaust chimneys for the furnaces on the melting shop, on the cliff edge can be seen No. 5 Blast Furnace.

…in a place appropriately called the Stripping Sheds. The numbers on the moulds provide traceability to the cast from which the steel was made (probably the pot too). From here the ingots went to the Soaking Pits to be kept at an even temperature ready for Cogging.

Thanks to Derick for spotting an error in the original post, but on going back to the image file we have discovered the ingot size to be 4.75 tons.

Not boys from the blackstuff, but boys from the potash mine. This photo was taken outside the surface workshops.

From L to R: Bob Beadnell, Jack Wren, Wilf Mackinder, Gordon Fletcher, Albert Breckon, Jimmy Warral, John Richardson, Les Atkinson, Mel Picket, Raymond Pearson, Frank Smith, Ray Broom, John James, Colin Philipson, Alan Cox, Terry Robinson, Jeff Verrill, Dennis Bulman, and last but not least Colin Readman.

We can see two men hard at work in the blacksmith’s shop at Loftus mine. The man with the file in the foreground is probably the ’smith and his helper behind with his hand on the chimney damper for the fire.

A fairly modern view of Skinningrove Iron and Steel Works from the Hummersea Cliff road. No. 5 Blast Furnace in evidence – and under that water tower on the cliff edge was the Day Laboratory where I spent my formative years, learning my trade under the watchful eyes (and ears) of ”Effie” Brown, Harry Burnley, Harry Grange and Norman Dale.

Well that is what it says on the back of the photo along with ’pre war’ and the names of those in the picture are Lenny Calvert, Ernie Johnson, Charlie Vodden and Tot Porrit.

(image courtesy of Kathleen Hicks)

A Class 37 in Railfreight livery passes what looks like a Class 31 stranded on the roads at Crag Hall, by the lean on it it looks like a broken spring.
As Russ tells us ”The 31 is actually derailed. It came off on the points leading to the headshunt that are worked from the box. I was having my annual assessment at the time and so was the signalman. Also the train was an inspection saloon from York, Ive never seen so many gaffers in one spot!  The cause was put down to poor maintainece of the point rodding and as the chief signalling engineer was in the saloon I reckon he would have got a lot of stick afterwards!” – which just goes to show what I know! – rodders

(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

Class 31, 31549, receives attention from the engineers at Crag Hall, notice the heavy lifting jack in use, broken spring or shattered axlebox?
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

Looks like they got it fixed – it’s now sat level on the 4 foot, running lights are on and the engineers are retiring to their carriage. (no doubt for tea and tiffin!).
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

Okay you railway buffs out there I know this is a train and I know it’s a steam train ’cos I can see the steam, but now I await you telling me more about it.

That’s a WD on a train from Skinningrove at Huntcliffe, roughly where the ring shaped sculpture is, making a racket no doubt, it looks windy but the exhaust is been blasted skywards.

Thank you Mark, I new some gentleman would come along and tell me all about it.

(image courtesy of Eric Johnson)

I  have it on good information that this is Saltburn viaduct, a steam train with a rake wagons filled with  ironstone passing over it. 

(image courtesy of Eric Johnson)

Tom Codling is standing on the left of this group.

Stan Bowman kneeling on right.

Who are the rest, and believed to have been taken outside the talbots laboratories Skinningrove Works?

(Image courtesy of Mrs. J. Wilson. Thanks to Eric Johnson for the update.)

It doesn’t always go smoothly underground – I can imagine this caused considerable hazard underground, loads of toxic fumes, smoke and, worst of all, a lack of oxygen.
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

An example of the immense working pressures involved. Worked on the Pillar and Bord system, this pillar has been crushed by the pressure of the roof (and the instability of the crystal structures involved, possibly).

(image courtesy of A Franks)

An accident at Boulby Potash, the vehicle has gone from one level to another the short way!

(image courtesy of A Franks)

Just to show that even modern mining isn’t without its hazards, here’s an image of a roof fall caused by the somewhat unstable (in air) compound Carnalite.

(Carnalite (KMgCl3·6H2O, hydrous magnesium and potassium chloride). Carnalite crystallizes in a rhombic system and has a hardness of 2.5, the same as the finger nail. It usually displays a granular structure. Carnalite can be colourless, pinkish or reddish, always with a vitreous gloss. Carnalite is deliquescent, it dissolves even in the air humidity. Its taste is salty, spicy after the potassium and bitter after the magnesium content – from a web definition, rodders)
(image courtesy of A Franks)

Sometimes it just isn’t your day! Running repairs on a big Cat!

(image courtesy of A Franks)

A picture taken without the benefit of flash and against the internal lighting, it still shows the Gas Turbine-driven alternator and in the background those beautiful Gas Motors that used to thud out night and day! This was a most beautiful building inside and although the picture doesn’t show it very well, the whole of the back wall was covered in 1900’s instrumentation. The floor was red earthenware tiles and there was lots of Victorian/Edwardian woodwork. I used to collect water samples from the feeds that were just as you came into the building, behind the photographer (who is on the balcony), walk along the tiled floor, past these monsters and out through the door within a door within the huge doors to sample the water in the brick outside reservoir tanks every morning for about six or seven months – it was a time capsule!
(image courtesy of Reg Dunning)

Here is a picture that is familiar to me, a train of slag wagons tipping their loads at the Tarmac Roadstone Plant on Skinningrove Iron and Steel Works. One wagon is already being tipped while the others wait their turn. Reg Dunning’s father worked the Bucyrus crane that fed the crusher plant that produced roadstone, that was transported in Tarmac Roadstone lorries, which my father-in-law used to service and maintain.
(image courtesy of Reg Dunning)

Preserved K1 Class, 62005, rounds the bend at Huntcliff, passing the remains of the old Guibal Fanhouse on a Trainspotter’s Special on the 10th May 2008
(image courtesy of Raymond Brown)

A pair of Class 20s, led by 20070, cross the new bridge at Carlin How with a train of loaded Potash Hoppers. Both locos are equipped with multiple working connections, the second man being the guard. Both locos in ”Small Arrow” livery, and it looks like the Thornaby Kingfisher on the side (thanks for the verification Russ – rodders).
(image courtesy of Raymond Brown)

This is the cutting to go with the previous  image.  As usual the Gazette writer has forgotten that without the Steel Works ”scar” there would be no villages, just a group of farms and outbuildings, and the coastal outline would have changed dramatically due to coastal erosion (Skinningrove used to tip slag over the cliff edge at Cattersty) and he wouldn’t be talking about the new Finishing Department anyway!

(image courtesy of Colin Hart)

(cutting copyright Evening Gazette)

This is an aerial view of Skinningrove works showing the new Finishing Departments nearing completion.

(image courtesy of Colin Hart)

(image copyright Evening Gazette)

Somebody asked, in a comment, when the new Finshing Department buildings (green sheds) went up on Skinningrove, Colin responded by telling me the date, so that I could answer the comment.  He’s now sent me cuttings from ”The Steel News” and ”The Evening Gazette”.  This first one shows the first sods being cut by the oldest and newest employees of Skinny.

