Any industrial history enthusiasts here?
- Thread starter Harvestman
- Start date
Thoroughly enjoying this rambling wander of a thread 
Some really intriguing photos too and the links are engrossing.
I live not that far from Summerlee...it's an old Iron works that has been turned into a heritage centre full of old industrial stuff.
Steam hammers and the like. They call it Britain's noisiest museum, and when they have the belt driven machinery going it most certainly is.
As a child the local ruined brickworks and coal bings were our playgrounds. We used to 'borrow' the bread boards from behind the wee shop to use to sledge down the bings We came home absolutely filthy, and the returned breadboards were black as the earl of hell's riding boots, but things we found in those bings were fascinating. My brother found fossils that are now in the Kelvingrove museum and we learned what slate was, what shale was, how they split, how to sharpen slate, how coal had a sheen that you could pick out stuff the pickers had missed, and if the bing showed any red to go and get an adult or the police, because it was burning somewhere and could be treacherous.
The brickworks were demolished but fifty years later a new brickworks has been opened not half a mile away from the original site.
Lot of industry still going on.
M
Some really intriguing photos too
and the links are engrossing.I live not that far from Summerlee...it's an old Iron works that has been turned into a heritage centre full of old industrial stuff.
Steam hammers and the like. They call it Britain's noisiest museum, and when they have the belt driven machinery going it most certainly is.
As a child the local ruined brickworks and coal bings were our playgrounds. We used to 'borrow' the bread boards from behind the wee shop to use to sledge down the bings
We came home absolutely filthy, and the returned breadboards were black as the earl of hell's riding boots, but things we found in those bings were fascinating. My brother found fossils that are now in the Kelvingrove museum and we learned what slate was, what shale was, how they split, how to sharpen slate, how coal had a sheen that you could pick out stuff the pickers had missed, and if the bing showed any red to go and get an adult or the police, because it was burning somewhere and could be treacherous.The brickworks were demolished but fifty years later a new brickworks has been opened not half a mile away from the original site.
Lot of industry still going on.
M
Bloke my brothers know has done a site about his mineral collecting years.
Much of it with my brother in the Caldbeck fells.
HERE it is.
I remember my brother used to have a "spoil heap" of minerals at the end of the back yard that he didn't regard as being good enough specimens to keep that contained stuff that many collectors would have been proud to exhibit.
Quite a few of the minerals shown in mineral museums from that area will have been found by Peter and my brother.
Also two of my brothers used to work down the local Tungsten mine which is now sadly closed since about 1980.
There's also a bloke who had the Mining museum in Keswick called Ian Tyler, who has written several books about mining in the lakes. Not read any yet but there's a bit of family history in there so I plan on buying the relevant one.
Much of it with my brother in the Caldbeck fells.
HERE it is.
I remember my brother used to have a "spoil heap" of minerals at the end of the back yard that he didn't regard as being good enough specimens to keep that contained stuff that many collectors would have been proud to exhibit.
Quite a few of the minerals shown in mineral museums from that area will have been found by Peter and my brother.
Also two of my brothers used to work down the local Tungsten mine which is now sadly closed since about 1980.
There's also a bloke who had the Mining museum in Keswick called Ian Tyler, who has written several books about mining in the lakes. Not read any yet but there's a bit of family history in there so I plan on buying the relevant one.
Reading Toddy's post minded me of some of the interesting playgrounds 'round where I grew up. The biggest was a large WWII POW camp. We weren't supposed to go in there but being kids we did. Some of the art work that survived on the hut walls should've been preserved but later got torn down when the place was demolished. Many a game of soldiers was played there. Usually pretending we were commandos attacking a German base. The place would've been a treasure trove for members here as the huts all had woodburning stoves and the cookhouse was still full of old pots and pans and a big range. Adjacent to the site was the old estates ice house - still standing as far as I know. For a wee while the door was unlocked and it made a great den.
