It is doubtful that coke for blast furnaces would have been supplied from this type of retort, which ran at a fairly low temperature. This maximised the production of town gas with a high calorific value.
Furthermore the coke was rather soft and a hard strong coke was needed for blast furnaces. Besides the quantities from this type unit would have been too low. A blast furnace in the late 1950s would need about 1000 tonnes of coke a day.
Alan Hutchinson – do you know my grandad Sam Timmins? He worked on the coke ovens (at ICI I believe) during the war. Because he worked on the coke ovens he was exempt from going to war. I’m researching my family tree and would love to hear more about my grandad and the type of work he would’ve done. Thanks.
I was a casualty/orphopaedic Medical officer at Sedgefield General Hospital back in 1954. We saw many miners and others in the SOPD. I was taken to see the coke ovens including walking on top of the firey retorts as they were being refilled with coal, the hot coke was quenched in the receiving wagon by a mass of water from the large quenching tower resulting in a vast cloud of steam. It is sad to see that nothing is left of the hospital or the coke ovens. 05/03/2012 06:59:51
I believe this is Stockton Gas Works. The gentleman on the gantry could be my late father, Joe Clapham. Just by looking at his stance and favourite work hat. He worked in the gas retorts for some time which I remember visiting occasionally to take his bait. A frightening place for a young lad. The photograph could have been taken in the late 50s
I was but a lad at the time, but the site looks similar to the gas works in Stockton. The process was similar to a coking plant and the bye product similar and nasty (which was why the conversion to natural gas was so welcome). I have a vague recollection of being sent there with a pram to get either cinders or coal, whichever was available at the time.
I worked as apprentice fitter with joe broom at the ici coke ovens. in the 45 to 47 time. Anybody remember joe broom? I also remember a man named brown -could be the foreman or manager. al hutchinson
Perhaps this is the gasworks.(Coke was a by-product of the gas producing process) The semi derelict roof can be seen in other views of the gasworks on this site.
There was no processes like this at Head Wrightson (Stockton) on Norton Rd.It mainly produced fabricated steelwork or equipment for the mining Industry
Definitely not Head Wrightson:s Stockton Forge. which was not a Forge but a Fabrication Shop I served my apprenticeship there as a Templatemaker/Boilermaker. Great place to serve an apprenticeship good quality Fabrication Work and top class Tradesmen.Good apprenticeship Training Scheme where we were allowed one day a week off work to attend Stockton Technical College. Many successful ex apprentices owe a great deal to Head Wrightson for their support in getting their Technical qualifications that lead to a more senior position in the big outside World. .
the man you see in the photo is operating the guide car, the pusher is on the other side of the battery when it goes through the guide its into the coal car and then into the quencher then dropped onto the wharf to be sent up on conveyer belt to the feed hoppers for the blast furnace, I used to work at hartlepool coke ovens years back,I used to charge the ovens on the battery top then grout round the lids.,the Bi-products then go over to another plant to separate the tar/ Benzine and salt
Ernie Edwards. Yes it was Alan Darley. The accident happened about Oct/Nov 1961. I was working in the Joiners Shop in the compound opposite the Ovens when they told me. He died as a young man but not through the accident. Funny story re. ICI I happenened to cut my finger badly (hazards of being a Joiner). The Storeman in the compound got two bikes. He got on one and asked me to follow him to the ICI Hopspital. When we got there he said, “Don”t forget to bring the bike back.” On leaving the Hospital I went to the cycle rack to collect the bike. Like a silly so and so all the bikes were the same and I had not memorised the number on the bike. I knew when I left the compound that on getting on the bike the seat was loose. I went along the bikes until I found one with a loose seat. Wonder what happened to all those bikes when ICI finished? There must have been thousands there. Also when entering the Hospital, a Nurse followed me cleaning the blood off the floor that was dropping from my finger. Very hygenic.