(image courtesy of Colin Hart)

(cutting copyright The Steel News)

A late afternoon shot by the look of it, enough haze to fool the exposure meter, but definitely a pair of 37s, both in different BR liveries – the front one sporting the frog-eye headcode boxes.
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

A pair of “Large Arrow” liveried Class 37s running light engine at Boulby.
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

I seem to remember these weren’t well liked due to a lack of sanders and brakes like a milk float! Notice the steps for the signalman to give and receive block tokens for the single line working. Also the local semaphore set off to give him right of way. A nice gritty black and white image.
(I notice the last set of semaphores on the Brotton side of Crag Hall have recently been replaced with light signals.)
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

I do like this image Russ – captures the ruggedness of the location perfectly with that haze/fog/mist shrouding Boulby Potash right up to the middle ground of the image.
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

I hated these smelly, noisy, uncomfortable, drafty things – it made the bus worthwhile and a car inevitable. I notice that this is before Redcar Central Station became a business park and the railway became single track.
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

This time with a load of sections from Skinningrove, there’s novel! Full yellow ends and large logo. Never named, but renumbered!
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

A pair of immaculately turned out Class 20s standing at Crag Hall box with a train – they are being routed into Crag Hall Yard, so I have to assume that its a train of empties for Skinningrove Works.
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

This, I think, is when the Zetland Hotel was still a hotel and the lovely Victorian facade of the station, including the canopy was intact. Before expediency destroyed the excursion platform with its beautiful Victorian cupolas and when the station building was still a station building instead of a shopping arcade.
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

Taken from the back of the signal box looking towards the works, this image shows the train assembly yards for Skinningrove Works. I can’t make up my mind whether it’s a guard’s van or a small shunter on the rightmost rake of wagons.
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

This must be a fairly rare image, Guisborough Box (and line) are long gone, just surviving into the diesel era.
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

The Class 37, like the 25 and the 20, is the unsung hero of the diesel era. A scaled down Class 40 it has pulled everything under the sun, single, double and triple-headed!
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

There is something about black and white and railway images, they just seem to go well together. Here, a Class 37 and a train of empties head across the new bridge at Carlin How enroute to Boulby for loading.
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

Possibly the same pair as the other post, just rolling with the loaded train.
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

Slightly contre-jour, a photo of a couple of Class 20s in the classic nose-to-nose configuration, leaving the loading yard at Boulby Potash, bound for Saltburn Junction.

(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

I told Russ that my favourite diesels were Class 20s, Class 25s and Class 37s – there follows a whole series of lovely images from that privileged track-side position.
(image courtesy of Russ Pigott)

A Class 37, number 37515, passes through Carlin How with a trainload of Potash from Boulby.
Notice the panel over the aperture left from the removal of the nose doors.
(image courtesy of Raymond Brown)

Taken from the bridge at Carlin How, a trainspotter’s special, or was it for Cleveland Potash’s Open Day? Raymond tells me it’s from the early to mid-80’s – the DMU colour scheme fits that era anyway!

The Rail Inspection bank – I’ve spent many a cold and windy/damp day up here stamping rails for Inspectors who stayed behind in the warmth of the office at the Test House with a cup of tea and a biscuit!  Still – if you were lucky you could share the brazier in the yard gang’s shelter to warm your nithered fingers up!

(image courtesy of Bob Proctor

This is the 18-inch Mill where the smaller angles and joists were made, from bed angle up to pit-props.

(image courtesy of Bob Proctor

This is what those motors drove!  The Cogging Mill (where the ingots were knocked down into blooms) and the 36” Finishing Mill (where the blooms were rolled into shape, ready for hot sawing to length).

(image courtesy of Bob Proctor)

Flame-cutting Forging Quality blooms.

(image courtesy of Bob Proctor)

This I believe is a cold straightener (tell me which type please) and those huge motors for driving the 36-inch Mill Roll Stands, you could smell the ozone!

(image courtesy of Bob Proctor)

Another scene I’ll never forget!  Sampling a furnace: long ladle – in through the peep-hole, dip deep, twist, withdraw and pour into the steel pot dumped in the sand on the floor.

Sorry if you don’t understand the measurements on the page – this is definitely pre-metric, when we used British Imperial measurements (and most of the map was still coloured red).

(image courtesy of Bob Proctor)

The archetypal image of a Steel Furnace tapping, viewed from Pitside – an image I’ll never forget!  Notice the reference to a 120 Ton furnace.

(image courtesy of Bob Proctor)

When I was in the Test House at Skinningrove Iron Works we had a copy of the Skinningrove Product Book – or as we called it ’The Blue Book’.  It was well out of date, but was still the bible for all the basic products that were made by Skinningrove.  Bob has kindly provided me with the pages that have images on them and I include them here as a kind of nostalgia trip.  This issue looks to be either just pre-war (1939) or just post-war (1946).

This shows an image of No. 1 Blast Furnace, out of service when I worked there, which was hand-charged.  I worked with a man, ”Tiny” Pennock, who was a charger on this furnace.  They used huge two-wheeled barrows (man-height) to carry the burden  and they ran on knife edge cast wheels about 3 foot 6 inches (in old money) in diameter.  Apparently if the balance was right they used to run as fast as they could and then hang on the shafts while the barrow careered along!  The right-most ’tower’ attached to the blast furnace was the lift shaft and the barrows were emptied into the ’bell’ of the furnace along the gangway.  When the bell was full, the upper bell would be raised and the lower bell opened to discharge the burden into the furnace.

(image courtesy of Bob Proctor)

Here’s a view of Skinningrove Iron Works looking in towards the Tarmac road gravel plant.  Unless I’m mistaken it shows No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 Blast Furnaces, but no Sinter Plant, so it’s after 1950 and before 1958.

(image courtesy of Bob Proctor)

The same for No. 5 Blast Furnace – notice the double bell at the top (the top bell is a conical bell that lifted to seal the top of the furnace, then the bottom bell was opened and the burden dropped into the furnace without releasing pressure in the furnace).

(image courtesy of Bob Proctor)

Nearly all the details you ever needed to know about No. 1 Blast Furnace at Skinningrove.

(image courtesy of Bob Proctor)

A long while later and the platform has gone, the car park has arrived and a special makes its way from Redcar towards Black Bridge (must be a preserved loco on a charter run).

How many of you remember the excursion platform at Redcar? Well, there’s a car park there now, but in its heyday it was heaving (Redcar had a beach then, there was no deep water channel in the Tees, no Blast Furnace on the skyline and Redcar had two picture houses and a theatre).
I count 3 engines in steam here as well!

I couldn’t resist posting this image! 

David tells me that it’s Castleton Station, but when was a Class 55 ”Deltic” on the Whitby line, I know that there used to be one at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway?

Russ says ”Without sounding too trainspotterish,it was 55002 on a special to Whitby in summer 1981. I remember seeing it go through Ayton”.

(thanks David and Russ – rodders)

Here’s a few railway pictures to keep the trainspotters happy (count me in – rodders) an EWS Class 56 no. 56032 standing at Boulby.
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

I think this is the same train looking towards the dispersal sidings at the filling bay.
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

Class 56 no. 56055 outbound from Boulby with a train of Potash Hoppers. As Russ says, it’s in the LoadHaul livery!  Didn’t know they were all American owned now though – is nothing British anymore!
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

EWS Class 56 no. 56032 looking rather clean in this classic shot at Boulby.
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

This is a guess on my part – but looking at the train of wagons in the background I guess this hopper fills the rail wagons with Potash.
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

OK you troglodytes, time for another set of images from Boulby Potash. Didn’t know they had a Stock Car track down there!
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

When you want to move a non-mobile object underground get ahead – get a bucket!
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

Seeing this image gives me a new respect for the modern breed of miner – this has to be a pretty bad environment to earn a crust in!

As Alan says: ”Milling Was Done After A Heading Was Mined If There Was Still A Good Grade Of Potash In The Floor Or To Regain A Passable Roof Height If The Roof Had Dropped Or The Floor Had Heaved. It Is Easy Tonnage As Generally No Probe Drilling Or Roof Bolting To Do As In Usual Face Mining.”

Heliminer has now been identified as a 1060 by N Readman, ”motors go straight through into the head and it has no prop shaft.”

