E D I T O R I A L

This is t h e time uf y e a r w h e n our outdoor activities are usually at their peak, especially when f ine weather, such a s we have been having recently, is there to help us. Unfortunately, however, these vis i t s or surveys that are being made are all too often severely handicapped by lack of m e m b e r s present .

W e all a p preciaic that people have other commitments and interests and a l l o w a c e must b e made far our fami l~es ' needs and of course holidays, but a l l too s f t e n i t i s very noticeable that the same f ew faces are present whenever c a l l e d upon, and v e r y of ten their owners do not even possess c a r s , and consequently suffer qui te a lot of personal inconvenience in making these journeys.

I sometimes wonder , when on Group Excursions, if it i s ever possible f o r u s to see the 'hidden majority' of our members. Even a wide va r i e ty of l e c t u r e s and other events does not appear to arouse the i r interest ancl if it was not for a members' l ist that one sees occasionally, t he i r very existence would be doubted.

It i s all the morc disheartening to the 'active few' when you realise that at the present t ime, hardly a week passes without us h e a r i n g that this hu i ld ing or that structure has bean demolished in the name of 'P rogress ' . While many of ou r towns and even v i l l a g e s are having their hearts torn o u t and a lot of o u r most attractive sites are disappearing surely th is is t h e time when even a snapshot In black and white would be better than nothing at all. Many of us no doub t regard the passing of whole blocks of industrial housing as a b l e s s i n g , but even therc you will notice differences in building design, dec~ra t ion , brickwork etc. , which is surely wor th recording.

Small i tems s u c h as lamp posts, traffic signposts, letter boxes are all b e h g changed, often without us being aware o f it, but even s m a l l items like these should be noted.

Finally may I return to my original plea that more m e m b e r s of the Society c o m e a1 ong to our surveys etc. , to help with thc increasingly urgent work of r eco rd ing the ever disappearing past, before i t is too late.

Articles and comments, by the end of Octcber to : - S.K. Ghapman, 26 Spr ingf ield Avenue, BROTTON, Saltburn by Sea, N. Yorks. TSIZ 2 T W

Bulletin III

Ed ~ t o r l a l Ryhcpe Purnplnq S ta t ion C c l l i e r y Eng111e s Rcok R e v i e w : "South Durlaam Steel

and Iron C o . L td . " Ki l ton 'l'laduct Tees ide S a l t Ur r l l i ng : 'Pump~nq R i r "Re l i an t " : Fnstscrtpt

Drmwings

W h c < ~ l l e y Hi l l V r r r l c a I W ~nc l e r Bcsmish N o . 2 . W i n d i r l ~ E n s i n e Teeslde S a l t R i , q

J . \V. Almond ,?

J . K . M a r r i s c l n 7

13 'Ar . 13ul>!- L E: D. M . Tomlin 213 TT. Flintoft 2 ,:

PuhL~shect hy he N c r t h 1Cast lnclu.;tr~sl P . ~ - c \ ~ n e o l n q Sc,clet_v c / o S u ~ l d e r i a n d h l u y e u m , B r r o i ~ g h R d . , S u n d c ~ l h n t l , Co. Durl lam

I'rlce to m e m b e r ? G - (20 N. I ' . ) t o n p n - m e m b e r s 6!- (30 N.P.)

Ryhope Water Pumping Station NZ, 404525

J. W. Almond.

His tory - Ryhope Pumping station is p a r t of a s y s t e r n w h ~ s e or ig ins date back nearly t w o hundred years. In 1788 an A c t of Parliament established a Statutory Author i ty f o r supplying water t o South Shields.

1824 p a r t of Sunderland was served b y a non-statutory company, which became s ta tu tory in 1846. Increasing demand for hater and growing anarcness of the importancc of a good water supply prompted t h e Cen t r a l Government t o establish a Commission in 1845, resulting from which, and a f t e r making its own survey, the South Shields Company r e q u e s t e d the Sundcrlal ld Company to incIude in i t s operations the supply of XL-ater t o South Shields. The n e c e s s a r y authority was embodied in a n o t h e r Act of Parliament i n 1852. Ry 1859 the F~tlwcll Pumping Station w a s opera t iona l , at Cleadon, c o n s t r u c t i o n w o r k was well u n d e r way, and p re l i rn i r~a ry c a n s ~ d e r a t i o n was being given to the Ryhope p r o j r c t , f i r s t mention of w h ~ s l ~ a p p e a r s in 1858. M a t t e r s did not rno7.e rapidly, a n d it w a s not unt i l 1365 that land wah a c q u i r e d at Ryhope, proposals and specii icat ions drawn up, and a dec i s ion t o proceed t a k r n . Firm o r d e r s for tlne Lulldlng of thc engines werr p laced the following y e a r , some de lav being c a u ~ e d b y modif icat ions to the scheme and the engjne duty sprc i f ica t ions . r h e eventual c o n t r a r t , placed with M e s s r s . R. & W. H a w t l ~ o r n e for L - 100 11. p, dollble acting ro ta tor b e a m engines and pumps, r a s priced at 5 9 , 0 0 0 , incbldkg delivery and erec t ion . Thc. contract r , d r d f a r m a c h i n e r y t o d e l l \ cr a total of 3 million gallons o f water p e r day.

Tile n e c r s sa ry buildings to housv these e n g i n e s , and u r d e r e d f rc l rn W . .Tackson, >zrrrc priced at L 17,767. T h e "Sunderland Herald" ( f o r e r u n n e r of "Thr Sunderland ~ c h o ' ' ] r e p o r t e d on ZZnd Feb. 1867, t h e -4nnual General Meeting of the Water Companv, at which progress of the works was repor ted . An in t e r e s tmg aspect of the planning of t h e works is derivcd from thr Eact that the s inking nf the w r I l s h a f t s a d the buildinfi of t h c ~nqines proceeded simultaneously, b c i n ~ so programmecl t h ~ t the f i r s t (South) engine was availablr: f o r use in pumpjrky water f r o m the well during s inking opera t ions . K O d a t a i s a v a i l a l ~ l e co!~cerrring thc engine csectlon w o r k , records having been los t in f i r ~ s a t Hawthorne's Works, but it seems probabIe that t h e main beams o i the engines w e r e l i f t ed lnto p Iace by s h e a r l e g s while the engine house waIls were s t i l l being buil t , the building work being completed a f t e r the finishing of eng ine e r r r t i on .

