The End of An Era - A Brief History of Motherwell

[@colincruick]

Poignant video for me. Thanks Ed. I used to work at “the Craig” (Ravenscraig). Main reasons for its closure, in my view, were (a) the steel strike in 1980 which forced UK customers to buy from abroad (b) EEC failure to stop dumping of foreign state subsidised steel, (c) Political weakness of Scotland , which meant that Ravenscraig was the first UK integrated steel plant to close, even though it was more efficient than many of its European competitors. There was also a rumour that Black Bob Scholey, who was also chairmen of Eurofer, had struck an (illegal) deal within Europe to close Strip steel capacity in return for greater quotas of other steel types. Certainly, British Steel was fined heavily for cartel behaviour about a year after Ravenscraig closed.

[@cnoc500]

I knew guys in the 70's who boasted they clocked into the Craig then spent the whole shift in their bothy playing cards and drinking.

[@colincruick]

@@cnoc500 yes, in the seventies Ravenscraig was very badly run. I reckon the unions managed the plant more than the management. For example, there was even a team whose job it was to change light bulbs…no one else was allowed to do it. In the eighties, things definitely improved. By the nineties, it was very well run.

[@peterlaycock917]

Thanks Nice one Ed we went from high quality to inferior quality

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks Peter.

[@kennyweir7782]

Ed, I worked with British Steel (or Scottish Steel as we used to answer the phone with). I was a foreman (Ironmaking Controller) in the Blast Furnace dept in Ravenscraig from 1982 to 1992. It was a great place to work and I still miss it all these years later.

[@greigmcarthur3821]

Ed, I can't thank you enough for this excellent tribute to Ravenscraig, the workers, their families and the towns of Motherwell and Wishaw, your music was poignant and well placed bringing a tear to my eye. The end of an era right enough 😢 thanks.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks Greig.

[@qtronicqilt8898]

Fantastic comment Greig, Scotland's Oil Industry is next.

[@norriemckeegan7420]

Excellent video Eddie.Ravenscraig gave me a Happy childhood,my Dad and brother worked there for a long time. The death nail for Lanarkshire was dealt when it closed,just look at the state of all the local communities.Motherwell,Wishaw,Bellshill Coatbridge etc all a complete mess now with no real jobs.Mrs.Thatcher still hated in our house and I hope people never forget what she did to our country. Brilliant video.Thank you.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks Norrie.

[@kmickp1166]

Great video Eddy, coming from Wishaw originally and having worked in both “The Craig” & Dalzell (as did many dad & grandad) it is sad to look back on the closure and the subsequent effect on the local area which has never recovered! The closure of the Era Bar is the perfect metaphor, once one of the most lucrative pubs on the planet, frequented by 3 shifts, (thousands of people)rammed all day every day!

[@Broxbhoy1]

Eddie for President of an independent Scottish Republic. Absolutely spot on with your outro. The rich and powerful are so blinded by their capitalistic greed they forgot that the first duty of any government is to the well being of it's own citizens and in that they failed. "Look efter yer ain"

[@MemberYou-fh7qf]

Independent from a union with your neighbours, to be in another union with foreigners? We said NO the first time and will again. #BetterTogether #JustSayNAW

[@jim_dubhglas]

At least as prominent member in the top chamber. Ed has much common sense and wisdom, the kind that we need these days!

[@whiteheatherclub]

Well, if the first duty of government is to prop up failing businesses, we'd still have lots of blacksmiths doing nothing but being subsidised by the government. And the trains would still be powered by steam because steam locomotives need more people to work them and look after them than do diesel and electric locomotives.

[@jim_dubhglas]

@whiteheatherclub - Utter sillyness. How have western economies been doing with so much of their manufacturing sectors having been sent elsewhere? Sent to and/or sourced from places such as China and India. Their economies have been booming, while western economies have been slipping. Only those at the helm of such compaies reap the benefits of either selling then off, or from lower labour/operating costs.

[@campingcaledonia76]

Absolutely superb Eddie, appreciate the work you’ve put into this. A story fascinating and infuriating in equal measure 👏🏻

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thank you.

[@Urbexy]

We certainly were not looking ahead when these crazy decisions were made. There are so many industries that have had much the same fate. The big problem is... once an industry is lost, it's almost impossible to bring it back. When the jobs go, so do the skills. Another well made video Ed!

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thank you.

[@woofpet]

WE didn’t het a say in the matter - like so much else.

