Modernisation of Tyne Dock facilities in the early 50's saw the installation of 5 new cranes that could each unload 300t p/h & feed the ore into a new bunker facility at the quay that could not work with the existing hopper wagons. The hoppers you are hauling are part of a set of 30 built at Shildon from late 1951 for use between Tyne Dock and Consett steelworks. The hoppers could take a load of 56 tons each & were fitted with vacuum brakes and the automatic side discharge doors were air operated to allow rapid unloading, which required that a dedicated pool of locomotives fitted with air pumps were allocated to the services. As part of the building program for the BR Standard 9F 2-10-0's, ten of them were specifically intended for the Consett iron ore workings with Westinghouse air pumps fitted on the running board on the fireman's side. These locos started to appear on the services in May 1956, and allowed the older locomotives to be released for other duties. |