(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

Didn’t say it was pretty down there – I suppose all of the kit gets like this eventually. Notice the overhead airway – vital in a mines environment and more so at this depth!
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

You know those car stickers that say ’If you can read this you are too close’ – the mining equivalent would be ’If you can see this it’s too late!” A set of charged holes ready for firing – now you can see what the augers are used for.
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

This almost has the look of art – of course without them you can’t see, so a vital piece of utility underground (and EXII as well).
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

Gutted is the word – glad I wasn’t in here when this lot went up!
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

I don’t know what a convergence is, but judging by the twisted metalwork and the collapsed crush-stack I guess it’s the onset of pressure, or a geological faulting process.

Alan says: ”Quite A Bit Of Roof Pressure There, If The Chocks And Steel Weren’t There, There Would Be A Big Heap Of Ore On The Ground” – and I believe him!
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

Now you can see why those stacks are like they are, when the pressure comes on they crush – like the taper on a pit prop they give early indication of an impending problem!!
(image courtesy of Alan M Franks)

A photograph of Staithes Viaduct, taken from the landward side, I think, showing a 5 coach train travelling towards Whitby, headed by a large tank engine (possibly an A8 (4-6-2T) or maybe a BR Standard tank (2-6-4T) – or even a Thompson  L1 tank (2-6-4T)  – thanks to Mark Thompson).

What a remarkably scenic railway this was – nowadays it would be the ideal candidate for preservation – pity Dr. Beeching never thought about that!

A view the viaduct from downstream, looking inland.  The train is heading towards Staithes station.

A shift of miners outside the clock office at Morrison’s Pit.  Can anybody name them?

The Mine Manager and various Officials of Lumpsey Pit.

Standing (L to R): ??, ??, ??, ??, ??.

Seated (L to R): Mr. Clough (Engineer), Mr. Dixon (Manager), ??.

Can anybody name the rest?

Another picture of a train on Staithes viaduct – this time Loftus bound.

The engine is a BR Class 4MT 2-6-4T (”Standard” Tank) heading a local commuter train with some very mixed stock, including a non-corridor brake 3rd and a non-corridor composite 2nd/3rd.

I wonder if these photographs were taken at the customer’s request or as an early advertisement? A good image of a two wheel cart – too heavy to be a trap do you think?
(image courtesy of Julie Morrison)

A three-quarter view of the same cart, showing us more of the surroundings this time, is this what they called a tumbril?(image courtesy of Julie Morrison)

Dismantling Staithes viaduct (thanks to Eric Johnson for the information).

According to ”Subterranea Britannica” this occured in 1960. (John G.)

A good image of Skinningrove Iron Company, No. 5 in the middle, the sinter plant to the right
(image courtesy of Raymond Brown)

A picture looking down the valley towards Skinningrove, with the works on the skyline at the left. Taken from the shale heaps, with the pylon base clearly visible.
(image courtesy of Raymond Brown)

The inevitable onset of “urban decay” sets in after the closure of the mine and we can see the beginning of its destruction. Taken again from the vantage point of the shale heaps.

(image courtesy of Raymond Brown)

This is a snow scene that rivals the Matterhorn views so beloved of ski holiday advertisements except that these are the shale tips of Liverton Mines!  The strange structure in front of them is the massive foundations for a pylon of the aerial ropeway that caused the huge cone in the background.  I seem to remember a fatality here involving a cycle or a motor cycle which instigated the removal of this well-known landmark?

Loftus station site is featured, with Carnaby Willis Timber Merchants Saw Mill (Carnaby Willis became a local benefactor in later years). The shed roof featured carried the caption heading to this image for many years. Many thanks to Derick Pearson for the update. John

The stationmaster and his porters line up to get their picture taken on Carlin How Station (the name wasn’t changed to Skinningrove until 1903).  Does anybody know who they are?

I’d love to build a model of this station – has anybody any drawings (it’d save me counting bricks – the only other way I know of working out the size of the building!)?

Not from outer space but from underground, I really don’t know anything about this photo other than what was written on it ,” Crook rescue Team, Kilton Pit men, Dennis Pearson 1st Back”.  But I am sure someone out there will soon explain things to me. Thank you.

The man stood 2nd from the left on the back was called Bob Walker.  Thank you David.

 Taken from the ’Evening Gazette’ Monday 3 May 1954:Fourteen taken to hospital

It is worth visiting the Durham Mining Museum Site to read the full Mines Inspectors Report on this incident – rodders

On the left is Dennis Pearson, with big Geoge (Ducks) Hollingworth at Kilton B on the right. This photo was taken for the Record breaking venture that took place in Kilton Pit in the early 1950s. 1 week of absolute dedication to drill, shot, fill and lead this stone.
The record breakers were Dennis Pearson from Carlin How – an ex Lingdale lad, George Hollingworth from Lingdale, Stan Tremain from North Skelton I believe, Septimus Bamborough from Carlin How and John Stonehouse senior from Lingdale.
North Skelton claimed to have beaten this record later but it was not recorded as they used more men in the venture and so the output of Stone per man was less. The Kilton record stood and mine manager Andrew Turnbull was justly proud of his men.
Thanks to Derick Pearson for the information.

Another photo of Duckhole mine and once again we can clearly see the works on the hill, come on you people out there what date would this be taken, help a lady (I use the term loosely) out.

My guess would be about 1930.    Thank you Simon what would I do without you?

The image is taken from a series of photographs produced by Bruce who was a Loftus photographer, producing lots of images around old Cleveland. Many considered the name was emphasised because of the link to de Bruce of Skelton Castle and Kilton. THanks to Derick Pearson for the update and information. John

This is believed to be a view of the Calcining Kilns at Liverton Mines – which were well-known as being associated with the Ironstone Mine. These Kilns obviously dominated the landscape.

Railway wagons at this time were generally wooden bodies but couldn’t be used for carrying hot calcined ore which is why the N.E.R. built a fleet of steel wagons specifically for this traffic; a few can be seen to the left. In front are more steel wagons, built about 1906 to hold a greater tonnage.
A very atmospheric picture!
Thank you Simon your information is invaluable to all who visit the site.

Russ Pigott asked ”Were the larger steel wagons in the picture fitted with vacuum brakes? There seems to be a vac cylinder mounted above the solebar on the end of the wagon. This would seema bit strange as not many locos used on these trains were fitted for vacuum at the time. ”     Answered for us by Simon Chapman.                                                                                                                       ” Well spotted, Russ! Apparently they were actually fitted with air brakes and run as block trains from Liverton to Cargo Fleet works. This was such an unusual working that I can remember the late Ken Hoole trying to find out more information over 30 years ago.
Note the large drum shape above each axlebox on these larger wagons – some form of friction reducing roller which can’t have been very successful otherwise it would have become more common.” 

Russ said ”I thought the drum shape was the operating wheel for the hopper doors. What locos were used on these trains, I think most J21s were westinghouse fitted but the J26s and 27s had no train brakes. That poor remaining J21 sits a mere couple of miles from me looking ever more like a Barry engine!”

Here is an early aerial view of the works – more smoke in this image than in the others!

Not the shot of the blast furnaces that we usually see, but this shows more of the heaps of pig iron awaiting disposal – not sure what the large pipe section is though!

Here’s a nice modern view of No. 5 casting.

As Bob says ”If you ever wanted to view the inside of the furnace then you would use the eye piece, this is at the bottom of the silver goose-necks and looks like a protrusion. You would firstly make sure there was no leaking hot blast (500 C) by moving your hand over the toughened glass eye-piece and then you could see through the blow pipe and tuyere into the heart of the furnace where the droplets of slag/iron cascaded down through the incandescent coke.” 