[@Neil-v8z]

Great video,, i remember the sky lighting up at night in airdrie as a wee boy

[@Tom-xf9yd]

Hi, Eddy,I worked in the steel works in the sixty’s &seventies and when I seen where the industry was heading I took the opportunity and moved to Canada. Thank you for a great video.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Tom.

[@eileanvm]

A sombre mood on this one, as we comtemplate the greed and short-sightedness of our governments, who know the price of everything but the value of nothing.

[@richhorton8898]

Tony Benn reference

[@jocoma_photography]

That made me quite sad. I'm a Project Director building multi billion dollar infrastructure projects these days, in Australia. When I was doing my engineering degree at Paisley College of Techology I did six months work experience with maintenance in the strip mill at Ravenscraig (1986). I enjoyed the work, I was good at it, I planned my first ever project there (works for the fair fortnight shut down), and was offered a scholarship at the end of my time. I didn't take the scholarship. i could see the writing on the wall already. Bugets were being cut, some of the overhead cranes were close to being condemned and we often got compaints from production staff that crane number ?? was "squeeling like hoor!" because all the oil had drained from the gearbox. The reversing rougher, the machine that rolls the steel billets down to size had a large crack in its frame that had to be cut out and welded up. We gave it a nickname of "Fergie" because of that large crack as a sort of disrespectful nod to the the Princess Sarah Ferguson. I wonder how the other places I work are fairing? Perhaps you can cheer me up by showing me some of these places still thriving as hearts of Scottish industry: 1) Rolls-Royce East Kilbride. I spend five years there as a graduate and then a Tay Engine Service Engineer. 2) Scottish Nuclear - Hunterston A & B power stations and Torness poer station. Took redundancy from there after five years and the worked self employed. 3) Self-employed: Longannet power station, Cokenzie power station, and Dounrey. I agree with your thinking on keeping electricity, water, gas, essential; industries under national sovereignty. Not sure how to make the ecconimics work though. There's too many people on the planet and overseas labour and standards of living vary drastically around the world driving down prices and putting long standing business and skilled workers out of work. i have a there there are a few mega rich families who run the world and most of its governments, at least ll the important ones. If you're not one of them, you're nothing. Sadly, that's most of us. Keep up the great work and don't let the stone gatherers throw stones at you walk the hills.

[@EdExploresScotland]

I think my dad worked for a short spell in Longannet. I was filming in woods outside Kincardine when they demolished part of it. The explosion was so loud I thought Grangemouth had gone up!

[@christopherkerr1693]

​@@EdExploresScotland 😂😂

[@ceeej1290]

very informative, thanks, I didn't realise that the lanarkshire steel industry was as old

[@dougiemilnephotography756]

From where you were standing in South Queensferry, you can follow the original nineteenth century railway line, which ran down to Port Edgar. The railway brought its own demise, because it was the route used to bring in the steel to build the Forth Bridge. You can follow the track up to Newbridge, then over the dual carriageway (at the footbridge) and onwards to Ratho, from where you can follow the Union Canal to Edinburgh or West Lothian. Its a lovely walk.

[@EdExploresScotland]

I'll need to check that out. Cheers Dougie.

[@WeeShooey]

Politicians care only about their expense’s claims. Great video Ed.

[@rpw1013]

I want to say it was an enjoyable video Ed, but realistically it is a sad and depressing review of how things have developed in Scotland, I am angry at what has been allowed to happen - even when The Craig was closed, they kept the Welsh plants open and it was a known fact that Scottish sites out performed them. The coal industry was similar and we could go on about many others, but thanks for illustrating what we had, and what we don't have anymore.

[@lynnthomason6589]

Well said, Eddy. Very well said! Lynn in Naples FL

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Lynn.

[@scottwilliamson1951]

My gran stayed in Charles street, right in the shadow of the cooling towers and big blue gasometers. The structures could be seen from miles away , seeing them in the distance gave you a warm feeling that your nearly home. However my gran had to wake up everyday and look at the steelworks that killed her brother in which can only be described as a freak accident. Ive no doubt there was many lives lost or persons seriously injured that totally changed their life of them and the families. The surrounding communities suffered badly after the closure. I can remember the early 90s wishaw , Motherwell towns were booming with punters. Fast forward to late 90s and the places was a ghost town. A sad end to such a massive icon of our communitie.

