Southbank Coke Ovens
The Process
I’m not particularly well versed on the workings of coke ovens, but in simple terms, bituminous coal is transported to a top of a tall structure, known as a charging tower. From there coal is dropped into the charging car, which travels along the top of the battery, discharging coal into one of the ovens. Inside the ovens the coal is baked in the absence of air, usually at a temperature in the region of 1,000 °C. Volatile products are driven off and are processed at the by-products plant. At an integrated steelworks such as Teesside, gas from the coke ovens is used as a fuel in the power station. When the baking process is complete a coke pusher car removes the oven door and uses a ram to push the burning coke out of the oven. A coke guide car is stationed on the opposite side of the oven to remove the retrospective door and guide the coke into a railway wagon. The burning coke needs to be cooled down quickly to prevent it from complete combustion. This is carried out by a quenching tower, of a similar appearance to a cooling tower, where jets of water cool the coke down, but a low moisture content is required for greatest efficiency.
The resulting coke is an important ingredient of the production of iron in a blast furnace, as a source of carbon monoxide it will reduce the iron oxide in the ore to iron, as well as providing the intense heat necessary to melt the iron ore.
History
The original coke oven and by-products plant at South Bank was built for Dorman Long in 1956, and designed by Simon Carves. It consisted of two batteries of 75 ovens, with an oven height of 4.56m. These were reputedly damaged through poor operation, and were replaced by new batteries, containing a total of 88 ovens, in 1971/72. With an oven height of 5.3m, they were the first of a series of high-capacity ovens commissioned in the UK by British Steel Corporation (BSC). These are the ones we see today, which was designed to produce the same tonnage as the original 150 ovens. The 1950s by-products plant was however retained to process gasses and other substances produced by the coke ovens.
The coke works was once in the centre of the Cleveland Iron Works, surrounded by five blast furnaces, various rolling mills, sinter plants and a power station, but all had been swept away by the mid 1990s.
The coke works was shut-down for good in October 2015, together with the rest of the sites owned by SSI at Redcar and Lackenby. In September 2019 two men were killed in an explosion while carrying out decommissioning work on the refraction towers at the gas refinery plant. Demolition of the by-products plant commenced in May 2021, with demolition of the coke battery beginning the following month. There have been calls to preserve the charging tower bearing the Dorman Long name, but at present its future remains uncertain.
An aerial view of the site from the Teesside Steelworks Heritage Facebook group. The coke works are above the railway line, below can be seen the three blast furnaces at Clay Lane (on the left) and the two blast furnaces of Cleveland Iron (bottom centre).
Visit 1
The coke works at Southbank were the first area I explored of the Teesside Steelworks complex. My first visit was with Prettyvacant last September, after @dweeb mentioned that the very decayed ore handling plant (OHP) was easily accessible. We made it inside with no issues and had a good look round before heading to the coke ovens.
We were surprised to see an absence of cameras and no sign of life as we approached the structure. I managed to climb part way up onto the coke ovens, while PV wandered off towards the by-products plant. It looked like it was possible to climb onto the top of the ovens, but it was starting to get wet, and with the light fading there didn't seem much point with the hassle involved.
In the meantime, PV set off an alarm on the outskirts of the refinery and several pick-ups were now driving around. I made it back down and met up with PV at the base of the charging tower. We decided to wait there until it was dark before attempting an exit, as security had a car parked at each corner of the site. A short while later a vehicle drove into the area we were hiding in and a couple of guys got out and started shining their torches around. We weren’t exactly well hidden and we were soon caught, but thankfully we were simply escorted to the gate and released, while being lectured on the dangers of the site.
The site as seen from the top of the BOS plant.
The coke ovens from the east. In the centre is the charging tower and circular quenching tower of the ovens built for Dorman Long, to the right is the 1970s battery with its quenching tower furthest to the right.
The exterior of the ore handling plant building.
The building contained large dunes of dirt, gradually deposited over decades of abandonment.
It was very windy in the main hall on our visit, which made it a little tricky to get a sharp photo.
I really liked the heavily decayed locker room, there were some great textures in the peeling paint and collapsing plaster-work.
The detached single storey block was fairly boring, but the old tile-work was nice.
Heading for the coke ovens now. At the base of the charging tower are the two pusher cars
Below the pusher cars.
Underneath the charging tower, looking towards the pusher cars.
The driver's cab on one of the coke pusher car.
Visit 2
I returned in late May with @slayaaaa, on a beautiful summers evening, after a very successful visit to the BOS plant. The OHP had been torn down, and much of the wasteland surrounding the site was being dug up, but other then that there were few changes to the remaining structures. We soon made our way onto the top of the battery, there were a few sensors around, but they were easy to avoid. We were hoping to climb to the top of the charging tower, but the external staircase looked very exposed, and coupled with the presence of several security vehicles, we decided to wait until it was the middle of the night. I however decided to have a lie down, which after a long day of exploring resulted in me dozing off completely. We got up around 3:30am and headed out, taking a detour via a waste tip to get a nice overview of the site.
We arrived at the top of the ovens just in time to catch the lovely evening light.
The now demolished quenching tower and coke guide car.
The east charging car.
Looking west towards the quenching tower, charging tower, and remains of the 1950s battery. In the distance on the right is the by-products plant.
An early morning view of the ovens from the east pusher car.
The mist was quickly covered the site in the early morning, a few minutes later the site became completely hidden under the mist. The OHP was sited in the centre right of the photo.