When I was an apprentice at ICI Billingham (1958) I used to watch masons (suitably dressed) running through an empty oven with a firebrick and mortar to achieve a repair however the ovens either side were still in full pruduction
Bob Irwin – Bob you are correct that ICI had coke ovens about 40 in total. I believe your friend would have been Allan Darley from Norton we served our apprenticeships together at ICI. I was an Electrical Fitter and worked on the coke ovens in 1960. The coke was transfered via conveyer belts after being cooled to the Water Gas plant where it was used to produce hydrogen.The Coke Ovens and Water Gas plants were phased out in 1962/63 when four Steam Reform plants were built.
Hi Mike. Sorry, but I only worked at ICI for 6 months and 6 months too long. Our workshop was opposite the Ovens and during the time I was there they were closing them down. I couldn”t tell you what was the reason for them being there.
Bob Irwin – Bob any more information on the ICI coke ovens? Only instance of steam reformation I knew about was in steel works – blast furnaces specifically. However the products of the process were carbon monoxide & hydrogen so I guess a chemical company would have made use of the same technology. Regards – Mike
ICI Billingham also had Coke Ovens. When the Coke Ovens were of no further use they were closing them down gradually and a friend of mine who was a Bricklayer was working on them. He was leaving an empty oven and the Crane that did the ramming caught him and flung him into the next empty oven. He received serious injuries.
This shows a coke oven being emptied. I have watched this at Fishburn when the ovens used to be there. The hot coke had a very characteristic smell. In the ovens coal would be heated for 12 hours or more to drive off the tar and gases, etc. until all that was left was the red hot coke. This was then emptied out sideways and left to cool before being used in blast furnaces to make iron and steel. I wonder if this image is linked to t.2892 which shows a pile of red hot coke recently fallen from a coke oven?
It is doubtful that coke for blast furnaces would have been supplied from this type of retort, which ran at a fairly low temperature. This maximised the production of town gas with a high calorific value.
Furthermore the coke was rather soft and a hard strong coke was needed for blast furnaces. Besides the quantities from this type unit would have been too low. A blast furnace in the late 1950s would need about 1000 tonnes of coke a day.
Alan Hutchinson – do you know my grandad Sam Timmins? He worked on the coke ovens (at ICI I believe) during the war. Because he worked on the coke ovens he was exempt from going to war. I’m researching my family tree and would love to hear more about my grandad and the type of work he would’ve done. Thanks.
I was a casualty/orphopaedic Medical officer at Sedgefield General Hospital back in 1954. We saw many miners and others in the SOPD. I was taken to see the coke ovens including walking on top of the firey retorts as they were being refilled with coal, the hot coke was quenched in the receiving wagon by a mass of water from the large quenching tower resulting in a vast cloud of steam. It is sad to see that nothing is left of the hospital or the coke ovens. 05/03/2012 06:59:51
I believe this is Stockton Gas Works. The gentleman on the gantry could be my late father, Joe Clapham. Just by looking at his stance and favourite work hat. He worked in the gas retorts for some time which I remember visiting occasionally to take his bait. A frightening place for a young lad. The photograph could have been taken in the late 50s
It is possible that the original film image was inadvertently reversed during scanning which could be causing some confusion here…
I can tell you that the photograph was not taken of Fishburn Coke Works as the man on the guide is on the wrong side.
I was but a lad at the time, but the site looks similar to the gas works in Stockton. The process was similar to a coking plant and the bye product similar and nasty (which was why the conversion to natural gas was so welcome). I have a vague recollection of being sent there with a pram to get either cinders or coal, whichever was available at the time.
I worked as apprentice fitter with joe broom at the ici coke ovens. in the 45 to 47 time. Anybody remember joe broom? I also remember a man named brown -could be the foreman or manager. al hutchinson
Perhaps this is the gasworks.(Coke was a by-product of the gas producing process) The semi derelict roof can be seen in other views of the gasworks on this site.