[@tonym08]

Absolutely brilliant video, well put together. I was a British Steel apprentice and then worked in Ravenscraig for 12 years until made redundant. You raised the hairs on the back of my neck and a sadness in my heart with this video. I wish I had known you were coming to Motherwell, we could have met up and visited the Motherwell Heritage Centre. They have a section dedicated to the Steel works with photos and video. Once again keep up the great work and look forward to your next video.👍

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks Tony. I paid the heritage centre a visit around the time of filming. Well worth a look.

[@DuncanCurrie-c1v]

Hi Folks , Hi Ed and thank you for a good piece of work . I liked the " highlight /comparison " sector of use. I remember wagons of strip steel coming from "The Craig " ...running through the golf course , Colville Park , on their way to the rail junction at Motherwell to go ALL over the world. A little known fact is that BMW used the steel made at The Craig upto 1983 ,and after pressure from the Bavarian and Central Government they were forced to use German steel ( taxes ) . Every domestic appliance , cooker ,washing machine fridge that was manufactured in UK and elsewhere used Craig made strip steel ,it not only supplied to the construction industry . I'm from Motherwell born and bred and that includes the maternity . It's a sad town now , the precinct has card shops , opticians and charity shops... gone are the likes of BHS and ANY gents tailors . We don't even have a Post Office in Motherwell Centre it was once an affluent town , a bit dirty , but not now .

[@brycehermon5939]

Another very interesting and informative video thanks Ed. I really appreciate what you are saying. I'm a great believer in having the capability of being self-sufficient. When you see local factories close and imported products replacing the quality material that was being produced locally, you really have really got to wonder how this was allowed to happen. While imported goods are important, as is trade. We should not have to rely on others for the basics, like steel, energy, fuel,gas, building materials, food and so on. Thanks again for a thought-provoking video.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Bryce.

[@colinblack7049]

Fantastic video Ed, the older you get the more you wonder what happened to all the big companies, Sir William Arrol in brigton, Beardmore's in Parkhead. Glasgow and surrounding areas like Motherwell, Paisley and the like were bulging with mills and heavy industries. Sad times right enough.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Colin.

[@whiteheatherclub]

Don't forget the locomotive-building works in Glasgow, either. Long gone. Long forgotten. In fact, what has happened to the entire locomotive-building industry in the UK? Places like Glasgow, Darlington, Swindon. Either gone entirely or now foreign-owned.

[@prolite8892]

Fantastic Ed absolute class and correct i cant agree with you enough . Stewart

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks Stewart.

[@cnoc500]

Excellent video Ed. Delighted you gave mention to the coal industry. Lanarkshire was riddled with pits long before the iron and steel mills arrived. One of my grandfathers was a miner the other worked in Colvilles then Anderson Boyes (A-Bees). Xmas dinners were always interesting. One point of note tho:- beit spelt Dalzell, Dalziel or Dalzyell, its pronounced Dee - ell.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers. 👍

[@brianaiton5971]

Great video! It was good to see the old maps as I live across the road from the Craig

[@johnnywarnerperfectroad66]

Fascinating poignant and sad many thanks for making and posting 👍

[@oadiedoadie]

Love yer work sir

[@Al.W7263]

Ed. I loved your gesture when you did an about turn at the end. Thatcher was the butchers daughter that killed a lot of Scotland. They used to say that Scotland's biggest export was it's people. I did 6 years in the Brit. Army and came to Canada in 1976 when I was 22 years old. I went home once for a funeral in 1984 and that's when I realized the amount of changes there were. That's when I decided that I probably will never be back home again. Now my three brothers and two of my three sisters are all gone. My last remaining sister , for what ever reason, will not communicate. I don't try getting in contact with her now.

[@williammccrorie982]

Interesting and I agree. Worth saying that privatisation of British Steel, British gas and British telecom etc was also a flaw....those companies would not make money and when government owned where used to service the country and provide employment, not to make money. Sad times and I agree with you (sadly).

[@valeriebrown6079]

The first industries that were privatised were all making surpluses that were all returned to the public purse. Part if the problems they faced was reluctance of successive governments to use those surpluses to reinvest in the industries.

[@Pmjs]

I remember working the trains from Cumbernauld to Glasgow QSt and passing Ravenscraig&Gartcosh.

[@victor3267]

A great video, but very sad too! The company that I served my engineering apprenticeship ship with was right next to the Craig , Anderson Boyes, which also is sadly long gone,

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thank you.

