Steel in Cumbria Sir Henry Bessemer A Tribute to the Inventor​

Sir Henry Bessemer was a prolific inventor born in 1813. His genius created machines for production of glass, print, sugar and an eccentric anti rolling device for passenger ships. In the Crimean war he invented the rifled bore for accurately firing canon shells and improved the steel used for making canon by blasting air through the mould, a process which eventually led to his Bessemer Convertor which produced more steel than the rest of the world. His Bessemer Convertors used in the West Cumbria town of Workington enabled the integration of iron and steel works and rolling mill which made rail lines that were exported around the world.
Sir Henry Bessemer was a prolific inventor and one of his greatest was the process of removing impurities from iron to convert it to steel. Bessemer Converters were installed at Workington Steel Works in Cumbria.
Bessemer steel process
www.britannica...
www.britannica...
en.wikipedia.o...
blog.sciencemu...
Please visit thiswascumbria.uk to view images and video.
For further information please contact peterincumbria at gmail dot com.

[@rsinclair689]

Very cool to see a real Bessemer in operation!

[@zebedeezebedee]

The best film I've seen of this type of manufacture and of Workington steel so far, it appears to have been made and guided by men who knew what they were talking about. Such huge apparatus, developed and perfected by men their names probably forgotten. I have utmost respect for all of this.

[@joshschneider9766]

I'll bet there is still a bunch of useable ore in that seam to this day too. What a strong presence workington was.

[@barriegollings3211]

My grandfather was a blast furnace man at the Workington Steelworks I found it very interesting to see where he worked There is a pub now in Workington called the Sir Henry Bessemer

[@joshschneider9766]

Cheers to all the hard work. I'm a hobbyist blacksmith in the USA and I have such profound appreciation for all the guys like him that worked to create what we take for granted today.

[@beverlybradley5485]

My Dad, was a Saw Sharpener at Workington Steel works, he also was the Shop Steward, he lost a leg in an accident at work when he was 17.

[@BlackRose-vi2yg]

Absolutely fascinating video. Work must have been hot, heavy and hard in these places. Hats off to these workers

[@josephcooksley3219]

Uri , yes basically same process but only developed when liquid oxygen became available ... i lived across the road for a while from the Steel Works in Workington Cumbria .. In New Zealand Rails from there are used on heavy Loaded Curves in the Mountainous regions . They are roll stamped with Workington Rail ... Not shown was the electrical surface hardening process or the automatic welding of up to ten lengths of rolled rail .. the standard lengths were for overseas shipments from the local docks ...

[@UriNierer]

I work in the Voest steel mill in Linz - where the LD process was invented. Really interesting to see real videos of this long obsolete steelmaking process. So many things are still somewhat similar to how we make our steel today, but still, everything seems so much different to what I am used to.

[@joesila3105]

wie dampmaschine und elektromotor

[@joshschneider9766]

My girlfriend's grandfather was a coke works employee at Bethlehem steel in Bethlehem pa usa. Very similar blast furnaces.

[@lewiemcneely9143]

Thanks for this! I always wondered about the converter and now I get to see it operating first hand. Thanks Again!

[@netphrek]

This reminds me of the short films we used to get at school. Very interesting thanks for uploading.

[@mikeburton7077]

so interesting,I was able to see steel being made at Corby before it closed , I have great respect for the workers.

[@ianhogg8777]

Thanks for the vidio nice to see some of the equipment I used to work on as an apprentice fitter in early 70s

[@industrialheritage2158]

Thanks Ian, if you have some stories then you can send them to me to add to the section at [e-mail] Peter

[@joshschneider9766]

If I may also request any pictures or manuals for "technical posterity" I guess you could say. I always love reading the technical manuals from different tools and processes. Thanks for all your hard work from the states

[@drrider100]

I'd love to see that in person

[@JonDingle]

Very interesting stuff. A great upload indeed.

[@aflatminor]

Fantastic old Video!! Thanks for sharing it :)

[@RM-gm7lu]

Thanks for sharing !

[@KenJoseph-s9p]

Town folks just loved that black greasy steam

[@warpigeonofdoom]

One hopes that the company switched to the Linz-Donawitz basic oxygen process, but was the investment capital available?

[@KubotaManDan]

Great video

[@dasboot5387]

I love the industrial might that once existed throughout the United States and the way of life it created for blue collar middle class families. It’s an absolute disgrace what happened to rustbelt cities such as Youngstown which is where I’m from and still reside in the area. Our government did nothing to help us out here or anywhere else in the country that went through similar economic disasters. They simply labeled it industrial decline turned their backs left hundreds of city’s and thousands of people with nothing

[@eduardoalfaro6599]

interesting good video

[@rogerb5615]

Night skies in my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA glowed pulsating red and orange as the Bessemers fired, back in the late 1950s / early 1960s. Smoke control legislation plus BOF steelmaking shut them down.

[@beverlybradley5485]

This is the plant my Dad worked at, he was a Saw Sharpener, Shop Steward for the Union, he lost his leg & broke his back in an accident in the rolling mill, he was crushed when the rail snapped off the roller, he was only 17 at the time !

[@LATIFAHMOHDNOR-zy1mq]

ladle = so-dek (Sl.) = sen-duk Page 391 The molten metal is poured into a ladle and then there is added to it manganiferous pig iron, which reintroduces the necessary amount of carbon and manganese.

[@LATIFAHMOHDNOR-zy1mq]

ladder = tang-ga Page 392 Bessemer steel is used for nails, screws, wire, and in fact for all products where cheapness rather than quality is the requirement.

[@peteacher52]

Well, we've gained in efficiency but lost much of the human touch and the community spirit. And then came China and India with their cheap slave labour and their cavalier attitude towards quality . . . and the rest is history. Thanks for an enlightening video.

[@BlackRose-vi2yg]

Unfortunately nothing stays the same..

[@421sap]

In Jesus' Name, Amen.

[@josephastier7421]

Iron and coke. Chromium steel.

[@wizlish]

That's Allentown.

[@amymckinney1397]

FAKE!

[@beverlybradley5485]

Amy Mckinney, why are you saying it's fake, My Dad worked here, & I lived very close you could see the sparks & glow from the blast furnace's from my bedroom window, this was a Steel plant in Workington Cumbria, England & was there for 100 years before being closed by the British Government & sold off, once called British Steel !