Throughout the i r working l ife, the Rvhope englnes have a rccerd of rel iabil i ty and efficiency, having caused the l e a s t trouble of all the W a t e r Company 5 equipment. Routine rnaintainence rva h cn r r i e d or~t , (the l a s t t ime h 1954) and the cylinders were tw ice r e - b n r c d - the mcthod of r e b o r i n g is not known. Thc on ly major accident occu r r ed ear ly i n the life of the South engine when the cruci form section connecting rod hrake. This seems to have been par t ly anticipated, i t w a s immediately r ~ p l a c e d by the prcsent circular cross sec t ion connecting rod. The incomplete Nor th rngine w a s fitted with the ne\t design rod before completion. In I889 the hub 05 the N o r t h cnqine's flywheel broke. Repa i r s , c a r r i e d out by Hawthornes at a c o s t of $ 8 5 , s e e m originally to have ca1lc.d fo r the f i t t lng of a n e w h o s s , bu t a s h r u n k on i ron band can st i l l b e seen in place, and it i s not clear whether t h i ~ was in addition to the new boss or not.

By 19 00 the insurance company w ~ r e becoming worr ied about the state of the boi lers , and in 1908, insisted on replacements , a s t e s t s on ma te r i a l from the shel ls of other boilers of similar age showed thc metal to "be incapable of withstanding shock loads. " The th ree Lancashire Boi lers at p resen t in position were instalIed in that yea r f o r a c o s t of 5 1 , 080.

By 1946, trouble began to be experienced from salt seeping in to the w e l l , p r e s u m a b l y f r o m the s e a , and this f r a tu re has continued u p t o the shutting down of thc station. The only mcthod of cornhating the seepagc was t o reduce the rate of pumping, and this seems to have been one of the factors leading to the c1 esure . By 1966 cos ts /ga l lons of pumping a t Ryhope became lineconomical i n comparison to e lec t r ica l ly pe\vercd p u m p i n g , la rgely due t o the shift manning ~ ~ q u i r ~ d . a n d a s t h e s e costs c o d d not be reduced by increas ing output because of snl inat ion, the decision to shut down was made. The availability of other s u p p l i e s from surface r e s e r v o i r s at this time was , of course, a fur ther fac tor in the case. At 3 p . m . on 1s t July. 1967 , the South engine being i d l c , the N o r t h engine was stopped for the l a s t t ime, and near ly a century of continuous w a t e r flow f r o m the wells came t o an end.

Deta i l s of Ryhope Beam Pumping Engines - the engines arc f ine examples of mechanical engineerirlg d e s i g n and construction pract ice dur ing the l a t t e r part of the l a s t ccnturry, and show finely r c s t r a i n e d ornamentation common i n the period, particularly on the p a r a l l e l linkages. va1,ve chc sts and valve gear.

Built by M e s s r s . R. & W. Hawthorne of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1868. the engines a r e double compound ro ta to r s , with Wat t s para l le l motion and centrifugal governors . The cylinders a r e s t e a m jacketed, the HP cylinder being 27:" bore b y 5'0" stroke and the LP cylinder 45" bore by 8'0" stroke. Steam st~pply i s at 35 l b s , p. S. i. , w i t h condenser vacuum 26".

The beam of each engine is of double construction, measur ing some 33'0" between pump rod cent re S , and weighing a p p r o ~ m a t e l y 22 tone. Cylinder and pump connectins rods and auxil iary equipment drives a r e taken di rec t f r o m the beam, the sequence being s taple wel l pump, L P cylinder, W

cylinder, cooling -water pump, main trunnion, boiler f e e d pump, air pump, connecting rod to crank and flywheel, and main well pump.

The valves are the Double Beat ( ~ o r n i s h ) type. At Ryhope, valve drive is

b y cam-opera ted push r o d s , the c a m s being shaft driven from helical b e v e I gears on the main crank. A unique feature of the valve linkage enables each valve to be manually operated f r o m the control posifion. Beam s t rokes

are counted by a pendulum sys tem attached to the beam and incorpora ted in countcr boxes. It i s par t icular ly i n t e r e s t i n g that the pendulum i s hung f r e e \whilc the counter box osci l la tes , i. e . the r e v e r s e of the normal clock escapement. The crank shaft also c a r r i e s a 24'0" d i a m e t e r 18 ton flywheel, to which can be fi t ted a detachable rack fo r the barring gear.

Originallv the engines ran at unde s 10 rpm. delivering s o m e 415,000 gallons per hour of water aga ins t a head of approximately 243'0" (77 gallons p e r stroke. 1 More recent ly a demand was met by an output of 2 6 , 5 0 0 gallons p e r hour, the engines sunning at approxirnatcly 6 rpm. There are two primp

b a r r e l s , each 13'0" long, containing buckets with f lap valves , the buckets being about 1 5 " diameter with a s t roke of 10'8'l and one bucket being dr iven irom each ext reme end of the beam. Water was lifted in two stages, the first s tage discharging v ia an adit, to a 's taple ' well , i r o m whence the s rcond stage ' s taple end' pump drew water and completed the lift by d i s c h a r g i n g to a surface re se rvo i r . T h e main-well pump i s of slightly larger capacity than the staple-well pump (15;" buckets as compared with 15" d i a . , respectively). It is important that the staple-well pump always h a s adequate water to draw f rom, par t icular ly after new l ea the r s had h r r n Eittcd, arid a b leed back of water was arranged for this purpose.

Steam supply was originally by 'Cornish1 boilcrs . which were replaced in 1908 by thr. presen t three-hand f i r e d coal-burning Lancashire boi lcrs rnanufacturetl 11y Messr s . GalEoways Ltd. , of Manchester. Only one of the boi lers was in u s e at any one t ime, consuming some 1: c w t s . , of coal pcr hour, ancl delivered stcarri via individual superheaters to a common main. The supprhcatcrs w e r e fitted during the e a r l y 1930's, their prim? pu rpose being to d r y the steam to reduce condensation and co r ro s ion in the steam pipe s.