[@roundgreenthing]

Thank you Ed. Please feel free to tell me to take a hike here but would you consider doing a history of Cambuslang?

[@EdExploresScotland]

I'm always looking for ideas, Many thanks.

[@stevenwilson1816]

Very interesting video. The derelict area around Ravenscraig has at least now been partially redeveloped with the sports centre and play-park and is also very popular with dog walkers, including myself, joggers and cyclists.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Steven.

[@JoeMonaghanMusic]

Great video Eddie!

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thank you.

[@imminentdisaster]

Grew up near the area in the 50s. Remember the dirt and grime everywhere not to mention the horrendous smog. Domestic coal fires didn't help. Great job Ed.

[@Teesbrough]

Yet another fascinating and well-produced video. Thank you, Ed. My thoughts and conclusions would be very much like yours. Corby and Teesside are among other UK steel-producing areas now all but lost forever. However, UK unemployment rate in 2024 is around what it was in 1971/2 when population was much lower. New jobs have replaced old, as they did in my Gloucestershire home town which was once the heart of woollen mills for cloth. One such new Scottish ‘industry’ is producing video games, centred around Dundee I believe. Middlesbrough is also focusing on such skills. Their products might be more transient than steel but the jobs are cleaner!

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Will.

[@gordonmculloch4904]

The production of the oil and gas fields was the downfall of heavy industry in the UK. We were no longer dependent on coal which allowed Thatcher to close the pits. This caused a domino effect with devastating consequences for the shipbuilding and heavy engineering industries including steel production.

[@whiteheatherclub]

Crikey. Talk about crackpot economics. The closing of shipyards, for example, started well before the first oil and gas came ashore form the North Sea. The decline of coal started in the early twentieth century as other fuels replaced coal. How many ships were still powered by coal at the start of the Second World War? How many houses were still heated by coal fires at the start of North Sea oil and gas production? People will always gravitate to the cheapest and most convenient goods. It's nothing to do with the government.

[@Neil-v8z]

We had a great Scottish steel work force 💪 now fuel ⛽️ going at grangemouth!! Scotland is closed of industry 😢 shame on uk government

[@whiteheatherclub]

Just bear in mind that the SNP want to close down the entire oil industry.

[@robertgilbert484]

Great video Ed, but very sad too. I live in Melbourne but was born in Alloa on the Forth. We have a similar situation here in Australia but not as bad as UK. We had Ford, GMH, Toyota and Mitsubishi here, all gone. We are probably going to end up buying gas and petrol from overseas. I live in Altona, Melbourne, which is a bit like Grangemouth except nicer, but Mobil has just closed and all the ancillary plants have almost all gone!

[@colinmcgregor123]

Thank you Ed but remember that not just Motherwell suffered the whole of Scotland suffered and is still suffering !

[@justandy1035]

My Home Town Ed and brought up there. My old man work in Dalziel ( D”Ell) (Colvilles before that if I recall. )Steel Works . Good stuff Ed thanks for sharing . Perhaps visit “Summerlee Museam in Coatbridge sometime if you get the chance. Thanks for sharing

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers. Check out my Coatbridge video, some of which was shot in Summerlee. 👍

[@lachlanmaclean3852]

Dalziel; I thought the pronunciation was “Deeyell” Am I wrong?

[@TheSharvis]

Right and wrong the works was spelt Dalzell

[@ceeej1290]

@@lachlanmaclean3852 I thought that too

[@EdExploresScotland]

I'm always mispronouncing things. Of course, you do have to wonder about the use of the letter 'z' in Scotland; it seems to be redundant in many cases. Culzean, for example, as in Culzean Castle, is apparently pronounced Culaine, with yet another useless 'z'. Can anyone think of other examples?

[@jocoma_photography]

@@EdExploresScotland Genzier pronounced glinger

[@helenthompson1461]

Dalzell and Dalziel. Both are pronounced Dee el. I worked in Dalzell steelworks, as did my dad and his dad before him.

[@niallgerardjosephoconnells7097]

Hi Ed. Niall O'Connell Eire here. Thanks for sharing. Tuesday night 8.35pm.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Niall.

