Finally i have a Part 2! (but first start by reading Part 1)
After the little 'steel crisis' shuffle around at Caparo towards the end of 2015 three factories closed. We quickly found our way into the first at Atlas Fastenings in Darleston but the other two sites in Dudley and Hartlepool were not so simple. Instead of being cleared and disposed of immediately these two sites quickly sprouted very comprehensive 'state of the art' CCTV systems and with this they became almost impossible to get near let alone inside. Over the past year i have prodded both a few times and gone home empty handed, in fact each time i have tried ive just found them harder and more comprehensively secured than before! It was a welcome sight then to see the clearance auctions at both sites finally announced in Jan 2017. If you cant get in without being detected then just go along and buy some of the place eh!
Now the guys running the auction were friendly enough but a bit 'jobsworth' in their attitudes so the opportunities for photographs were slim. I did however have an amazing morning roaming around the place trying to break away from my escort at every opportunity and managed to get at least some photos from the Dudley site to cobble together a vaguely informative report. Sadly as far as i know despite my requests no one bothered to do the same at Hartlepool.
Both sites will be cleared by the end of the month.
After the little 'steel crisis' shuffle around at Caparo towards the end of 2015 three factories closed. We quickly found our way into the first at Atlas Fastenings in Darleston but the other two sites in Dudley and Hartlepool were not so simple. Instead of being cleared and disposed of immediately these two sites quickly sprouted very comprehensive 'state of the art' CCTV systems and with this they became almost impossible to get near let alone inside. Over the past year i have prodded both a few times and gone home empty handed, in fact each time i have tried ive just found them harder and more comprehensively secured than before! It was a welcome sight then to see the clearance auctions at both sites finally announced in Jan 2017. If you cant get in without being detected then just go along and buy some of the place eh!
Now the guys running the auction were friendly enough but a bit 'jobsworth' in their attitudes so the opportunities for photographs were slim. I did however have an amazing morning roaming around the place trying to break away from my escort at every opportunity and managed to get at least some photos from the Dudley site to cobble together a vaguely informative report. Sadly as far as i know despite my requests no one bothered to do the same at Hartlepool.
Both sites will be cleared by the end of the month.
I started in the office block but there was really little to report in here. Just the usual remnants of promotional documents and a few hints at its former grandeur. ( it was actually a fairly old building but quite modernised inside)
From there we moved round the the CNC shop. A couple of lathes remained but mostly just pelleted up equipment.
Next door to the CNC shop a smaller building contained our first forging/stamping line. Amazing old kit!
From here we crossed into a second building containing a couple of larger forging hammers and some similar stamping presses along with a lot of spare press parts all lotted up.
Next up into the main building. There was a large area in the centre of the building containign 5 or 6 more nice forging lines but the light wasnt any good for hand held photos so you will have to use your imagination there. I did however get a few shots of the machine shop and tool room
Last up a shot from the finishing shop. Sorry the photos arnt of the usual quality but beggars cant be choosers.
Maybe part 3 will be the shell of the Hartlepool site
From there we moved round the the CNC shop. A couple of lathes remained but mostly just pelleted up equipment.
Next door to the CNC shop a smaller building contained our first forging/stamping line. Amazing old kit!
From here we crossed into a second building containing a couple of larger forging hammers and some similar stamping presses along with a lot of spare press parts all lotted up.
Next up into the main building. There was a large area in the centre of the building containign 5 or 6 more nice forging lines but the light wasnt any good for hand held photos so you will have to use your imagination there. I did however get a few shots of the machine shop and tool room
Last up a shot from the finishing shop. Sorry the photos arnt of the usual quality but beggars cant be choosers.
Maybe part 3 will be the shell of the Hartlepool site