Thc pump and hoi lcr houses form a dlstlnctive examplc of the indus t r ia l a r c h i t e c t u r e of the period, and severa l s imi l a r in the a r e a now house the Water Company's modern deep -well e lec t r ic pumping instal lat ions.

A local group of enthusiasts arc clcaning the engines while cons idera t iun is given to the question of the i r future. A full set of the photoqraphs and details of the cngincs have barn s rn t to the Secretary of the Newcornen Society.

6 Ryhope F2lrnpln.q Station; main b e a m s , South Enjilne in foreground, "StapLe" w c l l end.

Two Durham Colliery Vertical Winding Engines

3 e a r n i s h No. 2 Pit Winding Engine. Map Ref: NZ 221537 - I have ;]esi~.et! a C reai dea l of interest m d p l e a s u r e f r o m the a r t i c l e S on " V e r t i c a t W i n r l l n g Engincs i n County Durham" by G. Watkins , puhlishcd ~ t i "Model Engineer, " July 1968. I noticed the kernark that in 1 9 6 7 "only o n e a p p a r e n t l y remains , locked and inaccessible d u c t o v a n d a l s " and assume that t h i s r e f e r s t o the eng ine at Beamish To. 2 Pit. It would s e e m to bc a pity that such a fine record should not b c com!>leted and I v e n t u r e t o of i r r details of th is engine.

It was b u i l t by M e s s r s . Joicey Kr C o . , of F o r t h Street, N e w c a s t l e upon Tyne, i n 1855, and this is recorclcd on a cast plate on t h e upper steam ch<.st. Thc cngint. has a square crank shaft on which i s mo~in t rd a 20'3" diamctcr flywlueeI c a s t i n two halves and boltcd togcther wi th p l a t e s , thc ha l f which i s on the s a m e side as the crank having d e e p s l o t s c a s t into the back surface f o r balancing. The spokes a re r l i ~ h t l y t a p e r e d and have a "T" section. Segmcnts of oak bolted onto thc. ou te r surfacr of the rim ~ r s e d to provide friction f o r the brakr 13a11CIs. In l a t e r years F e r o d o w a s used and was fixed t o the brake hancls. The d r u m i s 9'0" in cllamrtcr without the wooden saddles. It has a separate c a s t wheel at the w a l l sidc and is rnou~lted on brackets c a s t onto the f lywheel spokes a t the frofit s i d e . From this drum were taken two ropes (the "1li,yht' a n d the "low") both of which carr ied a cage. The depth of the shaft tu the sump was 68 fathoms, w i t h f o u r levels as well as Rank, The shaft , now filled m, w a s 1Z1O" diarrietcr and contained t w o cagps each of which would hold two tubs holding 7 2 cwts. of coal each. The s v s t e m of high and low ropes from the drum, of c o u r s e , balancpd the weigh t of the cages and tubs and the engine only had t o r a i se the urciqht of the coal and the winding ropes. This could b e achieved at a su rp r i smg s p e e d since t h e engine could make up to 30 rpm.

The engine h a s a 20" b o r e by 5 '0" stroke and it worked at 35 Ibs. p. S. i. At t h e end of its life the re w e r e four Lancashire boilers, none of them as old a s the engine, which produced steam at 50 lbs. p. 5. i. , f o r a hauling engine and had a seducing valve for the winder. Steam came i n t o the engine house through a pipe level wlth the top valve ches t and i n t h i s pipe i s a drop valve operated by a lever and eccentric, so that, the engine could he isolated from the boilers. The in let valves are of the drop type operated from a r b o r s which car ry the wipers ach~ated by

the plug rod, and also the long handle levers used when the engine valves were operated m a n u a l l y as was often. the case judging by the worn and grained appearance of the handles. The arbors were re turned t o their

original positions and damped by suspended weights in a water box and could also be locked by a cam device i n such a position that a l l the valves were closed. This. plus the foot brake, held the engine stationary. Beneath the engine house floclr are the remains of a water pump which had been long since disconnected and disused.

The ta l l a s h l a r engine house has a slate roof. It has been suggested that C r o w t h e r eng ines w e r e often set up in old beam engine houses using the original cylinder and valve gear. This house shows no signs of ever having been a bearn engine house, even though par t of the wal l below the wall bearing of the engine i s of dressed stone and, at f i r s t g lance , could be taken for later infilling. It is in fact reinforcement tor the bearing. The head gear, or pulley frame, still stands and is ent i re ly of wood, and is the last of its type in County D u r h a m . Behind the engine house is a smal ler building which contains a smaIl horizontal " J a c k 1 ' engine which could be used in emergencies for taking materials from the shaft. This engine. along with the indicator gear was not recorded, time being the main fac tor here.

There have been severa l o ther Joicey verticals i n the immediate area including one a t Beamish Mary , b u t nothing survives. The Beamish No. 2 (or Chop ill) engine stopped r a i s i n g men in 1961, and stopped work altogether in 1962. It is now haped to preserve the engine in the planned open-air museum at Rearnish Park.

The original survey was carried ou t with the help of s h t h form boys of Eston Grammar School, and much of the technical detail was given by Mr. Harry Laybourne, who, as engineer to this pit, looked after this engine for many years.

This ar t ic le was originally printed in the "Model Engineer' ' No. 7 - 20th February, 1969, and is reprinted here by courtesy of the Editor.

Wheatley Hi11 Col l iery En~ine. Map Ref: NZ 3 8 5 3 9 3 S i n c e the recording of the Beamish Ro. 2 Pit ver t ical winding engine, the l a s t of the big Crowther engines in County Durham, we have had another last (or nearly last ? ) in the area, with the passing from working life of the Wheatley Hill vertical winding engine originally built in 1874, by M e s s r s . Dunlop % M e r e d i t h of West Hartlepool.

