What do they do in here?

[dunsbyowl1867]

Being shamefully ignorant about steelmaking and having passed this building so many times - what do they do in this factory and why is it so tall?

[Guest Gramps]

I think they forge masters with a big hammer he he

[sando]

I think they forge masters with a big hammer

I have often wondered the same, and I presume they are some sort of silo/ hopper. If you look closely there is a row of individual doors halway up the building and a second row along the top, the parts sticking out of the bottom of the building appear to funnel shaped?

[Guest Gramps]

Just a wild guess. but perhaps machinery for extracting and filtering all the dust and fumes from the forging process ? I have on occasion seen bright orange smoke emerging from that area.

[johnm]

Just a wild guess. but perhaps machinery for extracting and filtering all the dust and fumes from the forging process ? I have on occasion seen bright orange smoke emerging from that area.

Whilst I am an ex- English Steel employee and spent some years on the site , these have clearly been built since I left there in 1967 !!

I think Gramps is partly right - they look like what is commonly called a "Bag Plant" which as he rightly says takes particles which have been extracted from metal processes, and puts them into bags for disposal.

However, they are most likely to be associated with the steel melting facilities there. They have a 90 tonne Electric Arc furnace plus 90 t vacuum argon degasser & 90 t vacuum oxygen decarburiser. All these will have fume extraction facilities for taking away the particles which are given off.

Its just possible they are silos for storing steel making additives such as ferro-silicon, manganese etc but I think that is unlikely.

John

[dunsbyowl1867]

http://www.sheffieldforgemasters.com/sfm/overview/history/1800s

[SteveHB]

[dunsbyowl1867]

;-)