There was no processes like this at Head Wrightson (Stockton) on Norton Rd.It mainly produced fabricated steelwork or equipment for the mining Industry
Definitely not Head Wrightson:s Stockton Forge. which was not a Forge but a Fabrication Shop I served my apprenticeship there as a Templatemaker/Boilermaker. Great place to serve an apprenticeship good quality Fabrication Work and top class Tradesmen.Good apprenticeship Training Scheme where we were allowed one day a week off work to attend Stockton Technical College. Many successful ex apprentices owe a great deal to Head Wrightson for their support in getting their Technical qualifications that lead to a more senior position in the big outside World. .
This could be Head Wrightsons it was situated just off Norton Road close to Tilery Road. I used to deliver papers there when I was a boy.
the man you see in the photo is operating the guide car, the pusher is on the other side of the battery when it goes through the guide its into the coal car and then into the quencher then dropped onto the wharf to be sent up on conveyer belt to the feed hoppers for the blast furnace, I used to work at hartlepool coke ovens years back,I used to charge the ovens on the battery top then grout round the lids.,the Bi-products then go over to another plant to separate the tar/ Benzine and salt
Ernie Edwards. Yes it was Alan Darley. The accident happened about Oct/Nov 1961. I was working in the Joiners Shop in the compound opposite the Ovens when they told me. He died as a young man but not through the accident. Funny story re. ICI I happenened to cut my finger badly (hazards of being a Joiner). The Storeman in the compound got two bikes. He got on one and asked me to follow him to the ICI Hopspital. When we got there he said, “Don”t forget to bring the bike back.” On leaving the Hospital I went to the cycle rack to collect the bike. Like a silly so and so all the bikes were the same and I had not memorised the number on the bike. I knew when I left the compound that on getting on the bike the seat was loose. I went along the bikes until I found one with a loose seat. Wonder what happened to all those bikes when ICI finished? There must have been thousands there. Also when entering the Hospital, a Nurse followed me cleaning the blood off the floor that was dropping from my finger. Very hygenic.
When I was an apprentice at ICI Billingham (1958) I used to watch masons (suitably dressed) running through an empty oven with a firebrick and mortar to achieve a repair however the ovens either side were still in full pruduction
Bob Irwin – Bob you are correct that ICI had coke ovens about 40 in total. I believe your friend would have been Allan Darley from Norton we served our apprenticeships together at ICI. I was an Electrical Fitter and worked on the coke ovens in 1960. The coke was transfered via conveyer belts after being cooled to the Water Gas plant where it was used to produce hydrogen.The Coke Ovens and Water Gas plants were phased out in 1962/63 when four Steam Reform plants were built.
Hi Mike. Sorry, but I only worked at ICI for 6 months and 6 months too long. Our workshop was opposite the Ovens and during the time I was there they were closing them down. I couldn”t tell you what was the reason for them being there.
Bob Irwin – Bob any more information on the ICI coke ovens? Only instance of steam reformation I knew about was in steel works – blast furnaces specifically. However the products of the process were carbon monoxide & hydrogen so I guess a chemical company would have made use of the same technology. Regards – Mike
ICI Billingham also had Coke Ovens. When the Coke Ovens were of no further use they were closing them down gradually and a friend of mine who was a Bricklayer was working on them. He was leaving an empty oven and the Crane that did the ramming caught him and flung him into the next empty oven. He received serious injuries.
This would appear to be the discharge from coking ovens, so could be South Bank, Hartlepool, or Stockton.
This shows a coke oven being emptied. I have watched this at Fishburn when the ovens used to be there. The hot coke had a very characteristic smell. In the ovens coal would be heated for 12 hours or more to drive off the tar and gases, etc. until all that was left was the red hot coke. This was then emptied out sideways and left to cool before being used in blast furnaces to make iron and steel. I wonder if this image is linked to t.2892 which shows a pile of red hot coke recently fallen from a coke oven?