This engine offers s o m e interesting contras ts with the earlier Bearnish engine. Firstly, i t i s bigger by far a n d i s a double, and secondly, unlike the older engine it has suffered many modsications. In spite of this the overall pattern is s t i l l c lear and i f the reader will cross check

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v i s i t s rve;- v i ~ n d e t 9 ?Ly130~e P ~ m p i n y .'7n::i;ze and. T?~r.:c~s t 3 , 7-T -, - , .':?-P.eim , ~ o r k s Co. z t Zcnwell ~n? . - , . ' ? r lam, tba I:lusem ~f Scicnce F-3.1 - 7 r ~ i n c ~ r inx : Victnric TunneZ znd t h e - * 7 -

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12 th ?'o>r;.qbe;*- ),:e;lbc;.s izren$p c 25 t h ~J:?v~.T;~SZT O l d i c d ?:~:,r,? :.:'cl; i x . 2 ~ y

5y Tnhn :;.:o.<f i t t , -, :. O t h .3cce~bzr I l s r .~Sc r s .>v::ninc.

m . e t ! . ~ - , s arc 5e3d in t h e j .< l l i t jnn 3 v . i l d i . n - o f IGcac7-z t Le F ~ l y t c c h c i c z f 7 . 0 0 p.n,

2 r:rciup to study t h e ?hove s u b j e c t . T h o s c int:rcste< p l c z s s c ? n t ~ . c t h i m ,

with the drawings ure can buiId up a picture of i t s development to i t s final form.

Little i s known about the firm of M e s s r s . Dunlop & Meredi th except that it did e x i s t and that old drawings state that they m a d e the engine. The fac i l i t ies of the f i r m must have been fairly extensive for them to be able to undertake this major piece of construction. The engine was evidently erected elsewhere f rom the present site and was bought by t h e Hartlepool Coal Company? secondhand. For many years it stood in the colliery yard and was f ina l ly re-erected a t WheatPey Hi I l in 1900. This explains the f i rs t mystery - an 1874 vintage engine inside an engine hquse da ted 1900, and d e a r l y of the architecture of that period. The stone p i e r s upon which t h e engine s t a n d s a r e part of the or ig ina l engine and have been carefully numbered and removed to the present site with the iron work. One of the stones i s placed upside down in the new house and the stone work doee not quite f i l l the ful l depth of the house. The older house was obviously more cramped.

The engine as r ? - e r ec t ed w a s in i t s original form. For many y e a r s it was unpaintcd and was simply r u b b e d down with engine oil; the green paint and lining being of National Coal Board vintage. The drum was made up of three cast iron spoked wheels, the centre one slightly l a r g e r i n diarnctcs than the ou te r ones to give a pronounced crown to the drum. The wooden s p a r s were in two parts t o make this possible. This drum had two band brakes both with upper and lower bands. These bands were plain s tee l ones and I-an on wooden cleats bolted to the drum. Before

this d rum finally became unsafe and was scrapped the upper brake bands had been removed and the engine was braked by the lower bands only and by steam In thc cylinders. This was a highly u n s a t i s f a c t o r y arrangement.

In 1929 the old Lancashire boi lers working at 60 Ibs. p. S. i. , were removed and replaced by Babcack % WiIcox tube ho i l e r s work in^ at 150 Ibs. p. S. i. , superheated steam. Such a radica l adjustment in steam pressure had to b e accommodated in the engine a n d the old cylinders (probably 36" x 6 '0" s t roke ) w e r e taken out and repIaced b y new ones a t 30" X 6'0" s t r o k e . At the same time the new valve gear was put in. This work was car r i ed out by Messrs. Bradley &' Craven of Wakefield.

h 1938 139 the old d r u m w a s removed and probably only just in time since during its dismantl ing most of the spokes were found to be cracked. A new steel drum was put in by Messrs. Worsley Mesnes of Wigan and t h e y sub-contracted for the new Whitmore type ca l iper brakes to Messrs. Coulsons of Spennymaor.

On several occasions the base iron castings f o r the cylinders gave t r o u b l e by cracking and they had to be replaced eventually by steel castings. O n one occasion on t rying t o l i f t the cylinder for such a replacement the hand

windlass on the service beams suddenly collapsed and it was found that one cylinder nut had not been undone. One more part of the origjnal engine disappeared!

We can see from this that the original par t s on the engine which remained to the end of its life wese the main crank shaft, cranks and bearings, the connecting rod and piston rmi, the c r o s shead, the guides, t h e "spectacles", and the cast iron beams supporting the guides. Around these were Pater additions: the fine red and white brick ~ t e e l beamed engine house built by the colliery maaon, the drum and caliper brakes and the complicated braking and steam control mechanisms. The latter deserve some mention at this stage, The governor operated cut offs on the valves. On days when the steam was "badii the governor could be disengaged from this duty by a quick "flick" of the revers ing gear which threw a link out over the side of the governor until the engine was once again reversed. The revers ing gear w a s operated by a steam donkey (60 lbs. p. 5. i. ) which was on the right hand engine (and not shown) and had a rod p a s s i n g t h r o u g h the walls t o the left hand engine.

The brakes were normally in the "oni1 position, and were held on ve ry firmly by heavy weights suspended on one end of the brake Lever a rm and by a compression spring a t the other (not shown). They e r e taken off by a second pneumatically controlled donkey (150 lbs. p. S , i. ) A steam cylinder between the two stone p ie r s , connected di rec t ly to the ma.in s t eam junction f o r the engine cylinders, engaged the brakes if the main steam pressure fell below about 90 lbs. p. S. i. , sa that the engine would b e stopped completely. Both the brake donkey and the reversing donkey were brought into duty b y the "slow bankerf ' gear which had turo functions: ( l) to prevent overwinding; (2) to prevent excessive speed of the cage i n

the shaft.

W h e n the N. 6.3. took ove r the coll iery they instituted such ferocious braking t e s t s that the main stone pier S of the engine house w e r e cracked and t i e s had t o be put across the building. The engine in i ts final form performed i t s duties efficiently. It did all the h e a v y winding at: the coll iery in spite of the instal lat ion OX a second engine - a horizontal Robey - and in the m e m o r y of the winding man, Mr . Char l ie Daly, was never out of work except when servicing and r e p a i r s wese carried out .