[@thepickledpixie9052]

Crackin vid Eddie, very poignant. I'm from Larkhall and my granda was a miner. My uncle worked at Bone steel. Half the men in Larkhall either worked in the Craig or the steelworks and half the women in Daks Simpson. The late 80s/early 90s were a grim time for the whole area as we lost one after another with massive redundancies and the impact on all the other local businesses. My mum worked in the job centre and found it so upsetting. So many people looking for work that simply wasn't there any more. Men in their 50s who'd worked in heavy industry their whole lives being sent on computing courses to learn new skills for a different world. While the Thatcher called the Scots work shy because of the high unemployment levels they caused. Then they laid the poll tax on us. It's beyond me how anyone in this area could vote Tory. We could see the blue tower from the top of the town and it was a sad day to see it come down. Thanks for the vid.

[@dereknix69]

Another great video.There was also glengarnock steelworks which eventually closed its doors in 1985

[@christopherkerr1693]

Was Glengarnock not where Take the High Road was set? 😂

[@dereknix69]

@christopherkerr1693 😅,no it was set and filmed up at Luss

[@christopherkerr1693]

@@dereknix69 😂 It was Glendarnoch 🤦

[@dereknix69]

@@christopherkerr1693 aye was glendarroch but filmed at Luss,well remembered lol

[@joshmarkham9065]

Thanks

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks Josh.

[@pete1211]

Ed, loved the video, very well done. One thing I need to mention is the way you are saying Dalzell. It is not "Dal zell" it is pronounced " Dee ell. I worked in Dalzell works for about a year in late 60S. very hard work, but great pay. I also drove a dump truck later in Ravenscraig for a while. I was born in Motherwell in 1948 and live in California now. one more thing, the site of Ravenscraig that was a wasteland in your video, has now for a long time been cleared and sports center and childrens parks built on it.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Pete. I'm always mispronouncing things. The Ravenscraig site's not wholly built on, and much of it remains an overgrown derelict site.

[@crouisk]

Wishaw born and bred - "no action is called for" - same attitude exists today Politics runs on a 4 year cycle but industrial investment disnae

[@Stewart-g5r]

Very good video.....

[@donaldmcleod-vm5go]

Yes it's Dee-eL Ed. But great job 👍 The pronunciation is no BIG DEE-EL . Keep up your excellent work Ed 👍

[@charlesmair26]

Slight correction on the Scottish Government on the steel for the Queensferry Crossing. They were blue in the face, saying, " THERE WERE NO STEEL WORKS IN THE UK THAT COULD PROVIDE THE STEEL, And when the Craig closed, they couldn't tear it down quick enough, And the Chinese Couldn't ship the heavy plant to China quick enough, It was a classic act of Thatcherite de-industrialization, Of Scotland. Just Saying.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks Charles. I hadn't appreciated that no UK steel works put in a bid for the Queensferry Crossing, although there remain questions in a very complicated picture with regard to a bid by Tata Steel as part of a consortium. And, of course, Tata Steel, although owning the Dalzell Works in Motherwell, were not UK-owned.

[@juliesomerville79]

@@EdExploresScotlandthe steel would have been supplied from Scunthorpe plate mill. Its was the plant that specialised in bridge building. Dalzell rolled heavier shorter plate of a higher spec so supplied oil industry etc. they did a lot of the support parts of the bridge

[@dereksmallsuk]

Interesting stuff.

[@johnmull59]

Thanks Ed. Music very enjoyable too...sounds a bit Mozart (not a silent 'z'!) 😊

[@IanDonnelly-iq8cf]

Wonderful work Ed . Mrs T has a lot to answer for, Ian

[@alexcameron_]

My dad was made redundant from Ravenscraig he never got over it really.

[@conkadonk4976]

However, the steel used to build the Titanic was probably the best plain carbon ship plate available at the time. It met the standards set at the time, and was not considered substandard

[@gezzaa01]

Hi Ed, here I lie in the newish QEUH having watched with interest your piece on the Motherwell and the history of steel production and would like to share a few observations with you which may be taken as negative and against the grain of other comments. I grew up in East Kilbride and throughout my childhood made trips to visit extended family mostly in Wishaw in the 70's, passing by Ravenscraig along the journey and it was minging. Jumping on into the 80's and I find myself at Stow College and well remember the armed Youll & Dodds trucks passing by on the M8 from Hunterston heading towards Motherwell. The steelworkers happy to allow this imported 'scab' steel to keep the furnaces burning. Effectively to save there own jobs they backed Thatcher's fight against the miners, how did that turn out? You might consider this a tad pedantic however you constitently used the anglofied pronunciation of Dalziel. Perhaps you did this on purpose for clarity however the z in Scots should kind of like 'nei' (easier said than spelt lol). I enjoyed the end title music from your good self and hope when the camera was turned off you went turned around and picked up your notes. I was down at the new Govan/Partick bridge on the day it opened and will hopefully be returning home in the next few days, to Dumbreck at the edge of Bellahouston Park. Thank you once again for taking the time to make the video and post on KZbin. Best Wishes and Kind Regards Gerry

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Gerry. Get well soon. (Notes picked up.)

