Ore Yard and stock bins.

Ore Yard

Looking South East along the South track of the ore yard. Different grades of iron ore and sometimes limestone were piled in the ore yard. Ore was delivered in hopper cars on the adjacent track and dumped.

The electric ore bridge crane would build the piles up and then recover the ore as needed, dumping it into the stock bins alongside the furnace. The stock bins had gates at the bottom, which could be opened by a scale car running on tracks underneath the bins.

The crane operator's cab can be seen almost directly above the left rail track and the grab is above the right rail. The operator sat with his back to the furnaces. While the crane could long travel and cross travel, it could only cross travel when the grab was loaded.

Beyond the ore ground was the reservoir, and the Morris canal was just out of sight to the right. The incline track running up to the high line along the top of the stock bins is clearly visible.

That the ore ground still appears to be stocked at a time when the works were shut down suggests that the decision to close was sudden and unexpected.

Stock Bins

This viewpoint is from a position standing on the south track of the ore yard looking northeast over the ore yard. There were two tracks on the trestle leading up to the stock bins, which appear to be of steel and wood construction.

The four gas offtakes at the top of the furnace swing down and combine into two and then one downcomer bringing the dust laden gas from the top of the furnace to first the dustcatcher and then the gas washer.

Later blast furnaces raised the offtakes much higher before turning down to meet the downcomer. This helped to contain dust within the furnace.

A scale car would run on tracks below the bunkers and measure the quantities of materials required. It would then dump them in to either skip at the base of the hoist.

In order to keep small particles of coke from being charged into the furnace and restricting the air flow, the coke was tumbled over the grizzlie screens just prior to the skip. The fine coke dust was called coke breeze and was recycled at the sinter plant.

There is the top of something just visible in the foregound, possibly a steam crane standing in the ore ground working on the pile of light coloured material. That could be limestone or more likely a pile of refractory brick or similar related to the site demolition. The cast house roof had already gone by this time so it could be the furnace lining has been wrecked and dumped here. We'll never know.