I say firstly make sure you are wearing your blue glasses (we all did furnace-side), otherwise your eyes will feel the pain! and if you are furnace-side, use your sweat-rag, not your hand – 500C is not good for the skin!  But it is well-worth taking the precautions, it is a beautiful sight.  The glass eye-piece (mica initially, then toughened quarz glass (I think)) is called a pee-pee. – rodders

Here’s a slag pot being filled after the iron has been run off – brings back many memories!

This is one of the older furnaces at Skinningrove with the crew barring out the tap hole (I think!)

This shows the steelwork being erected that will eventually contain the structure of No. 5 Blast Furnace.  In the left hand image, the shape at the bottom right is the hearth structure.  This feature was the hardest part of the furnace to remove after it was toppled, being constructed of solid carbon blocks.

This image (pre-1950) shows the left-hand man strapping on his clogs – shaped wooden soles to protect his rocker boots from the heat – before going in to do some hot work on the casting floor.

A shot of a stack of pigs being stock-piled.  The bar in the labourer’s hand is to break the pigs off the sow.

When the furnace has cast, the pigs are attached to the sow and the crew have to go around and break them off and heap them together in slings to be stock-piled.

Welll…not quite. The labourer is spragging the wheel of the slag truck prior to tipping the slag over Cattersty Cliffs. Later whole trains of them were tipped together by using a chain and winch system through the tipping eyes on the side of the pots. You can just see the chain hanging below the pot, to the left of the labourer.  It certainly cast a lovely glow over the scene at night!

A pig bed with the gate irons in place ready to divert the flow of metal to fill the pigs.

These two men are preparing the sand runners (sows) and moulds (pigs) to receive the molten metal from the blast furnace.

This section (without its protective screen over the road) was still in place when I started at Skinningrove – although the roadside pylon disappeared soon after – but the left-most pylon survived to become a lighting tower!

Here’s a view of the bottom pylon of ’The Buckets’ complete with protective screen above the road. Just to the left of the pylon can be seen the air shaft for the mine.

This is the sight you would have seen entering Skinningrove,  Loftus mine was to the right and the ropeway took ironstone from the mine to the steel works on the top of the hill, on it’s return it brought shale which was tipped at the back of the mine.  This ropeway was known locally as ’the buckets’.

After the 8 (or 12 for the ’Big’ furnaces) hour process of turning a charge of cold and hot metals into steel, the climax usually came quickly after a flurry of samples of steel and slag to the shift lab. The hooter would sound, the bangalore torpedo (more precisely ’the shaped charge’) would blow out the tap hole and the furnace would heel over to discharge it’s first potful of molten metal. The scene always reminded me of what I thought Dante’s Inferno would look like – flames up to the rafters, (sometimes bringing a flurry of pigeons down), the furnace hand on the tapping stage hurling the alloying charges of coal, niobium, ferro-manganese etc. surrounded by smoke and light and heat. The furnace tilting further and further with each potful until it was spent. The pots in their turn travelling sedately to the Ingot Shed across the way and charging rake after rake of ingot moulds with the liquid metal. Sometimes a ’flying stopper’ made it more hazardous to empty the pots as it was then impossible to stop the flow of metal between moulds and everybody in the Ingot Shed would get a scorching (if they were unlucky they’d get a lot worse!) – and, as Bob says, a wet pot could create a shower of incandescent metal dancing around the pitside.

This was always a beautiful sight to behold – a portable spout was placed into the gaping door (usually an end one) of the furnace and with its siren whooping the crane would manouevre the sizzling pot of iron over it, then delicately empty the pot into the furnace – it always reminded me of bonfire night!
I think this must have been taken on my shift (’C’ shift I think it was ), because I recognise the first hand with his back to the camera – Sid Carter (thanks for that Eric!) – he used to let me fettle for him as ’acting-temporary-fifth hand’!

Thanks for pointing out the sample pot Eric – yes, they used to keep us busy around tapping time (well, from about an hour before, right up to blowing 5!) and the sample lad ( a Theaker from Boosbeck, I think) used to curse if the sample was over-quenched and wouldn’t drill!  Sid was always impatient – he would wait in the balance room/bait room pacing up an down while Stan (or Derek, the 2nd Chemist) did the analysis – as a lowly 3rd Chemist I was only allowed to do slags and iron samples!

When I was at Skinningrove this had fallen out of favour and the equipment lay at the end of the Talbot’s, next to ‘D’ furnace. Sound in principle and obviously successful in other areas (this is the basis for Basic Oxygen Steelmaking), it never seemed to catch on at Skinningrove!

This is the view i used to get just out of the door of the Shift Lab on the Talbot’s, the ‘A’ end of a furnace (in this case either ‘B’ or ‘C’). It is easy to see the difference between this image and the image of the gas-fired one in an earlier post. The burner end is mobile for maintenance and carries much more complex pipe work.

Taken from the top of No. 5 perhaps (maybe during its construction in the 1950’s?).

A different view of the iron and steel works, looking inland, and down into the valley.  The two rows of Furnace Cottages can be seen.

I spent the last 12 years or so of my employment here as a metallurgist in the Bottom Test House (just to the right of the water tower and partly hidden by the tall chimney, nearly in the centre of the picture)

Skinningrove Rolling Mills evolved as completely self-sufficient units, capable of developing the rolls for new sections and manufacturing them from blanks. A number of highly skilled men were involved, from the draughtsmen drawing up the profiles, the pattern makers manufacturing the cut profiles for the roll turners to manufacture.The roll turner in the photo is Harry Roberts.
This photo was taken in the old roll shop which was situated under the mill arch and mill gantry crane, proably taken in the late 60’s as the present roll shop came into operation in 1970/71.
Thanks to Mike Hore for the update.

I’m not sure which stand this is in the 18″ Mill, perhaps someone can enlighten me?

The same applies here, it was almost a taboo place for the ininitiated, the steel used to hurtle around on the mill floor – very scary!

A view down the shop.  18″ mill before remodelling. in 1956.

As the mining industry modernised the coal mine in particular moved across to steel for its roof supports and Skinningrove was quick to capitalise on this, its 18″ (or Little) Mill being ideally suited to producing small ‘H’ beams (or ‘I’ beams, if you prefer) and as the order book grew so did the Colliery Arch Department. They were all cold-formed on these rotary bending machines.

How do you make perfectly finished squared ends to your steel products – with a cropping machine like this.

The rotary tippler at Skinningrove Iron and Steel Works. When this plant was working my white collars would turn a paler shade of grey in no time!

This is the Skinningrove I knew and loved! In the foreground, under that water tower was the fuel lab (upstairs) and the day lab (downstairs). I spent my first twelve months on the ’Grove as a junior chemist here.

Flying towards the sea this time, the Talbot’s with its 4 smoking chimneys was where I spent about nine months on the shift lab with Stan Agar and learned to weigh off a sample of slag or iron while the scrap kibbles rolled past – no mean feat!

A completely emasculated Skinningrove now, almost a green field site, merely a merchant mill producing special sections to feed the plant that has sprung up mid-left of the image – Caterpillar. Not forgetting all of the other special sections made here of course!

You had to watch out for these – they had a habit of sneaking up on you when you were crossing the floor! A hot bloom leaves the re-heater for the Roughing Stand to start its journey to a finished section.

The photo shows the stacking machine which was installed around 1992. The machine is fed by rollers with single bars then the feed bank pushes them and turns them before putting them onto a table which lowers to enable the next bar to be stacked. The complete stack is then lifted by the table onto the rollers which passes the bundle through the strapping machine which is then ready to load.
Martin Byers is the guy stood in the control pulpit.
The section is a Single Grouser that is used for Caterpillar track shoes.