[@Chris-il6yh]

That bridge at partick, building one much the same just up the road at yoker, cant be far away from completion

[@johndonaldson3619]

My girlfriend taught Majorettes in Wishaw....we left for Australia in late 82...never went back

[@alastairfinn1305]

A great video Ed, i can feel your pain with past and present governments decisions. Industry in this country is on its knees. There are no collage places to train young folks in house building, engineering, mechanics etc, just work from home behind a PC pushing buttons for share holders. Country is a fuck up. Time for change!

[@deangardner107]

Cheers mate

[@greenghoul157]

My grandfather was one of the Ravenscraig protesters, he was treated cruelly for standing up for himself and was never given compensation

[@alanglasgowbassist]

A brilliant but sad video. This once great nation is being destroyed. Your finishing monologue is 100% on the money 😢

[@ladygardener100]

PoorEddy, feeling very down. But what he says is true

[@bigbob7062]

My mother was from Motherwell and my Grandfather worked in Dalzell steel works and also the Lanarkshire steel works. My first job was in Ravenscraig. My mother will be turning in her grave two things used to really upset her. Dalzell mis pronounced it's pronounced DL. and her middle name was Menzies. Pronounced Ming-is. Do your research and get it right 👍

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Robert. I'm currently looking at words we use here in Scotland that have a silent 'z'. I'll add 'Menzies' to the list.

[@whiteheatherclub]

I taught in a Scottish school. I got laughed at by the pupils when I told them the correct pronunciation of Menzies. The irony is that I'm English.

[@ianlawrie9769]

My dad was from cambusnethan and my mum from shotts ...they moved to leicestershire where I was born...my dad worked for Williamsons ....and later became a miner fir years ...the tory government almost followed my full family haunting them out of jobs and industry...its now a sorry situation ...

[@Super3rdreich]

my grandad my dad and all my uncles worked at the craig till it got shutdown

[@moto_scotland]

Eddie, such a poignant video this one. To use an unfortunate pun, it had me riveted. Such a sad state of affairs what successive inept so-called governments have done to this country of ours. The end of an era, right enough. Building our bridges with ‘chinesium’? I think our bridges have already been burned.. Very sad. Keep up the good work..

[@alexandergoudie4591]

At one time we were the best country world, for almost anything . Shipbuilding, steel, coal , now there is no coal , shipbuilding one or two left . When you used to have all the shipyards from Greenock right up to Glasgow. The old saying was , you can’t beat Clyde built . As for Ravenscraig steelworks they broke a few records for steel production . Basically your just a number no matter what job you do thanks for that look at Ravenscraig . Used to get my mum in Saltcoats , god bless you mum love n miss you , to get the loco numbers going from Hunterston import terminal to the Craig , as she lived close by . The class 20s , 37s , 56s 60s n 66 going to all various places . Those were the good old days now there is just about nothing. How sad

[@Saint_Dan132]

oh its yourself fantastic video sir, keep up the good work, doing a wee video of the clyde in a few weeks, might poach a wee bit of info from your video's if thats alright all credited of course thanks for the inspiration id be climbing the walls if i didn't have a hobby , trains and history, why not eh?

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers. The Clyde's always a fascinating subject. Good luck with the video.

[@Saint_Dan132]

@@EdExploresScotland thankyou

[@williamhannah7768]

I told a mate that the craig would close,after Corby steel work closed.He said no it would not.A big shout out to the selloutJim Louge,my modern studies teacher.Want a case ot wisky,Mr Louge.Louge the roge.Ta for this wee film.

