Workington Iron and Steel

Workington Iron and Steel. . , 1856 , The opening of the Workington Hematite Company's ironworks north of the town heralded the expansion of the iron and steel industry and a major growth in employment population., 1872 , Mossbay Hematite Iron and Steel Company established until closure in 2006. In November 1872 two Bessemer converters at Moss Bay were erected with a capacity of 8 tons., 1877 , Rolling [illegible] constructed to roll steel into rails., 1882 , Charles Cammel and Co took over the Derwent Iron and Steel Company. This lasted until the amalgamation of various companies in 1909., 1883 , Cammell and Co expanded the Derwent Works, immediately adjacent to Moss Bay and rolled their first rails in 1883. Rails were shipped to railway construction sites across Britain and around the world including South America, Japan, Canada, Australia and India., 1909 , Workington Iron and Steel Company was formed which was a combination of several Workington based companies., 1912 , With Workington leading the world in rail production, there was increased demand. The 8 ton converters where upgraded to 16 ton of which there were three, these helped process the blast furnaces pig iron producing 50-70 tons every four hours., 1919 , In August Workington Iron and Steel Company was taken over by United Steel Companies Limited. The change in ownership would eventually see a new focus on the production of rails at Workington., 1934 , Business is booming and Workington flourishes - to cope with the surge in demand a new Bessemer steel plant was constructed enabling the installation of two 25 ton vessels., 1945 , The Moss Bay Works is now thought to be the sixth largest steelworks in the country by area. The estimated steel output was 1.55 million tons., 1967 , The British Steel Corporation was created as a result of the nationalisation of the United Steel Companies Limited The Corporation subsequently merged with Dutch metals company Hoogvens to become Corus in the late 1990s., 1974 , 26th July 1974 a devastating and emotional day when Bessemer steelmaking in Workington came to an end. Almost 150 men were made redundant and life in Workington was to change forever. Railmaking continued by reheating premade steel blooms transported from Redcar, Teeside., 1982 , After the loss of steelmaking, ironmaking continued as a separate industry until 1982 when the blast furnaces were shut down signalling the end of all ironmaking activity another harsh blow for the town. Rail manufacture continued to survive for a further 27 years., 2006 , The final curtain - Corus transfer steel track manufacturing to Scunthorpe and the steel railmaking industry - the heart soul and pride of generations of Workington families for 129 years - has now gone for good., TIMES and STAR 31 AUGUST 2006. , THIS IS THE END , They turned off the lights, locked the gates and threw away the key to one of West Cambria's oldest and greatest industries last Friday - amid tears, anger, disbelief and another blow to the area's economy., Steel rail-making is a Workington speciality that goes back 129 years that has gone for good. And so has the famous Moss Bay Works whose lineage as a producer of iron and steel, and as an employer of thousands, goes back to the cutting edge of the great Victorian technician Sir Henry Bessemer., Workington saw its last piece of white hot steel snaking over the rollers of the Moss Bay works on Friday morning 25th August as the last steel railway lines came off the production line of Corus Rail., The remaining 250 men and women, the last of many generations who have manufactured millions of tons of track, steel sleepers, clips, and fishplates for virtually every railway company in the free world, went to drown their sorrows, to remember the good times, and ponder over thousands of unanswered questions.