Amazing

[Guest Danny]

I was sat at the lights outside the post office depot on Brightside Lane on Thursday night at about 6.30 ish, facing toward Forgemasters. I wasn't paying much attention (I was actually leaning into the back of the car seeing to my daughter as she wanted a drink, I wasn't driving BTW)

Anyway, I turned back to look forwards and saw 'something' huge going across the road between the gates for Forgemasters. I say 'something' as I only caught a glimpse and had no idea what it was, other than it was huge and metal.

After willing the lights to change we finally crossed the roundabout type thing. I craned my neck to the left up into the first main entrance to see what it was, but it was gone :-(

When we got to the opening for he car park I looked back and saw what it was. It was what looked like a Bessemer converter being wheeled into the foundry. I could see it glowing yellow from the top.

In my 7 years of using that road on a daily basis I have never seen that before. It was fantastic ( well, it was for me! )

Anyone else seen this?

I have been told this happened regularly across Carlisle St between sites. You can still see the ghostly depressions in the asphalt between the two door ways where the track was.

Dan

[THYLACINE]

Be amazed Dan, be amazed. I would liken it to seeing a Zeppelin or a Wooly Mammoth - something big that might not be around much longer. And the fact that it appeared to be working makes it all the more amazing!

I was likewise amazed when I found out that, every morning on my way to work, I would ride my motor bike past the very factory where the River Don Steam Engine was housed. If only I knew. Just one peek through the window to see it working!

Something to tell the grandchildren.

[Waterside Echo]

Brightside Lane was a wonderland to us kids in the 1950`s. Amazement and astonishment are words that do not describe the scenes that could be witnessed around the River Don Works of English Steel in the old days. In 1954 Pickfords transported a 185 ton casting made by English Steel, the gross weight of the load and trailer used to move it was 245 tons, and 5 ex-army Chicago built Diamond T prime movers were given the task of hauling it to Liverpool Docks. After leaving the works it travelled out towards the A61 via Upwell Street, Owler Lane, Firvale, Herries Road and Wordsworth Avenune. What a sight that must have been! W/E.

[Waterside Echo]

Anyone interested in seeing photos of the casting being transported through Sheffield should try and get a copy of this book, W/E. Front cover. climbing Herries Road from Firvale, Sheffield.

[Guest Danny]

Thanks for the replies

It was quite funny, because when i finally saw what it was, i was that excited I turned to my other half and started rambling about what it was. She thought it was funny and said I was acting like a 5 year old having caught sight of Santa!

i got the last laugh though, as on Saturday morning i had to go to Chapel Lane post office depot and on the way back went via Brightside Lane to see if I could get another glimpse, but no :-( , but..............................................when i told my other half what i had done, she admitted to do doing the same thing on friday night on her way home from work!! ha ha!!

On my way to work i drive down Carlisle St, and always give a quick glance to the wall opposite the end of Petre St as I know this is where the 'Cathedral' was, the huge room which housed the River Don Engine in its hey day

[DaveH]

Anyone interested in seeing photos of the casting being transported through Sheffield should try and get a copy of this book, W/E. Front cover. climbing Herries Road from Firvale, Sheffield.

I once saw a Diamond T at the "Old Glory" steam rally at Tallington, near Stamford in Lincolnshire.

The rally site was next to a concrete site that made concrete railway sleepers, and for a special arena display various vehicles, mainly steam of course, but also the Diamond T were invited to attempt to haul a low loader trailer (or two in tandem) which had been loaded up with concrete sleepers loaned from the concrete site. As the weight of a standard size sleeper is farly uniform it was easy for the organisers to set a "haulage weight" just by counting the sleepers. The Diamond T gave a very impressive performance, being capable of hauling massively heavy loads.

[Bayleaf]

Brightside Lane was a wonderland to us kids in the 1950`s. Amazement and astonishment are words that do not describe the scenes that could be witnessed around the River Don Works of English Steel in the old days. In 1954 Pickfords transported a 185 ton casting made by English Steel, the gross weight of the load and trailer used to move it was 245 tons, and 5 ex-army Chicago built Diamond T prime movers were given the task of hauling it to Liverpool Docks. After leaving the works it travelled out towards the A61 via Upwell Street, Owler Lane, Firvale, Herries Road and Wordsworth Avenune. What a sight that must have been! W/E.

At one time I was based in the Admin office in the Central Library. We had the only telex machine in the Council, so we acted as a reception and clearing centre for messages for the rest of the Council. One of the frequent messages we received was for the Highways Dept giving the planned route and timings of abnormal loads, so they could confirm bridge strengths, road widths etc on the route. I always though we could have made a few bob passing copies to transport buffs!

[DaveH]

At one time I was based in the Admin office in the Central Library. We had the only telex machine in the Council, so we acted as a reception and clearing centre for messages for the rest of the Council. One of the frequent messages we received was for the Highways Dept giving the planned route and timings of abnormal loads, so they could confirm bridge strengths, road widths etc on the route. I always though we could have made a few bob passing copies to transport buffs!

En- route to a rally with a traction engine, a caravan, a van full of rally equipment and a water bowser going as a "road train" we passed over a small bridge with a sign saying "weak bridge, maximum load 10 tons". (the traction engine alone weighed more than that). When I mentioned it to the engine owner, a well known local character in the steam rally world, he just shrugged and said it was the "Grand Old Duke of York effect" which, as we had never heard of it, he described as -

"When the leading engine is on the bridge the rest of the train isn't, when the caravan moves on the engine is already off the other side and the rally van hasn't got onto the bridge yet, and so it continues in such a way that at no point does the bridge take the full weight of the road train at once, it just takes a part of its weight (hopefully less than 10 tons) over the length of time it takes the whole train to pass over the bridge"

Since then, every time we drove over the bridge we were singing, -

"The Grand Old Duke of York, he had 10,000 men

He marched them up to the top of the hill

And he marched them down again.

And when they were up they were up

And when they were down they were down

But when they were only half way up

they were neither up nor down"