Attempts were m a d e to p rese rve this engine by M r . Frank Atkinson of the Bowes M u s e u m , fo r the projected open-air museum at Beamish Park, but the removal of such a l a r g e piece of equipment would have been a major project in its own right, and proved to be beyond present means. The drawings with this ar t ic le never could be complete, as I am s u r e the reader will understand, but I offer them f o r the record. Finally I must acknowledge help given at various t i m e s with the drawings by bays of Eston G r a m m a r School; my colleague, M r . Peter Oheron; Miss Olivia Lambert; Mr. Nigel Chapman; and, par t icular ly , the time given b y M r .

14 Charlie Daly in telling the fascinating story of t h i s engine.

REVIEW

South Durham S t e e l & Iron Co. Ltd. , b y W. G. Willis. 1969.

This book cover S the history of the amalgamation of the W e s t Hartlepool S t e e l & Iron Company i n 18 9 8 , with two Stockton-on -Tees firms, The Malleable Iron Company and the Moor Steel & Iron Company. This waa the creation of William Cresswell Gray, and the book describes the influence of other prominent individuals like Lord FurneSs and later Benjamin Talbot.

Chapters outlkne the t r i a l s of setting up the new works at Cargo Fleet around the First World War, then the struggle against cheap impor ts between the wars . There a r e sections about the Company's venture in to pipe making, proposed amalgamation with M e s s r S. Dorman, Long & Co. reaction to Nationalisation 1946, and the introduction of broad flange beams.

At the end of the book are f ive appendices, and of most in teres t to the lndustrial Archaeologist i s one which tabulates the main items of capital expenditure over the .last 25 years.

The book provides many facts and f igures and should be a good reference f o r those interested in t h e h is tory of Iron and Steelmalung on Teesside.

A Buried Viaduct. K i l t o n , N.Z. 709185

W. Huby.

The erection of the Kilton Viaduct spanning a half mile wide and 300it . , deep ravine and Kilton Beck, near Loftus, North Yorkshire, on the Brotton-Whitby (west Cliff) section of the e x N. E. Railway, was promoted by the Cleveland Railway Company for the purpose of enabling r a i l a c c e s s t o the deposits of ironstone in the a r e a s , Easington, Grinkle P a r k and towards Staithes, also t o f o r e s t a l l a projcc t to provide s imi lar a c c e s s from the Whi tby direction. Ironstone mined i n the Grinkle area had f o r some y e a r s been despatched bp sea t o Ja r row Iron Works f r o m the smal l harbour of P o r t Mulgrave, south of Staithes.

The Kilton Viaduct, 226 y a r d s long, on a curve of I 8 chains radius, had twelve stone piexs , each 5 2 i t . , apa r t , the highest p i e r s being some 150 f t . . above t h e KiIten Beck. The stone p ie r s were strongly constructed and of substantial proport ions, sufficient in width to c a r ry a d o u b l e l ine of rails, but only one track was laid, this being carr ied on a supcr s t ructure of lattice type i ron girders with wrought iron deck plates. Thr

viaduct came in to hr. E. Railway ownexsh ip i n .Tuly, 1865, and was completed i n December of the following year, shortly af ter which, the railway was extended to a t e r m i n u s a t Laftus m o d s Depot, it rail connection bcing made with Liverton Mines when a shaft was sunk there in 1 8 7 1 . With the introduction of a passenger t ra in se rv ice beturcrn Saltburn and Loftus in Apri l , 1 8 7 5 , the viaduct came into m o r e genera l u s e , with a furthrr usaqe in 1883, when t h e railway was extended from Loftus t o Whitby, W c s t Cliff.

Ea r ly i n 1908, apparently In conscquencc of ironstone mining operations, indicat ions of subs idence occur red in onc of the p i e r s and a speed limit oi 8 rnilcs p e r hour w a s imposed for a l l t ra ins , which resti-iction c r e a t e d somewhat of a prob lem regard ing the heavy train loads of calcined i r u n - stone f rom Livexton Mines. These trains u.crc passed to t h c main t ine a t Liverton M i n e s s ignal box situated a short distance from the v iaduc t and the prac t ice was to propel the t r a ins along t h e main line, up thp

steep gradient t o w a r d s Lo i t~ t s s ta t ion , i n ordrr to gain as much speed a s possible over the heav i ly graded a n d cu rved l ine towards Carlin How Junction and up the Huntcliffe Bank t o Brottcn. Under normal work in^ this t r a in , r e f e r r e d to loca l ly as "Liver ton" , came thundering a c r o s s

the whist l ing frequently, a s necessa ry , to obtain distant and other

fixed signals at the "Clear" aspect as s o o n as within sighting distance s o a s to avoid any e a s i n g back of the steam regulator. Perhaps the noise

f r o m the i ron bodied wagons used fo r the calcined o r e gave this train a more distinctive sound whi l s t t r a v e l l h g "all out. " T h e use of iron bodied wagons w a s necessa ry a s the ore was tipped f r o m the kilns into the wagons w h i l s t s t i l l i n a somewhat heated condition.

~ e g a r d i n g the speed restr ict ion. In actual pract ice , human nature being what lt i s , m o s t 01 the dr ivers w e r e perhaps more concerned to r each the nppasite end of the v iaduc t as quickly as possible without observing the speed l imit too rigidly and speedometers were not fitted at that date! Posts w e r e Iitted to each p ie r t o indicate any fur ther subsidence; watch- men were also stationed and huts and equipment provided a t each end of t h e viaduct fo r the i r u se .