[@golfingmags5]

Hi Ed, very sad video……alas, don’t think we can save our once prosperous Country. No Steel Industry and a handful of Mills in the Borders. On the local news it mentioned a man of 82 who was retiring from one of the Mills where he had worked since he was 14. He was responsible for the looms and the upkeep of the machinery and there was no one to replace him. We need apprenticeships to train young ones in all the essential jobs instead of going off to University for media studies etc.etc. Notice you have a few critics re the name Dalzeil!😂🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@stuartrobertson4714]

That's why farmers burn the sheep wool cheaper than taking it to a place about 50 miles away

[@dg-bd1hj]

Many a good copper turns been done down the craig. Stories still doing the rounds.can mind watching it getting took down sad times

[@jim_dubhglas]

Sad. 😞. The terrible changes that have occurred across the board in so many wonderful 'advanced' countries have just been putting us in rapid reverse and poising us for a failed or future taken over by others. :-(

[@gloryguyful]

My grand father and father worked in the Lanarkshire, myself i was a juniour man on the blast furnace at the 'craig, made the best steel in Europe, due to location it was sacrificed for Redcar , Llanwern and Port Talbot, was told that companies rejected steel from them becuse the Ravenscraig stamp was faked on their deliveries, they new it wasnt Ravenscraig

[@kennyweir7782]

When did you work in the Blast Furnaces?

[@jocky2]

Great video Eddie, realy learned a lot. Yet another situation where the parrots could've done a better job.

[@scotlandsmostwanted1888]

Dee-ell is the pronunciation of Dalzell

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks. I seem to have had everyone in Motherwell, and their auntie, along with everyone who once stayed in Motherwell, putting me right on that one. It's clearly important to the people of Motherwell, but it's certainly not the most important aspect of the video.

[@jackdaly6860]

Just a heads up ma man both spellings of Dalzell and Dalzilel are pronounced quite literally the letters D L

[@brianaiton5971]

I believe the towers were on what's now called Craigtower Road

[@EdExploresScotland]

You're a bit out Brian. The following link to Google Maps shows Craigtower Road near the top, while the circlular bases of the towers can be seen at the foot of the map. www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Craigtower+Rd,+Motherwell/@55.7917946,-3.9671851,2440m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x48886ca6bc680d1d:0x4d69c8070b81029e!8m2!3d55.798318!4d-3.9705397!16s%2Fg%2F11h8k9cbwp?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDkxOC4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

[@whiteheatherclub]

You can blame Mrs Thatcher as much as yiu like but if a steelworks isn't making a profit it doesn't make any sense for it to continue in production. The people who complain about the close of the Ravenenscraig steelworks would have complained about the closure of blacksmith businesses when motor vehicles replaced horses. Lots of cotton mills closed in Lancashire but does anybody blame the governments of the time? No, because they understand the significance of foreign competition. And who remembers the closure of the car factory at Linwood? But now we have blast furnaces at Port Talbot closing for a stupid reason - the insane war against fossil fuels. And the last coal-fuelled power station is closing for the same reason. Who's criticising the government for that? And what about all the people working in North Sea oil and gas production. Their jobs aren't being threatened by sound economics. Instead, it's deliberate government policy. So, when criticising governments, get your targets correct.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks for your comments. It's a complicated picture, and in many ways I knew I'd struggle to get my head properly around it. I suppose the one thing I would say in response is that I can't imagine for one moment that the tens of thousands of unemployed workers in either the Borders textile industry, the Scottish coal industry, or in steel-works like Ravenscraig understand, or want to understand, the significance of foreign competition as they sit at home wondering where it all went wrong.

[@cameronstevenson5894]

Dalziel i always thought it was pronounced DL

[@conkadonk4976]

UK STEEL industry is completely fkd by Westminster, where do you think we would get our steel ? 😅😅😅 bad Scotland ay

[@BOATSkeepcoming]

Is Starmer fast becoming more hated than Thatcher ?

[@pitbing]

Yes! He and Miliband will destroy what's left of Scottish industry with their net zero fanaticism. The SNP and Greens are culpable as well.

[@john-hl5tq]

A timely reminder of our past Ed, they say that "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it". Well that nightmare is the one we are waking up to today. Then it was the Iron Steel and Coal industries that we lost. Now it is the ability to refine what should be our oil. Scotland where 90% of the Uk's oil comes from Is poised to witness it's only Refinery being shut down, as the five in England step up capacity to take up the slack while Ineos who are closing it down, are due receive a £600 million grant from the UK Government to help set up a new facility in Belgium and the UK Government have given the go ahead for 2 new undersea cables to take Scottish produced electricity directly to England in much the same way as existing undesea pipelines have been sending Scotland's Oil South to English refinaries for decades. Should we just stand by, alow history to repeat its self and ask The Proclaimers to add Grangmouth to their tale of woe ... Or grow a pair and take control of our own future?