(thanks to Colin Hart for the information – rodders (it was after my time at Skinningrove))

These are the cooling banks in the 36″ Mill finishing prior to the Lamberton straightening machine. The door on the left is now sheeted over to prevent noise as it was facing Carlin How.

(thanks to Colin Hart for setting me right! – rodders)

I used to spend many a happy hour on the footbridge over the output side of these two stands – trotting beteen the two, taking pass temperatures with a hot filament optical pyrometer when we were making 8 x 8 angles or rails, so we could prevent failure problems due to either cooling the steel too quickly or not cooling it enough (leaving too open a crystal structure in the steel).

Here’s a group of miners (and a pit pony) comprising the last shift coming out-bye at the Trustee Drift, Eston Mine, 18th september 1949.  The mine had worked its 99 year lease – to the day.

You can see the pulleys, rollers and cables of the main and tail haulage system for moving the setts around.

Arthur Halton on Loftus station – anybody care to name the other two worthies in the image or try and put a date on it?

(image courtesy of P. Dolling)

An image of Loftus Railway Station, unfortunately a little age-bleached, but showing the beautiful Victorian canopy well.

(image courtesy of P. Dolling)

Nice photo, taken this time from Mill Bank. Glover’s Path can be seen as can the buildings to the left of the photo belonging to Whitecliffe mine.  The old railway bridge is very clear, as are the steel works back right.

Carlin How mine was known to the miners as Duck Hole owing to the wet working conditions.

Don’t think the date is 1935 though. Duckhole closed in 1944 and as you can see the headgear has been demolished. The chimney for North Loftus pit can still be seen so my guess for date is about 1950.

Thank you for that information Simon, don’t know what I would do without your input.

Taken from the railway lines above, the picture clearly shows Duckhole in the foreground with Skinningrove or Loftus pit farther down in the valley.

Once again I ask who were these men and what date was this photo taken.

A lovely clear photo of Kilton Pit in full production by the look of the emissions from the chimney.

The write up under the photo tells that Kilton pit was 680ft deep (see I can learn something new every day) and it asks was the windmill in the background used to pump water from the mine.  I know someone out there will tell us just what the windmill was used for – please.

Taken about 1957 of a loaded train from Kilton Mine approaching Lingdale Junction. The Lingdale Mines branch is the one curving to the right and was extremely steep. Look carefully at the train and you’ll see the brake van is behind the engine, not at the back of the train. This was allowed in later years because the gradient was down all the way to Brotton, where the engine ran round to reverse the train before taking it to Teesside. In place of the brake van at the end of the train a lamp or red flag was hung on the back of the last wagon to show to signalmen at Kiltonthorpe Junction and Brotton that the train was complete i.e. a wagon hadn’t been derailed and lost on the way.
Thank you once again Simon.

All the names of the resue team are here.

The following post tells the names of those who rescued Edward Bendall.

Back Row: ?? , Percy Gott, ?? , Les Marsay, ?? , ?? .

Front Row: ?? , Bert Hicks, ?? , Bill Young, ?? .

Surface workers at Kilton Mine pictured in 1940, can anybody assist with the missing names?

 

A very busy looking photo of Lingdale pit, looking down the ore loading track, picking belt to the left.  Downcast shaft with the big wheels and beside it the engine house, lots to see here.

A lovely clear photo of Claphow Road, Stone catching bridge demolished in the 1950’s but when in the 50’s ? Do tell

Can anyone name any of the men coming off the last shift?

Three men in rather a dangerous position, does anyone know when the minehead gear was replaced?

Simons book dates this photo to around 1900

This picture shows work being carried out on the upcast headgear about 1900 which was a wooden construction. It was replaced by a smaller steel structure in 1937.
The headgear over the main drawing shaft was also wooden until 1918 when it was replaced, again by a steel headgear.

Thank you Simon chapman for this information

What more can I say about this photo the heading says it all.

Named and dated again, but can you name any of the men?

A lovely clear photo dated and named.

The caption says where it is and what date it is so who am I to argue?

A lot of tubs waiting to go to the Iron and steel works and the pit props waiting to go down into the mine.

The end of a shift at least that is what I am presuming, as some of the men have logs under their arms these would be the off cuts from the pit props.  Anyone recognise any of the men in this photo?

How much ironstone can one filler get into a tub?  By the look of that tub quite a lot if you know how to load it.

Note that the guy in the background appears to be using a hand-operated rotary drill, a so-called ratchet. The props are deliberately cut to a bit of a point at the base so that if weight started to come on the working place this weaker part of the prop would start to ‘bunch-up’ and therefore give a visual warning.

Once again thank you Simon for the extra information

A lovely photo showing some of the buildings of Lumpsey Mine with four of the workmen.

Not the most charming group of men I have ever seen, I think they must be some of the work force of Lumpsey Mine, can I presume that the man in the middle is a blacksmith?  Gentlemen please correct me if I am wrong.  Not a gentleman to correct me but a lady, now can anyone identify any kin folk?

I think the blacksmith is James Kennedy on the photo, as he was recorded as a Blacksmith in 1911, whilst his brother John was listed as a Platelayer Underground.
The container held by the miner on the right was for carrying water or cold tea; it was known as a ‘Dudley’.

Left to right from the back row:

B Catron; J Wilks; T Clay; W Clay; H Clay; W Marshall; C Bealwall; R Marley; J.W. Marshall; J Walton; J Clay; G Best; S Webb; T Curtley; R Clough; R Peacock; W Cross; T Jackson; J Kennedy; D Annear; T Marshall; J Beadon.

A series of photographs showing Lumpsy Mine, in this one we can see the man bending at the front has put the’ sprag ’into the wheel of the tub to stop it moving, the sprags were very heavy.  Many of the horse leaders had serious accidents throwing the sprag into the wheel of the moving tub, if they didn’t get it right then it often came back onto their legs, we have to remember tht the mines were not level they had to follow the seam of ironstone up hill and down dale.

Some of Norman’s workmates from the united bus depot at East Loftus, Norman is standing at the back next to Don Pinkney, 5th from the left in the second row is Glady’s Pinkney (nee Pearson) do you know any more names of the drivers and clippies?

Ernest Shaw is identified as first left on back row by his son Derek Shaw.

Another photograph relating to the dismantling of Huntcliffe Mines after the closure in 1906. This picture is of the dismantling of the tipping gantry.

Grateful thanks to Simon Chapman for the information.

I’m puzzled by this image – it’s obviously posed, so was it for a training manual?  The ladder on the right looks like a metal ladder, when were they introduced?  The loader is wearing a tin hat (safety helmet, bump hat), so it was after the introduction of the safety helmet, but his colleagues don’t appear to be wearing theirs, so it must have been before they became compulsory.

Can anybody shed some light on the subject?

A lovely clear shot of the mine, looks as though it’s in full production.

Nice dog wonder who it’s owner is, does anyone out there know?  I am sure someone will.

Mr Brown arriving at the mine, who was Mr Brown?

Now I do know that these are some of the workmen from the mine but what date would it be?

Underground at North Skelton, I am not going to hazard a guess at to what is going on in this photo, I am going to wait for someone out there to tell me.

I believe its a Walker compressed air drill. This information came from Chris Twigg, thank you Chris.

One in a series of photographs of North Skelton mine, the caption says taken from the north about 1900.

A photograph taken in the 1960’s before the closure of the mine.

Are these men coming off shift or going on?  No safety helmets, so we can surmise it’s before the mid 1930’s.

The caption on this photo says ’Mine horses  out to graze during holidays near Claphow, North Skelton mine in the backgound.  So who am I to argue?