The Process
I’m not particularly well versed on the workings of coke ovens, but in simple terms, bituminous coal is transported to a top of a tall structure, known as a charging tower. From there coal is dropped into the charging car, which travels along the top of the battery, discharging coal into one of the ovens. Inside the ovens the coal is baked in the absence of air, usually at a temperature in the region of 1,000 °C. Volatile products are driven off and are processed at the by-products plant. At an integrated steelworks such as Teesside, gas from the coke ovens is used as a fuel in the power station. When the baking process is complete a coke pusher car removes the oven door and uses a ram to push the burning coke out of the oven. A coke guide car is stationed on the opposite side of the oven to remove the retrospective door and guide the coke into a railway wagon. The burning coke needs to be cooled down quickly to prevent it from complete combustion. This is carried out by a quenching tower, of a similar appearance to a cooling tower, where jets of water cool the coke down, but a low moisture content is required for greatest efficiency.
The resulting coke is an important ingredient of the production of iron in a blast furnace, as a source of carbon monoxide it will reduce the iron oxide in the ore to iron, as well as providing the intense heat necessary to melt the iron ore.
History
The original coke oven and by-products plant at South Bank was built for Dorman Long in 1956, and designed by Simon Carves. It consisted of two batteries of 75 ovens, with an oven height of 4.56m. These were reputedly damaged through poor operation, and were replaced by new batteries, containing a total of 88 ovens, in 1971/72. With an oven height of 5.3m, they were the first of a series of high-capacity ovens commissioned in the UK by British Steel Corporation (BSC). These are the ones we see today, which was designed to produce the same tonnage as the original 150 ovens. The 1950s by-products plant was however retained to process gasses and other substances produced by the coke ovens.
The coke works was once in the centre of the Cleveland Iron Works, surrounded by five blast furnaces, various rolling mills, sinter plants and a power station, but all had been swept away by the mid 1990s.
The coke works was shut-down for good in October 2015, together with the rest of the sites owned by SSI at Redcar and Lackenby. In September 2019 two men were killed in an explosion while carrying out decommissioning work on the refraction towers at the gas refinery plant. Demolition of the by-products plant commenced in May 2021, with demolition of the coke battery beginning the following month. There have been calls to preserve the charging tower bearing the Dorman Long name, but at present its future remains uncertain.
An aerial view of the site from the Teesside Steelworks Heritage Facebook group. The coke works are above the railway line, below can be seen the three blast furnaces at Clay Lane (on the left) and the two blast furnaces of Cleveland Iron (bottom centre).
Visit 1
The coke works at Southbank were the first area I explored of the Teesside Steelworks complex. My first visit was with Prettyvacant last September, after @dweeb mentioned that the very decayed ore handling plant (OHP) was easily accessible. We made it inside with no issues and had a good look round before heading to the coke ovens.
We were surprised to see an absence of cameras and no sign of life as we approached the structure. I managed to climb part way up onto the coke ovens, while PV wandered off towards the by-products plant. It looked like it was possible to climb onto the top of the ovens, but it was starting to get wet, and with the light fading there didn't seem much point with the hassle involved.
In the meantime, PV set off an alarm on the outskirts of the refinery and several pick-ups were now driving around. I made it back down and met up with PV at the base of the charging tower. We decided to wait there until it was dark before attempting an exit, as security had a car parked at each corner of the site. A short while later a vehicle drove into the area we were hiding in and a couple of guys got out and started shining their torches around. We weren’t exactly well hidden and we were soon caught, but thankfully we were simply escorted to the gate and released, while being lectured on the dangers of the site.
The site as seen from the top of the BOS plant.
The coke ovens from the east. In the centre is the charging tower and circular quenching tower of the ovens built for Dorman Long, to the right is the 1970s battery with its quenching tower furthest to the right.
The exterior of the ore handling plant building.
The building contained large dunes of dirt, gradually deposited over decades of abandonment.
It was very windy in the main hall on our visit, which made it a little tricky to get a sharp photo.
I really liked the heavily decayed locker room, there were some great textures in the peeling paint and collapsing plaster-work.
The detached single storey block was fairly boring, but the old tile-work was nice.
Heading for the coke ovens now. At the base of the charging tower are the two pusher cars
Below the pusher cars.
Underneath the charging tower, looking towards the pusher cars.
The driver's cab on one of the coke pusher car.
Visit 2
I returned in late May with @slayaaaa, on a beautiful summers evening, after a very successful visit to the BOS plant. The OHP had been torn down, and much of the wasteland surrounding the site was being dug up, but other then that there were few changes to the remaining structures. We soon made our way onto the top of the battery, there were a few sensors around, but they were easy to avoid. We were hoping to climb to the top of the charging tower, but the external staircase looked very exposed, and coupled with the presence of several security vehicles, we decided to wait until it was the middle of the night. I however decided to have a lie down, which after a long day of exploring resulted in me dozing off completely. We got up around 3:30am and headed out, taking a detour via a waste tip to get a nice overview of the site.
We arrived at the top of the ovens just in time to catch the lovely evening light.
The now demolished quenching tower and coke guide car.
The east charging car.
Looking west towards the quenching tower, charging tower, and remains of the 1950s battery. In the distance on the right is the by-products plant.
An early morning view of the ovens from the east pusher car.
The mist was quickly covered the site in the early morning, a few minutes later the site became completely hidden under the mist. The OHP was sited in the centre right of the photo.
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