In Dundee there used to be a railway tunnel under the Law (hill) which dominates the city. It was finally closed up in the early 70's but was a great dare to go in and explore it. The train which originally used it as well as being steam powered was also sometimes wind powered. When the wind direction was right they hoisted a sail to increase the speed of the journey.
In Dundee there used to be a railway tunnel under the Law (hill) which dominates the city. It was finally closed up in the early 70's but was a great dare to go in and explore it. The train which originally used it as well as being steam powered was also sometimes wind powered. When the wind direction was right they hoisted a sail to increase the speed of the journey.
Well my mineral collection isn't that impressive. Not collected anything since a kid. I'm going to throw it out over my cold, dead body though. It's two large, cardboard boxes that weigh a lot. I'm almost concerned to stack them in one spot in case they are go through the floor into the dining room! An old climbing friend once found out my interest, to the rolling of the eyes of others in the group. After picking up the silent hints to not start him off and ignoring them I had an interesting conversation. That lead to one winter meet up to go to Seathwaite near Keswick one early winter with the group via a lift with him and his wife. He told me to get to his house an hour earlier to take a look at his rock collection. He had large plastic barrels, wooden crates and other storage in his garden full of stuff. Some were amazing geodes found in Forest of Bowland fells in the little streams cutting through the peat bogs. They looked like muddy, rocky potatoes but if your lucky it cracks open to show pretty decent hollow crystal walled rock inside them.
The Pennines, Lakes and Yorkshire Dales are actually pretty good hunting grounds for minerals if you do your research. There are a few mine exploration/restoration groups from around the Lakes. Most of these groups survey what they open up and even publish books on their areas. I've got one such book on Coniston Coppermines. Very interesting.
BTW if you have a bit of spare cash Carnforth Bookstore have a book on the mines of northern Britain last.time I was in there. It was an A4 hardback book sealed in plastic so I couldn't take a look. It cost a lot from memory it's in the order of other academic hardback books. If you ever head up the m6 drop in to check the shop out. They have a lot of space upstairs selling antiquarian and secondhand books. They have various sections selling geological, geographical and books on industry too. Not been up there for a year but used to have a decent couple of rooms that might interest posters here. When I was studying mining, mineral processing, chemical/geological topics at university I often checked it out for old processing, mining tech and chemical books, a lot of it is still relevant to even modern ore processing. Your Dyson used technology that's been around for so long in mining it's preposterous that Dyson even thought they'd get those "patent pending" fully converted on their cyclone vacuums!
Trouble was once out of print book I needed throughout my degree course couldn't be found. 2 years after graduating I spotted that very book in there. Sods law eh!
The Pennines, Lakes and Yorkshire Dales are actually pretty good hunting grounds for minerals if you do your research. There are a few mine exploration/restoration groups from around the Lakes. Most of these groups survey what they open up and even publish books on their areas. I've got one such book on Coniston Coppermines. Very interesting.
BTW if you have a bit of spare cash Carnforth Bookstore have a book on the mines of northern Britain last.time I was in there. It was an A4 hardback book sealed in plastic so I couldn't take a look. It cost a lot from memory it's in the order of other academic hardback books. If you ever head up the m6 drop in to check the shop out. They have a lot of space upstairs selling antiquarian and secondhand books. They have various sections selling geological, geographical and books on industry too. Not been up there for a year but used to have a decent couple of rooms that might interest posters here. When I was studying mining, mineral processing, chemical/geological topics at university I often checked it out for old processing, mining tech and chemical books, a lot of it is still relevant to even modern ore processing. Your Dyson used technology that's been around for so long in mining it's preposterous that Dyson even thought they'd get those "patent pending" fully converted on their cyclone vacuums!
Trouble was once out of print book I needed throughout my degree course couldn't be found. 2 years after graduating I spotted that very book in there. Sods law eh!
If you want noise and industrial heritage visit the Finch Foundry when the hammer is going. Water powered and some great power takeoffs.
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/finch-foundry/
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/finch-foundry/
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