The photograph shows the last ”working” day of Huntcliffe Mines, 30th June 1906. The photograph was taken outside the workshops, alas now longer with us. All that remains is the Guibal Fanhouse beside the mineral railway line, towards the cliff edge at the bottom of Warsett Hill. The writing on the door of the wall behind ”Are we downhearted?” is from a song popular at that time, perhaps relevant to the situation!  With Simon Chapman’s assistance we can identify some of those present.

Back Row: ?? , Mr Stephens (later Cashier at Lumpsey Mine), Ralph Clough (engineer-later at Lumpsey Mine), ?? , ?? , ?? , ??.

Middle Row: Jimmy Dower (partially cut off), ??, ?? , ?? , ?? , ?? , ?? , ?? , ?? , ?? , ?? , William Garbutt (baby-later worked at Kilton Mine and one of the first men to drive a locomotive underground and later Miner’s Lodge Secretary), ?? , ?? , Mr Mason (possibly an overman).

Front Row: ?? , ?? , ?? , ?? , ?? , ?? , ?? .

Any help with other names would be appreciated.

This one of a series of photgraphs which are now starting to appear of the dropping of the boiler house chimney, at Brotton Mine in 1921.

Many thanks to Simon Chapman for the information – John)

Pity that the image is damaged.  A United ’G’-type single decker plods valiantly on (it took more than a drop of rain to cancel a service in those days!).

Men of the last shift at Loftus Mine pose with their handiwork.  The closing of the mines destabilised a lot of the local communities as people drifted away to find new jobs and eventually moved to be nearer their new place of work.

Back Row: Allan Creswick, Harold Found, Cyril Gibson (blacksmith’s striker), Walter Wilson, Bill Dawson, Don Breckon.

Front Row: Jim Tinkler, Walt Sayers (check weighman), George Adamson, Ian Gibson (blacksmith), Allan Readman, Jim Easton (holder of the Daily Herald Award for Industrial Heroism for rescuing Jim Tinkler in an incident which witnessed the death of Jim Trousdale). 

Thanks to Eric Johnson and Joanne Cooper for names. John.

Another group of Loftus miners prepare to go in-bye.  The photographer must have had a busy day!

Can anybody name any of them?

Another piece of the jigsaw – this image includes the two trapdoor lads from a previous post and looks as if it is also part of a larger image.  Can anybody name any of these people?

(thanks to Simon Chapman for the correction – rodders)

This is a similar shot to the other image of the Loftus Drift, but taken from farther back.  Why the two police officers I don’t know.

A miner and his loader and a full tub of stone.  Overhead two shattered roof supports.  Does anybody know their names?

Here we have another type of drill being tested and another photographic record of the event.  The backlash of this automation was that less men were required to produce the same (or better) yield and a lot of miners were downgraded (with loss of pay and status) to loaders/drivers or simply made unemployed.

Once again does anyone know the type of drill and the name of the miner?

All through the life of the mines there was a constant battle to increase yield without increasing manpower.  Ironstone was won by blasting a portion of the rock face out and then loading the stone into a tub (or sett) to be taken back to the heapstead.  To place the shot the miner had to create a hole into which he could place his powder, detonator and fuse. This was the time-consuming part of the job initially carried out by hand, then by hand ratchet drill, then by either compressed air, petrol or electric drill.  This obviously posed photograph is a record of the testing of just one such drill – I’ve no doubt that somebody out there will be able to tell me the name of the miner (please!).

This picture and the other one entitled similarly are two out of a group of four pictures taken about 1900 when Whitecliffe Mine was re-opened and this compressed-air drill was tried out underground. From the earliest times the hand ‘jumper’ drill was used, in 1875 the first compressed-air powered rotary drill was invented. Loftus Mines introduced such drills in 1891 but they were big and cumbersome so this one illustrated was tested but never adopted.
Later electric drills were used in Loftus but about 1895 hand-operated rotary drills were introduced (the so-called ‘ratchet’) and eventually superseded the powered drills. Loftus Mines, however, were never as mechanised as the Dorman Long mines in Cleveland. (words by Simon Chapman)

There’s an almost surreal look to this image – I’m having a job deciding whether it’s the real thing or an elaborate photographic studio set piece!

This must be the travelling drift, because there’s no sign of any rails for tubs to run on.  It looks like a full shift, right down to the trapper lads.  It can’t be too early on because there are Davey Safety Lamps in view, although no safety helmets.  Shot Cannisters are in evidence, but no picks.

Can anyone name any of these men?

It’s getting a bit repetitious now!  Looking towards the loading bay this time we have more of the jetty workforce – can you name them?

Taken from the Jetty platform looking up the incline towards the engine house this image shows – who?  Can anybody name them?

This is the image that everybody has seen at some time.  Taken half-way up the rope incline from the works it shows two rakes of pig iron bogies, one of the company steam tramps and the dock-side cranes.

Taken by George Skilbeck, photographically the incline trackway leads the eye into the image and out through the curve of the jetty, which is probably why it has stood the test of time; it has good artistic composition.

I spent many a happy night fishing off the end of this old structure, sadly now a lot the worse for wear and lack of maintenance.  Here it is in it’s heyday, the coffee-pot steaming away and a rake of pig iron bogies waiting to load.  The steam cranes are working on one of the company ships and it’s a good solid industrial image.

From Carlin How once again (this time captioned ”Loftus Mines”) the stables are centre foreground with Overmen’s Cottages behind them (lovingly named ”Hoss Muck Row” by the locals, for obvious reasons).  Behind that the picking belt and heapstead.

Another shot of Skinningrove Mine, looking straight onto it from Carlin How.  The ”Zig-Zag” in the foreground with Duckhole just on the right.  The stables left middle with Overmen’s Cottages next to them.  Deepdale woods and the shale heap are right background.

I’ve never seen a view from this angle before and I’m still trying to get to grips with it.  Carlin How in the background, with the ”Zig-Zag” cutting across the middle of the picture. The building directly in front is the loading shed where the iron ore was loaded into standard gauge wagons. I think I need help with this one please!

I think the image was taken from the road from Deepdale woods to Skinningrove village.

A good image of Skinningrove valley, post-1911, showing just how busy this little valley was!  On the left we have Skinningrove Mine, with the stables and just visible the Overmen’s Houses and on the right we have Duckhole Pit just coming into the picture.  Liverton Mill takes the stage left of centre in the middle, the viaduct (now an embankment) away in the background and towering over it all in the haze is Liverton Mines shale heap.  The sweep of rail track cutting through the image is the ”Zig-Zag”.  The picture very obviously taken from Carlin How.

An extremely clean SS Skinningrove moored at the Jetty.  First of the four steamers owned by The Skinningrove Iron Company, she was employed carrying pig iron to the Company’s customers.

A newspaper cutting showing the underground stables at ”Duckhole” pit (so named because it was one of the wettest pits in the Cleveland System) about 1930-40.  This pit was eventually worked from Lumpsey mine at Brotton.

The horsekeeper was Bob Robinson, who has specially put on his helmet for the picture. That round object at the bottom right of the picture is his cap! (words by Simon Chapman)

A good group image of the workforce of South Skelton Pit, taken on the 2nd December 1903, with the tools of their trades – if only they’d thought to name them!  I wonder what was the occasion?

I’m guessing a bit here, but there’s a fair cross section of society depicted, so I reckon this is the mine manager with his management team.  The man seated on the right with the walking stick has a shot cannister under his arm.  If somebody could supply names we’d get a better picture!

South Skelton Pit (or Van’s Pit as it was locally known – after the owner, Thomas Vaughan), between Boosbeck and Margrove Park.  A nicely compact pit, this image shows the winding shaft and engine house built over and onto the heapstead.  The two strange dovecot-type structures in the centre foreground are horse-gins used for working the winding shaft when engineering work was required below.

