Hi Paul thanks for the “Stalls” reminder. First the Slag tip is still a rich area for brambles, we had bramble and apple pie over Christmas from that local area , there”s still a village picking around alongside Durham road and Blakeston Lane. The crop this year was not a heavy as “04” as we had a cold dry spring and very few warm days , but the brambles were just as sweet. Re “The Stalls” in I.C.I Billingham All trace of them is now gone, just open land from the New Road to the Old Office-Block (gone) area. Remember “The Pit”, where the 60 ft vessels were lowered to remove the bottom cover with the aid of a team of sledge hammer armed fitters and mates, or the “Smoke-Huts” in which 6 or 8 sat enjoying a break in a cloud of ciggy or pipe smoke? Remember “Douggy” Dale the 100 ton “Titan-Crane” driver, he”s living in the Village.
Hi Bob! I used to work with you at ICI stalls Mtce. My Mum used to live in one of the old furnace houses here. I spent many happy hours train spotting on the cross over footbridge at the station. We also used to go to Stockton Concrete Works as it was known back then, as it was an ideal spot for”brambling”!
Station Road, Norton 1990. The fencing to the left Marshalls stone works. the road is Calf-Fallow Lane , the mound to the right is on the remains of the west terrace of the two row “Furnace-House”s” 1850s , built for the workers of Norton-Iron Works” builder of the “Big Ben” bell 1856. To the right of the signal-box was a footbridge and Norton railway-station a victim of “Beeching” in the 1960s. “The Station” hotel is now “The Tavern, a very popular venue which has an excellent photos display of Norton , Old Station and its railway , This road was once a popular country walk from the Green via Billingam-Beck to the “Old-Mlll, Norton
Hi Paul thanks for the “Stalls” reminder. First the Slag tip is still a rich area for brambles, we had bramble and apple pie over Christmas from that local area , there”s still a village picking around alongside Durham road and Blakeston Lane. The crop this year was not a heavy as “04” as we had a cold dry spring and very few warm days , but the brambles were just as sweet. Re “The Stalls” in I.C.I Billingham All trace of them is now gone, just open land from the New Road to the Old Office-Block (gone) area. Remember “The Pit”, where the 60 ft vessels were lowered to remove the bottom cover with the aid of a team of sledge hammer armed fitters and mates, or the “Smoke-Huts” in which 6 or 8 sat enjoying a break in a cloud of ciggy or pipe smoke? Remember “Douggy” Dale the 100 ton “Titan-Crane” driver, he”s living in the Village.
Hi Bob! I used to work with you at ICI stalls Mtce. My Mum used to live in one of the old furnace houses here. I spent many happy hours train spotting on the cross over footbridge at the station. We also used to go to Stockton Concrete Works as it was known back then, as it was an ideal spot for”brambling”!
Station Road, Norton 1990. The fencing to the left Marshalls stone works. the road is Calf-Fallow Lane , the mound to the right is on the remains of the west terrace of the two row “Furnace-House”s” 1850s , built for the workers of Norton-Iron Works” builder of the “Big Ben” bell 1856. To the right of the signal-box was a footbridge and Norton railway-station a victim of “Beeching” in the 1960s. “The Station” hotel is now “The Tavern, a very popular venue which has an excellent photos display of Norton , Old Station and its railway , This road was once a popular country walk from the Green via Billingam-Beck to the “Old-Mlll, Norton