About January 191 1, when fur ther s i g n s of instability w e r e observed it w a s decided to s top all ra i l t raff ic during which period passengers were '

conveyed betwcen Loftus and Skinningrove Stations by motor charabancs, usually referred t o as " toas t racks, each row of sea t s being sl ight ly h i g h e r than the row in front. The r o a d s between these stations were very unsuitable fo r heavy vehicles, there being steep gradients, hair-pin bends, rough surfaces , and travel by motor charabanc with solid rubber t y r e s and somewhat primitive braking equipment could perhaps be regarded a s involving a r i s k only slightly less than the r a i l journey at that date. D u r i n g the suspension of sail t raffic, i ronstone from Liverton & Boulby mines was worked by rail via W e s t Cliff, m i t b y ; Grosmont and Bat tersby to furnaces in the Teesside area. On s o m e sections of this route there were res t r ic t ions regarding the class of engines which were permitted t o run, between Whitby & Grosmont - seve re curves; Grosmont and Castleton - weight; c a s t i ron girders on the low under bridges, such as provided for field t o field roads, "cattle c r e e p s " being the loca l t e r m used for these b r i d g e s . The m o s t suitable type of mineral engine being those of the somewhat varied 1001 C l a s s , 0. 6. D tender , r e f e r r e d to by the older staff a t tha t date as "Quakersl', many having been bui l t at North Road Engine Works in the s o called Quaker town of Darlington. On the Whitby- Battersby-Middlesbrough section of the route these trains were made up to double load weight and in consequence w e r e double headed and t o avoid the weight of two engines being on the under b r i d ~ e s a t the s a m e t ime, a sufficient number of wagons were plac ed between the engine S.

Eventually it was decided to completely engulf the viaduct in what would, of necessity, b e c o m e a massive embankment, made more so, by having to accommodate on the e a s t side, a single line track which passing through the f i r s t span at the CarIin How end, served a s the rever sing spur of the Skinningrove sig zag mineral line. T h i s span w a s much wider

than tlie othcr spans, and incidentally, was t h e s ~ i h j e c t of a l e t t e r i r om which the fo l lowing i s a n e x t r a c t : - "N. E. Rly , Eng inee r ' s Off i rc , Da rl irlqtori 13th F e b r u a r y , 1863 . - The Cleveland Rai lway C o y . , to cons t ruc t €hp arch of the Kilton Viaduct which spans the B ranch 01 t h e Sk i~ming ro l f e I i r le of su i l i c ien t width t o tmbrace thrcc l ines of rails - signed M. Cudworth. "

The f i r s t phase of t h e u o r k involved the cc~nstrsct i .on oi z c u l v e r t , 435f t . ,

in lenat11 t o accommodate t h e Kil ton Eeck , thc c u l v e r t being or' f e r r n - concrctc! design t o assist in ohtainirlg suff icient s t r e n g t h t o withstand the eno rmous weigh t of the e r n h n n l a n e ~ t , \r*hicll, as i n tl-e case of the viacluct p iers , would also m o s t probably become l i a b l e tn suhsidcnce. Ca re had a l so to b e exerc ised i n t ipping evenlv a r o u n d the pipi-s and z rail t r ack ilas l a i d f rom L i v e r t o n Mines spoi l tip to the site to f a c i l i t a t e the f i l l i r ~ g - i n work; t r a in loads nf spoil f r o m pit heaps i n thc loca l i ty were also tipped from bottom docm umineral U-agons, su i tab lc o p e ~ i ~ g s being made in t he "icn~r foot way" he tween thr rails for t h i s purpose. The work of completely cover ing the viaduct was a c ro rnp l i shed n 19 13, perhaps not surh A long period having rega rd to thc ca re requirecl and t h e l i m i t a t i o n s of the e q u i p m e n t availabIc a t that date for removing l n r g c q u a n t i t i e s of spoil and foundation m a t e r i a l s e t c . , for the cons t ruc t ion of the c u l v e r t . These wcrt- Zaotpaths at each s i d e of the r a v i n e and F ~ C S C {ac i l i t i es were main-

tained, a footpat!l being a l s o p r e v i d ~ d along the &hole l e n g t h of t h ~ ernbar lkmerl t .

flavirig worked at Skinn inerove station during the Tlllirlg-in work On t h ~ vladuct and also heing a na t ive of C a r l r n How, R n e a r -by v i l lagc , prrhaps a i e w recollections on the sub jec t of these no tes m a y bc of some interest:-

D u r i n g the Strike i n 1802 referrecl to l o c a l l y a6 "the D u r h a m St r ike , " c oa l supplies to the a rea c e a s e d and the i rons tone m i n e s had to c lo sc ; the pit h o r s e s being b r o u g h t t o the surfacc; after lorrg periods underground the eyes igh t of t h e s e animals bccarne inlpaireri, a n d one such horse b e c o m i n g slartled, boltcd i r o r r l a pit ya rd field near the ra i lway , ran along the rail l r a ~ k and on to the viaduct, f e l l th rough t h e side rails and became c:ntangled i n the l a t t i c e g i r d e r work. After r o p e s and tacklr:

had been obtained i r o m the pi t the a n i m a l was hauled up c l e a r .

Whcn thc viaduct was due to undergo p e r i o d i c t c s t s , t h r e e of the 0.6. 0. tank engincs buil t f o r working on the heavy ~ r a d i e n t s of Skinningrove zig zag m i n e r a l l ine and stabled at Carlin How Engine Shed were uscd for the weight, t e s t i n g , e t c . being r u n or1 t o the v i a d u c t coupled.

Ed i to r ' s Postscr ip t Yi l to r i V:aduct \~-iLh ~ t s rmhnnkrnenL of s h a l e r e m a i n e d in u s e ~ ~ a i a l v f o r t'lc c o a s t a l p a s s p n g c r tr;idr cli ter t he loca l i r o n s t o n e -invs Il;lr! c l o ~ e r : .

: ~ h c r ?ir Lo!'tus to H i h i t h y , -oas t r ou t e . jerr . l i .?s ,;-,:re ~ i t I ~ d r a ~ . v n ,in 1 '?5H, i t ~....xs still c c r ? h ? :I ? i r ? s e l pan?enpe- . t r a i l ; se r? , i : e ' r n m i n i i u s to L t i d d l c ~ S rn;i,c!i w:ti! this tc?rrninil!erl i n 1 a60. 'The rni! s

:vere suhs t : t i r ~en l l y liitg?ti Letueerl S t t inn i~~~rc i~ . -c ant Ii'!lit5v and a l l of I I - L r ~ i . ?r i r lpes , irr:lcl~irli:l$ t h e i , rcpress i r .e S t ~ ~ i t h e ~ . i ' iar iLict r emo~ .ed . Xi ] t<811, hu~r.<.b e r , 7-en~;,in u .;till sh ro i lded ir! p r u t e c t i v e coat Q -

s a l e .