Not much remains today, the mine manager’s house, two overmen’s houses, the stables and the engine house are about all I can bring to mind.  The shale heap at Margrove Ponds Nature Reserve was waste from the mine and the pond itself was caused by subsidence from the mine.

At some point in the history of the ironstone industry in the Skinningrove valley the NER tried to raise the carrying costs for iron ore.  As a result the NER lost the business (for good), an aerial ropeway (known locally as ”the buckets”) was constructed to take the stone from the valley floor up to Skinningrove Ironworks on the cliff top.  This is the middle stanchion, the roofed structure over the road was to catch any falling stone jerked out of the buckets as a result of passing over the stanchion pulleys.  This system was in use until local stone was superceded by cheaper foreign ores. (The topmost stanchion was still in place at the top gates of Skinningrove Iron and Steel Works when I worked there, adapted as a floodlight tower!)

Skinningrove Iron and Steel Works the caption says and I won’t dispute that.  My workplace for 14 years and I still cherish the memories.  The view is from Carlin How towards the Talbot’s – the Scottish Agricultural Slag plant is off to the left – you can just see the basic slag heap from the Talbot furnaces.  Railway station right foreground with the loco water tower just in view. Stockyards mid-right of the image.  You’ll not see the like of this these days!

Not quite sure which pit, but they all had them.  This was the job you got when you left school in the pit villages of the North-East – these lads look about 14.  They’re wearing ”rocker” boots – leather boots with a curved solid sole, segged and steel clad – you knew you’d been kicked if you got a ding from these!  Tinplate midges by the look of them, they might be oil-lit – don’t think they’re carbide lamps though.  Part of a larger group image, wish we had the whole picture.

You can see from this much earlier image how light and open the valley was originally.  I wonder if the viaduct had been built with arched spans whether the problem would still have manifested itself.  I’d need an engineer to tell me – is there an engineer in the house?

New London being the local nickname for Liverton Mines. The long sweep of the viaduct is easily visible in this image, as are the calcining kilns at Liverton Mine – the fumes from which used to rot the clothes of the labourers working on them.

Norman Patton says ”Our family moved from “Brickyard” to Liverton mines in 1952. The promise of a fitted bathroom and hot ‘n cold running water and our garden front and back was too much to resist! Wages at Kilton pit were good at the time and the Journey on push-bike much easier for our Father. We even had a television before the Coronation and the Stanley Matthews Cup Final(12″ Black and White, Console model)! The new estate of council houses inspired the name ” New London” for the village and the council estate was the “Holy City”!”

(Brickyard being the local name for the Hartington Street, High Row and St Hilda’s Terrace area of Loftus – rodders)

But not by this train – a local commuter makes its way across the skyline towards Loftus as the biggest shale heap in the area takes shape!

This is an image I haven’t seen before.  Kilton Viaduct in its ”embanked” state.  It completely alters the aspect of the valley – not for the better either unfortunately.

I couldn’t think of a better title myself! When you’re sinking a shaft, where does the muck go – to the bottom of course! This fixes that problem.

It was suspended under the staging in the shaft which in turn was suspended on steel ropes from the stage winder. The ”cactus grab” was powered with compressed air, operated by a man in a small cab – it worked magnificently. (words by Alan Franks)

(image courtesy of A Franks)

Because of the way the potash is won, the machinery leaves a nice clean edge on the tunnel walls – showing the geology off to its best advantage (useful to tell you what you are cutting into as well).

(image courtesy of A Franks)

As if one wasn’t enough – but I believe they go as far as six boom – pretty awesome!

(image courtesy of A Franks)

Heliminers aren’t the only exotic pieces of machinery in use below – here is an auger borer…pretty useful if you want to make a bang!

(image courtesy of A Franks)

Here’s an image of a shuttle car collecting product from a Heliminer.

(image courtesy of A Franks)

Looks kinda space age, but this is strictly utilitarian, designed to get product from the back of the miner onto a moving belt system.

(image courtesy of A Franks)

I suspect that I’d have to shout to make myself heard with this going flat out in front of me! Notice the crush stacks on the right hand side of the image.

(image courtesy of A Franks)

A close-up of the cutting face of a Heliminer – like a rotary miller with attitude!

(image courtesy of A Franks)

Here, again at rest, is a Heliminer and Shuttle Car combination.

(image courtesy of A Franks)

A Heliminer is a Remote Mining Vehicle.  This posed shot shows the beast at rest.  The mined product is collected in the powered scoop at the front and passed along a belt to the following shuttle car.  When full the shuttle car connects to a horizontal belt system and discharges its load for transfer to the surface storage.

Pretty cool beast ehh!

(image courtesy of A Franks)

Then we make the top of the shaft nice and pretty ready to build the tower on!

(image courtesy of A Franks)

Soon have this finished now – the top of the shaft nearing completion.

(image courtesy of A Franks)

Constructing the top of the shaft, which will be the base of the tower.

(image courtesy of A Franks)

Using a dragline bucket to sculpt the top of the shaft opening.

(image courtesy of A Franks)

The second bucket fills the lorry.

(image courtesy of A Franks)

The first bucket digs the hole and puts its load where the second bucket can get it.

(image courtesy of A Franks)

A deep shaft demands powerful haulage gear – and powerful haulage gear demands powerful brakes!

This is one of the winders used for sinking the shafts. These were later dismantled after sinking was complete. (words by Alan Franks)

(image courtesy of A Franks)

This looks like a motor generator unit – looks pretty beefy too! – please correct me if I’m wrong!

(image courtesy of A Franks)

Looks like a convoy of big engines – air pumps perhaps?

(image courtesy of A Franks)

I suppose it pays to be in the right spot!

(image courtesy of A Franks)

A celebratory group at the bottom of No. 2 Shaft announce the winning of the first potash from the mine on the 19th February 1973.

Back Row (L to R): ??, ??, Bill Casson, Mick Urban, Alan Scott, Willy Brown.

Front Row (L to R): Alan Hall, ??, Tommy Wood, ??, ??, Tommy Hornsby.
Care to put names to the remaining faces anybody?

(image and names courtesy of A M Franks)

A good image of the engine house at Lingdale mine.  The brick kiln (and associated brick wheel) was part of an attempt to make the mine profitable (especially during slack times).  It wasn’t particularly successful, but probably contributed enough to prevent total closure of the mine.  Lingdale mine was the deepest mine in the Cleveland system and also at the poorest yield, there being a large band of shale splitting the seam in two.  This resulted in the huge shale heap which took forever to dispose of!  Lingdale village was described as almost derelict in the late Victorian era, the difficulty of winning the stone meaning that the mine was closed more often than in production.

A unique piece of the history of Boulby Potash – the day-to-day dross seldom gets preserved.

A pristine locomotive – another A8, number 69883, a beautiful piece of photography!

(thanks Simon – rodders)

This is quite a well-known picture of North Skelton Junction. The train, hauled by a J27, is coming down the gradient from Brotton towards Saltburn. The line to the right served North Skelton Mine but had originally gone through to Priestcrofts Junction near Boosbeck. (words by Simon Chapman)

The locomotive appears to be 61718 – although it’s very difficult to read with these old eyes and I can’t find a reference to an engine of that number.

I wonder whether that first coach made it to preservation?  The locomotive a Raven/Gresley A8 4-6-2T 69862 didn’t, it was cut up at Darlington in 1958.

