Anyone worked at Firth Browns?

[bigkev 10]

reply to hazel. The cauldrons was the melting pot and the cast steel would have been going into the ingot moulds the biggest ingot we ever moved was a 800 tonne it was that hot we had trouble coupling the loco to the boogie infact we had to use a under runner and it took 3 loco's to move it to the 6000 ton forging press well it had to go into a big furnace to be heated up before they could forge it,I think it was for a press leg because it I remember correctly we had to move 3 more of them in the week.We was lucky to see them forge one of the ingots I was stood near the our loco which was just inside the doorway and I felt the heat from were the forging press was it had got to be 1000 yards from it.What a pity you didnt see them forging you would have been rooted to the spot in all the time I worked there I still got a thrill when they was forging just to see the ingot get crushed and forged into shape happy days.

[jules99 10]

my uncle once worked at firths, his name is john cartwright

[bigkev 10]

Hi jules 99. What did he do at firths as the name rings a bell I use to know quite a lot of people who worked at firths as I worked on the internal railway moving ingots about and such we use to talk to quite a few people in a lot of the places where the railway could go.

[jules99 10]

not sure, but will be seeing him tommorow, how old are u, wondering if your the same age range

[hazel 11]

Originally posted by bigkev

reply to hazel. The cauldrons was the melting pot and the cast steel would have been going into the ingot moulds the biggest ingot we ever moved was a 800 tonne it was that hot we had trouble coupling the loco to the boogie infact we had to use a under runner and it took 3 loco's to move it to the 6000 ton forging press well it had to go into a big furnace to be heated up before they could forge it,I think it was for a press leg because it I remember correctly we had to move 3 more of them in the week.We was lucky to see them forge one of the ingots I was stood near the our loco which was just inside the doorway and I felt the heat from were the forging press was it had got to be 1000 yards from it.What a pity you didnt see them forging you would have been rooted to the spot in all the time I worked there I still got a thrill when they was forging just to see the ingot get crushed and forged into shape happy days.

 

Hi Bigkev

I was at a place called Applebey Froddongton at Scunthorpeand was collecting blood from the steel workers, we used to take about 3-400 pts on a session there

I've never forgotten the scene I saw and I must have been about 20 at the time so it was a long time ago.

 

Hazel

[jules99 10]

bigkev, my uncle john cartwright worked there between 1981 to1985, he was an apprentice turner, his dad bought him a coat and arranged an interview so he would get a job, lol, john got the job then sold he coat to his brother, hes still a turner now, lol

[bigkev 10]

reply to hazel. oh I take it then that you was with the blood donor people then,appleby-frodingham at scunthorpe one of the biggest melting furnace in england was in scunthorpe the amount of steel that furnace could produce, to move it it went into what was called a torpedo a long vessel on a very big bogie so big in fact that they had to have it moved by a british railway locomotive as the shunting loco could'nt move it.I did a spell there in the early seventies stayed about 9 months, firth browns was looking into using the torpedo but it never came off for a start we had know where to pour the slag off when it had been finnished with did you know that the internal railway system in scunthorpe is about 60 miles in total fancy having to walk that everyday it was bad enough walking the railway system in F.B's and in the dark when you was on nights because not all the places was well lit seen some bad accidents on our job I wont go into details not a nice thing to talk about.

[hazel 11]

Hi Bigkev,

Yes I was there with the blood Transfusion Service, We went there every 6mths. The workers there had veins like drainplpes

never had any bother with the blood flow and a pt bottle was filled in a few mins.

I remember that the place was vast and a man with a old Rolls Royce used to give us a llift to the canteen, name of Mr Dodds or Dobbs very unusual chap. Very limp wristed!! his Rolls had flowers in containers at the side of each door.

I was there long bfore you ----prob in late 50's, but the splender of the place lingers on.

Hazel

[bigkev 10]

reply to hazel. when I worked there which would be 1973 I had only gone there for 4 months as I was waiting for some to retire hence at to go to sunthorpe I didnt mind travelling,now then you say that a mr dodds who had a rolls royce use to take you to the canteen well I use to talk to one of the old melting shop blokes and he use to tell me some right stories about him and yes he was very limped wristed I dont know how true it is but he had a boyfriend who worked in the forge office and when he came to work in is car he always gave his bloke a kiss on the lips I wonder what ever happened to him ! mind you I use to know a limped wristed fella who worked in one of our offices and the suits he use to wear shocking pink was one of them can you remember the big collars on the shirts in the seventies well this chap had them all and I have even seen him with one of them liberace shirts on you know the ones them that had got lace down the front of them very weird that chap in all that time that I worked at F B's I never knew that he knew my father and my dads mate who worked on the public health service mind you everybody knew my dad where ever I went they always asked me if he was still playing the piano I will give it to him he could make a piano talk he was a dab hand at the boogie woogie and the blues and quite a lot of the classics. he was also a organist on the clubs and played a lot of the time for the artists who was on.

[melthebell 862]

my dad (Brian Mellor) used to work at firth browns, i always remember he used to tell me he used to work with a member of screaming lord suches band

[bigkev 10]

Hi melthebell. where did he work in firth browns as the name rings a bell ?

[melthebell 862]

Originally posted by bigkev

Hi melthebell. where did he work in firth browns as the name rings a bell ?

 

Tbh i havent the foggiest, i just always remember him talking about firth browns when i was little, and i believe he worked there in the 60s / 70s??

 

well hes been agrophobic since the early 80s so doesnt get out much