Ivnnicr l l ly , \r-iiF I h c ~o::.ing oi the Fot; tsh Tnri>,lutr\i t o ERS: C ' T ~ ~ ' r : l z ~ i r l . 11 L S !>elit=ve~l that the ra i [ I ink -From Ski tu l~nq rove to R o u l b v 1.vill be -el;iid ;tnrl i f t h i s l > i c o r i e s ;i vealil)- i t m..ijr n,ell !,e that the ICilto!~ Vi;:iciilct n.i!l cnLc xua l r ; hcar i! s \-.~..r:ioht LT t r a n sport inf ; Ihr- miner?: ;~e; ! th 01 the a rea to T c e s ~ l i : ? .

T l i A l K W R E C K pN APPRCACTF TQ KTT.TC7N .IfTADUCT 1909 r ' ,~csen,qrrs proceerirng r r o m Mlddleshorouj ih t r r i t n to Whltby t r a i n . C o l c ~ n i t j g k r l w cl' Liverror~ Trctls~cne 14 lnc In hackqrcul~d)

Teesside Salt Dr i l l ing I~umping R i g

NZ. 507262

David M. Tomlin

It may be useful to p r e s e n t t h e results of a survey c a r r i e d out by the T e e s s i d e Industrial Archaeology Group in connection with m y study of the Tees Salt I n d u s t r y of the n ine teen th century. Two r i g s of Cab le

Tool type are s t i l l working for C e r e b o s L t d . , at Greatharn Creek, but are on the v e r g e 01 being r e m o v e d as salt production will cease shor t ly .

Sa l t was discovered i n 1863 at Middlesbrough when Messrs . Bolckow,

Vaughan & Co., dr i l l ing f o r f resh w a t e r for thpir Vulcan Iron Works passed through about 100 f t . of rock s a l t at a dep th of 1, 300 ft. In 1874

M e s s r s . Rell Brothers madc a f u r t h e r t r i a l borjne at Port Clarencr, finding 65 ft. of good r o c k salt at a depth of l , 1 2 7 ft. , and then in 1882 they began producing salt.

The e a r l y br ine wells w e r e dr i l led b y cor ing methods which wrre t ed ious 2nd t ime c o n s u m i n g . In 1887 the c a b l e tool system w a s introduced i n t o

England from the U. S . A. , after or iginat ing along the Kanawba River i n West Virginia . In M a r c h of that year a well was dr i I l ed for M e s s r s . C h a r l e s Tennant & Partners n e a r P o r t Clarencc t o a depth 01 1,008 ft. in 2 2 days, whereas the f i r s t wel l of M e s s r s . Bolckow, Yaughan & C o . , in 1863 took a Mather & Platt flat rope b a r i n g mach ine 390 days.

Thr C a b l e Tool p r o c e s s i s a perc l i s sion method by which free falling too ls ch ip and pound a hole while thc modern method is r o t a r y rlrillinfi e . R. for oi l wel ls .

The d e r r i c k or r i g i s a t a p v r c d Ia t t i ce g i r d e r s t r u c t u r e supporting the tools and machinery. ( S P ~ the a ccon~pany ing d r a w i n g for details). The power w a s o r i g i n a l l y provided by a simple bo i l e r and s i n g l e p i s ton e n ~ i n r which drove t h e bandwheel by means af a b e l t . The l~mdwheel transrl- its p o w e r h y ropes f r o m the enginr to the va r i ous app l iances U in l i h p l t t ~ a n i s iar;te!led to a crank on the bmdwhec l acd

when the bandwheel j s r o t a t i n g , i m p a r t s a n up and down mot ion to the w a l k i n < b<.am pivoted at i t s cer.trr on t h e S a r n v a r ~ p o r t . Thr s t r ing of

tools 1s s u s p c n d ~ d bv means o l t h e ternpcr screw f r o m the walking beam, t h ~ up and down m o t i o n of which causp s the percussive actlorl on which t h s system of d r i l l i n g depends. f i u t h e h o l e is deepened ,

t h r t e m p e r s c r e w p r a v ~ d e s a l so for an a d ~ u s t r n e n t o: the length of thc

d r i l l i n g llne. The dr i l l lng l ine or r a h l e passe s t h r o u g h the crown p u l l r y m the c rown block at t l ~ c top of the r ig and down and around the

s h a f t of t h e bu l l wheel. Tne drillinjis a r e removed by a b a i l e r o r sand pump s u s p e n d e d on the s a n d line which passes t h r o u g h the sand l ine p ~ i l l e y in thr! crown block and then down and around the sand r e e l , which i s tu rned by a f r i c t i o n dr ive on the handrvhecl.

A f t ~ r the n c l l has been drilled t h e hale has to be l ined f r o m top to hoitom or e l s e o n l y th rough the bottom 200 f t . , where the m a r 1 i s l i a b l e t o collapse. W a t e r t o make br ine is ei ther l e t in f rom the sandstone or i r e s h water f rom the sur face . The b r ine f o r m e d by t h e d i sso lv ing of s a l t in w a t e r s i n k s t o the b o t t o m of the cavity formed in the salt and r i s e s up the c e n t r e of an ar:nular double tube. A column of water E, 200 it. , supports one of b r i n r , lla\-ing a height of nearly, 1,000 ft., the pump, therefore , has r e a l l y t o hit the br ine on ly about 200 f t . The pump is connec ted by i ron rods t o the walking beam of the c a b l e .tool r i g and has a b r i n e ou t le t a t t h c surface. One can see the o r i ~ i n a l cab le tool dri l l ing r i ~ i s now part of the pump u s e d t o e x t r a c t brine.

An i n t e r e s t h g point about t h i s r i g a t Greatharn C r e e k i s tha t it is m a d e of wood, only the tower i s steel . The wooden construct ion was apparentlv standard p rac t i ce so tha t they were transportable and u s e d locally available: materials. In "Oi! Well Dr i l l ing Methods" by V. Z i e g l e r , 1923, he g i v e s al l thc details of t he woocl required f o r what a p p e a r s to be a "do - i t - y o ~ r s c l f ' ~ r ig similar to our. example.