Taken from the old road bridge that carried the A171 over the railway at Slapewath (the scene of many minor bumps I seem to recollect), the picture shows the backs of the houses at Slapewath.  The train is approaching Spawood junction from Boosbeck.  It’s difficult to visualise this view now as the A171 re-alignment was so major, I seem to remember two bridges, one over the railway, one over the beck and one rail bridge over the road (to South Skelton (Park) pit) at Fancy Bank (the remains of the railway can be seen on the hillside as a gated forest road).  Some of the remains of the old road and rail structures can be seen with the beautiful viaduct at Spawood (now becoming enshrouded in trees) and the road bridge over the beck adjacent partly covered by the modern A171 as it sweeps down Fancy Bank.

I think the locomotive is numbered 67678, which would make it a V3 2-6-2T, but it’s not an easy one to see.

There’s not a lot to say about this image – it’s a photograph of Commondale Halt. (thanks for the correction Simon – rodders)

An image of the unique cabless locomotives used by The Grinkle Mine of Sir Charles Mark Palmer to negotiate the low headroom in the tunnels on the route from Grinkle to Port Mulgrave. In the background is the entrance to the Port Mulgrave Tunnel, where the wagons were transferred to the dock at Port Mulgrave using a main and tail rope system powered from an engine-house on the Port Mulgrave side. A good industrial image!

A shot of the Whitby-Middlesbrough platform at Grosmont Station, change here for Pickering and all intermediate stations.  Alan Woods can tell us the engine number as 69877.

The junction point of two railways, the Whitby-Pickering and the Whitby-Middlesbrough (I expect a comment from Mark Thompson here to give me the proper titles for these railways!) lines.  Both lines still traversable by train,  the Middlesbrough-Whitby Line having escaped the Beeching axe by virtue of remoteness (it wasn’t economically viable to replace the routes with a bus service) and the Grosmont-Pickering Line by the good fortune of becoming the first Heritage railway, The North Yorkshire Moors Railway. A line I’ve been travelling regularly since they had ”Salmon”.  Long may it flourish!

Thanks to Alan Woods for the update.

A good shot of BR Standard 2-6-4T 80118 standing at Guisborough Station with a local train.  It could be going either to Middlesbrough, Saltburn or Whitby, because Guisborough was a terminus on the old Cleveland Railway and there is no sense of ”up” and ”down” to tell you the apparent destination.  A subject for the Beeching axe, Guisborough nevertheless lasted longer than the steam engine and saw the advent of the Diesel Multiple Unit before its demise.

Here’s a good image of a Cranner Loader in action at North Skelton Mine.  Quite a late image, judging by the headgear and electric lamps.  North Skelton Mine was the last of the Cleveland Mines to close, so this image could be as late as 1963.

Anomalously called Skinningrove, but originally called Carlin How, nothing remains of this station now except a locked gate and some footings. The photographer is standing on the Loftus side looking towards Skinningrove Iron and Steel Works (the real reason for the re-naming of the station?).

Brotton Station - old faithful 80118, a BR Standard 2-6-4T, waits with a Loftus-bound local train.  Lovely atmospheric shot this one, plenty of life in it.

The view is looking south so the train is heading towards Huntcliff and Loftus, not Saltburn.  Thank you Simon

This photo and others of the loco appear in the book ‘The Steam Locomotive Era of the Skinningrove Iron Company Ltd’ by David W Husband [Peter Tuffs, 2003]. The book gives the folowing information about the loco: ‘MINNIE’, built by Fox Walker of Bristol in 1878, works number 385. Entered service at Skinningrove in 1883, previously with John Waddell, contractor for the Loftus-Whitby railway, 1880-83. MINNIE was employed as a general use loco at Skinningrove and in this photo is on yard and gantry duty about 1920. Over the years MINNIE was rebuilt, notably her cab and steam dome. She was the longest-serving steam loco at Skinningrove and probably the best-loved. In August 1965 she moved to the Kent & East Sussex Railway for preservation and was still in steam in the late 1970s. In 1980 she was presented to Dover’s Transport Museum and by 2003 was at the Mangaps Farm Railway, Essex.

This photo and others of the loco appear in the book ’The Steam Locomotive Era of the Skinningrove Iron Company Ltd’ by David W Husband [Peter Tuffs, 2003]. The book gives the folowing information about the loco: ’MINNIE’, built by Fox Walker of Bristol in 1878, works number 385. Entered service at Skinningrove in 1883, previously with John Waddell, contractor for the Loftus-Whitby railway, 1880-83. MINNIE was employed as a general use loco at Skinningrove and in this photo is on yard and gantry duty about 1920. Over the years MINNIE was rebuilt, notably her cab and steam dome. She was the longest-serving steam loco at Skinningrove and probably the best-loved. In August 1965 she moved to the Kent & East Sussex Railway for preservation and was still in steam in the late 1970s. In 1980 she was presented to Dover’s Transport Museum and by 2003 was at the Mangaps Farm Railway, Essex.
alanwoods24@tiscali.co.uk
Thanks to Alan Woods for the inforamtion.

This is a lovely image, sadly of an age long past.  A BR Standard class 4 2-6-4T leads a commuter train (with that weird brake van) into Sandsend station across the viaduct.

A quiet day at Marske Station.  Difficult to date this image, no people, no trains – anybody care to have a go?

This is another ex-Great Central Railway Robinson A5 number 69832 with a Darlington – Saltburn train between Redcar East and Marske.

A classic image of a Saltburn – Darlington train headed by a BR Standard class 4 2-6-0 locomotive number 77013 passes the home signal approaching Redcar East Halt.

Another of Skinningrove’s delightful little loco’s – Hilda, dumb-buffered like Minnie, built by Thomas Peckett of Bristol in 1899.  Minnie was built by Fox Walker of Bristol in 1878 – same town different works!

(thanks to D. W. Husband and Eric Johnson for that information – rodders)

We’ve had a look at the old Boulby Potash – now have a look at the new! A recent image of Boulby Potash, taken from a similar viewpoint - it no longer ”sits in the landscape”!

(the image has been converted to B & W to be in keeping with the other images)
(original image courtesy of Norman Patton)

Just in case you thought I was over-glamourising the construction of Boulby Potash – here’s an image to change your mind. These boys earned their coppers!

(image courtesy of A. Franks)

Just to show that industrial photos don’t have to be grungy and Gothic.
(image courtesy of A. Franks)

The finished product storage unit at Boulby Potash – impressive ehh!

(image courtesy of A. Franks)

A nice industrial image of one of the shafts and a drilling machine.
(image courtesy of A. Franks)

Bet you thought it was all machine work. Part of the record-breaking team of shaftmen at work.

This shows concrete being poured through a metal pipe from the surface (visible to the right of the 1st man). These were called ’Elephant’s Trunks’ as they were short lengths linked together to make them flexible and they looked like an elephant’s trunk. The concrete was vibrated using a compressed air vibrating poker, to make sure the concrete was mixed properly to stop it honeycombing, the man on the left is doing this.
(image  and words courtesy of A. Franks)

Traditional skills, traditional tools, traditional methods.
Men setting the shutter ready for concreting. They are measuring from a plumb line (there were 4, 1 at each point of the compass). Acrow Jacks were used to push the shutter into position.

(image and words courtesy of A. Franks)

It’s beginning to look like the Potash now isn’t it.

(image courtesy of A. Franks)

An aerial image of the site with the ground cleared ready for construction.
(image courtesy of A. Franks)

You can hardly see the works, but they are here – early construction image.
(image courtesy of A. Franks)

to space the liner from the shaft. Another lovely industrial image, almost art!

(image courtesy of A. Franks)

Another image of the shaft construction.
(image courtesy of A. Franks)

Still very early days, but it’s beginning to take shape.
(image courtesy of A. Franks)

I think this photograph was taken to play down the impact that Boulby Potash would have on the landscape. A lovely landscape none-the-less.
(image courtesy of A. Franks)