[@raymondoperera1214]

💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯

[@dannygmtg]

Sure swathes of ravenscraig are still derelict, likely due to unfathomable costs it will likely take to remediate the place but you could’ve ended on a more positive note by filming in the new park area that’s been made on what was the finishing mill of Ravenscraig. The aerial shot at the end is outdated as well as it doesn’t show this great new public space

[@AllisonClare-ui5qe]

Watching, Knock of Crieff video. Struck with comment about l'fat young women '. I totally agree, as a woman in my 60s I was always fit, swimming, cycling, walking etc. I still am and never dieted just exercised. Anyway, I'm told by young nephews that most young women accept being' larger' due to influence of African - American musicians and their tastes!!?!? What do you think?

[@EdExploresScotland]

Hi Allison. I don't know. I am, however, a tad disturbed by this injection thing, where fat women - and I think it is just women - can be injected with something that will solve all their issues. But the injection programme has been delayed by 12 years! Meanwhile, could they not just eat less??

[@deangardner107]

Dalziel. Pronounced simply DL

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks. I'm always mispronouncing things. I should probably create my own book of mispronounciations.

[@deangardner107]

@EdExploresScotland , I'm from bellshill and the place is covered on mines and bings. Finding stuff online is a real nightmare lol. In your video where u ended is only a 3min walk thru the bushes to find the footplates from the cooling towers and gas holder. Thanks for replying and also for doing the video, I was excited when I saw the video in the feed.

[@ladygardener100]

And then tnere was Ardeer

[@stephenkelly2779]

Born and bred Motherwell too towns got worse since I grew up

[@RichardGraham-l6f]

The Labour Pairty in Scotland ditched the Scottish workin class, and allowed Maggie and the Tories tae dae whit they waanted! Aye, 'Better Together' For me, yon new Govan brig represents the sad demise o the Scottish Engineering Industry. By the wey Eddie, ye should learn how tae pronounce 'Dalziel' richt - the Scots pronounciation, as awbody in the area cried it - no the fuclin Anglo-Saxon pronounciation. Motherwell made the steel, but the workforce o Sir William Arrol, Dalmarnock built the brigs!

[@chazboyle9456]

i lived near to the CRAIG , it was full of lazy workers who took turns in getting their mates to clock them on and off , claiming to be working etc then they didn't back the miners strike and when they went on strike they had the cheek to stand outside the local supermarkets looking for donations , i took great pleasure in telling them to F off , as a building trade worker no one fed me or my family unless i worked for it ,then the same lazy bass who finally losses their jobs the got a right few quid in redundancy

[@craigshovlin9756]

FYI Dalzell is pronounced DeeEll 👍

[@DD-zh9mr]

Totally agree,maggie thatcher to blame,can just picture her sitting in the garden of downing st with Boris drinking champagne and chuckling about what the chinese really gave us ,FKN COVID,rest in peace to everyone taken to soon,😢

[@TheSharvis]

Era Bar was and is colloquially pronounced Eh-ra bar

[@ceeej1290]

@@TheSharvis 😂😂

[@Mr-Foad]

Shut down by a government in a different country (England). It's time we Scots leave the UKSSR and let England stand on its own 2 feet for the first time in it's life... We should be calling the shots here.. no one else.

[@cnoc500]

Oh blow blow blow -- change the record.

[@boydovens4180]

I remember way back , the Tory government had just come into power , Nort sea oil revenues started to flow into the Treasury , this gave Margaret thatcher the means to implement her vision of how England should be , ( Scotland , Wales and Ireland were dragged along for the ride ) Privatisation would prevail , when asked why the Post Office wasnt effected , it was said because the Queens head on the stamp . Sure there were industries that were beyond help in the new age of technology , Germany planned to upgrade her industries and did so , Thatchers view was sink or swim , market policy would prevail , many working people saw there livelihood / reason to exist being destroyed in front of their eyes . Many fought for the right to work . But government policy ( Thatcher ) would not be changed , I remember seeing Ravenscraig fighting to exist by proving they were a viable plant , but to no avail , the governments decision had already been made , the ink on the closure document had already been signed.

[@johnnymac26]

Brilliant work mate and the cheap chinese steel is still going on modern cars .....tinfoil,,, maggie sold the lot