E lec t r i c power h a s a l s o superceded t h e o r i g i n a l s t e a m boiler, al though the engine I ~ a s e a n d flywheel s t i l l remain i n one of the rigs.

It I s hoped that a r i g f rom G r e a t h a m wil l h e saved f o r eventual transfer t o the North East Regional Open-Air M u s e u m at Beamish Paxk.

[ S i n c e th15 a r t ~ c l e was wr i t t en , team of Volunteers f r o m thc Friends of 111c Qpcn A i r Museum, have d ismant led one of rhc r igs at G r e a t h a m and r ~ m o v e d ~t to s t o r e . S . D . S . ]

R E L I A N T ' - a postscript

F. Flintoft .

The f inal decision on the fate of steam paddle tug "RELIANT", ( e x "OLD TRAFFORD") 155107, now beina known to me, I can complete the s t o r y , i r o m Sraharn H a r b o u r whcrr the tug w a s last seen, t ~ l d i n the 'Bul le t in ' for July, 19L9.

Seahani Harboui--Master% records reveal that "RELIANT"'s last spell of duty t o tow thc m o t o r - c o l l i e r 'IFCLHAM IX" , l , 7 5 8 1 4 8 , on 30th Apr i l , 1969; I woncler i f the skipper and c r e w of the c o l l i e r realised how they w r r r being honoured.

I made a last v i s i t to "RELLANTf', on 17th May. Belou,, standing on the g r a t i n g hetu,cen her t w i n eogine S, thr s i l ence b r o k e n only by the lapping of the water in h e r b i l g e s , I felt an "atmosphere" which I did not l ikc :

"RELL4NTw w a s n o longer al ive.

On the 10th June, Watkin's big motor -tug "'DHULLA", 273/ 59, took "RELIANT" i n tow, and s l id out be tween thp lock wall S , w h e r e qui te a crowd of people had g a t h e r e d to watch t h e d e p a r t t ~ r c and h p a r the f a r c w e l l b las ts from the syrens of the paddler's work-mates, screw-tugs "COT;SERVATORrl, 9 6 / 25 and "CHIPCHASE" 1651 53. At about midnight , l lth June , "DHWLLA" and h e r tow arrived off t r a v c s c n d and early ncxt rrorning berthet l at T . W a r d ' s s h i p - b r e a k e r s yard, Grays, E s s e x . In

August "RELIANT" was moved u p - r i v e r to W m . Corry 's tug and b a r g e works a t C h a r t o n , where s h e awai t s t he final move which i s to be, and I quotc from a l e t t e r , dated 30th September, 1959 , from the Nationa't Maritime Museum, Greenwich, t h e tug now he ing r e g i s t e r e d with the Trustees of that Museum; -

"She will h e bu i l t i n t o the m e s s a n i n e f loor which has been e rec t ed i n our rcconst ructcd Neptunp Ha l l . She will be complete from bow to towing-hook with the exception of t h c starboard paddle and sponson. Aft of t h e towing-hook par t of the mezzanine f loor wilL be u s e d t o s imu la t e h e r af ter deck ; th rough this v ~ s i t o r s wil l b e abIe to enter the aftcr accommodation by the or ig ina l ha tchand companion way. The hull of this after part wil l be mock-up. Thus, the pa r t s be ing removed amount t o the s tarboard padrlle and sponson, the after d e c k (which will he replaced by the mezzanine f l oo r ) and the s te rn . Th i s l a s t , I may say, was s o decayed that it h a d to be sealed wi th s eve ra l hundredweight of concrete before shc could be towed south to the Thames. Both

engines will be working and it is hoped t h a t the public wi l l he able to cross t h e f I oo r of the b o i l e r room be tween the boiler f a c e and the moving engine S, the whole exhibit showing the side -lever engines and the Vic tor ian Merchant S e r v i c e accommodation in thcir proper se t t ing i n the s t o r y of the deveIopment of commercial shipping. "

It does seem from this letter that "RELIANTii is t o cont inue ta s e r v e a useful purpose, in the general scheme of things maritime, f o r many, many y e a r s t o come. It also s e e m s extremely doubtful if she could have been prese rved afloat, or c r o s s e d the o c e a n s t o San F r a n c i s c o except as an item of ship 's cargo, or i f the I n d u s t r i a l S t e a m Preservation Group in the U. K. , also r epo r t ed a s having made a bid for this t u g , could have improved on the National Maritime Museum's p l a n s for her future. Curiously enough, as "RELIANT" passed quietly and unsung from our shipping scene , leaving the younger steam paddler "JOHN H. AMOS", 2 0 2 1 3 1, r e t i r e d s ince 1967 and now in c a r c of the Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough , t o be the l a s t af loat in the United Kingdom, her former work-mate a t S e a h a m Harbour, "EPPLE TON HALL", 1661 14, had h e n rescued f r o m Tyne ship-braakcrs, and in a blaze of publicity i n loca l and e v e n national Press was being " re s u r r e c t e d " at R. B. H a r r i s o n ' s s h i p - r e p a i r yard a t Bill Quay, Pelaw on Tyne, to, on 18th.September. steam out f r o m that r i v e r , the las t steam paddlc tug t o be built t h e r e and last to sail on i t ' s w a t e r s , at the start of the long voyage out to San Francisco.

However the "JOHN H. AMOS" and "EPPLETON HALL" may bp: the subject of other stories, but these lines conclude thc story of "RELLbNT", the last steam paddle t u g t o work and p e r f o r m the du t ies for which buil t in the United Kingdom.

My appreciation for information t o Seaham Harbour Dock Company, D. C. Mer r io t t of Grays, Essex, B. R. Luthwaite of Thames Ship Society, London; 1. B. MilPar , Paddlc Steamer Preservation Society; and the National Maritime Mm e m , (Dept. of Ships). Greenwich.

F lnce this s r t ~ c l e w a s w r i t t e n t h e secretary h a s v ~ s i t e d the ationnl M a r ~ t l m e Museum a n d sccn t h e "Keliant" in COUr5F

of preparation. Whllst the puhlrc wll l he ahSr to sec how it worked, lt is doubtful if they will get an-y Imprcsslon of t he " R e l i ~ n t " as a paddlc tug.

S . B . S . ]