STEEPLEJACK'S CORNER 2012

[Stanley]

[Tripps]

This is very impressive - Two at once Scroll down to the video.

Looks like someone's showing off.

[PanBiker]

Two for the price of one, I only saw one charge for the stacks.

[Stanley]

There were two I think, the far stack was falling towards the near one. That figures, they would never rely on one charge and hitting the other, too many things to go wrong and the worst outcome is having to go back in after a partial failure because everything is unstable and far too dangerous.
Felling stacks, no matter what method, is not an exact science because there may be flaws in the construction you can't foresee so you cover all your options as far as possible. They couldn't be sure the stacks would collide so it would make sense to pill them both.

[Stanley]

Peter Tatham told a good story about felling a small square stack and Higgy confirmed it... They had started the cut and got four courses out right across the face pointing downhill to where it was supposed to fall. They had stopped for a cup of tea and a butty and when they were finished Higgy got up, said "Come on, let's get on with it!" Picked up his 14lb hammer and gave one of the corner stones at the end of the gob a good blow. The chimney immediately fell, dead on the expected line. Big laugh all round!
Peter said that there must have been a weakness inside the structure not visible from the outside. He said he was always very wary of stacks that had had a hole cut in the bottom in later years for another flue. He said that even if they had been properly bricked up they were always a point of weakness because the repair could never achieve the pressure that was on the original brickwork. This caused a stress pattern round the stab-in.
Of course the opposite could be true, have a look at the vitrified liner in the Jubilee stack mentioned above.
One of the advantages in blowing a stack was that properly done and with the right delay fuses used, the initial blast could be used to knock the toe out of the chimney on the side of where it was to fall, a fraction of a second later a line of smaller pills at the back side made sure of the failure. Properly done this could result in a very tidy job.

[Stanley]

The demolition of the access tower at Ellenroad in 1985. Norman balled this down in about twenty minutes after the safety man complained about it leaning as the ground under the mill rose after the weight of the building was taken off it. The safety man had prohibited anyone going nearer than 15 feet but Norman ignored him and as soon as he left the site balled it down. I asked Norman later how he had explained it to the safety bloke, he said he had congratulated him on being right as shortly after he left the site it collapsed of its own volition. No flies on Norman!
In the days when views of falling chimneys was in vogue Fred Dibnah was persuaded to fell a similar tower by undercutting, propping and burning for a TV programme. A far more complicated structure than a stack and during the burn it collapsed prematurely and Fred was lucky to escape, he was too close to it.

[Invernahaille]

Stanley,
I didn't know that when they demolished Ellenroad, they left the perimeter wall intact. Was this done for any particular reason, or just for security?

[Stanley]

The original footprint of the new Coates factory was essentially the same as the mill so those parts of the wall that coincided with the need for perimeter security for the factory were retained where appropriate and in good condition. The bund that was put in around the area behind the factory, enclosing the rest of the Ellenroad land was ostensibly to reduce noise and intrusion for the houses in the immediate vicinity but a big consideration was that it could be formed using some very nasty rubble mainly reinforced concrete with the rebar still in it. It was covered with topsoil and planted with trees but saved a lot of tipping charges.
The original wall on the Milnrow side was used as a retaining wall for coal stock when the mill was running. The stockpile extended right across the back.



I don't know the date of this aerial view, the M62 was built in stages between 1971 and 1976 so after mid 70s. You can see part of the stock pile under the near side of the mill. At times it extended right across the back towards the engine house, you could see the staining on the wall.... Click to enlarge.

[Invernahaille]

Strange, On one of my visits back I noticed Coates, had purchased all the houses on Ellenroad Street, that must have cost them a small fortune. There used to be chicken pens and garages on the other side of the perimeter wall. They obviously preferred a more central position for building their factory, or was it something to do with the ground moving after Ellenroads demolition?

[Stanley]

They didn't know about the heave after the demolition when the original design was done. Norman pointed it out to me and I passed on the information to the contractors who re-surveyed their levels and got a bit of a surprise. The land on the western side of Ellenroad Street was part of the original mill property but never used so if they have bought Ellenroad Street they now have a contiguous block.
There was a bit of a kerfuffle when we took a tree out on that piece that had a rope hung from it. The locals objected because it was where the kids played. I think Coates gave a donation towards a new play area to smooth ruffled feathers.
We were having a meeting in Coates on a very windy day and as I stood looking out of the window towards Ellenrod Farm the end wall of the new brick warehouse blew in.....

[Stanley]

I've put this image up before but I tripped over it this morning in the archive. Shows what can happen when a straightening contract goes wrong!

[Stanley]

Have a look back at Bancroft on Tall Chimney Construction for information about straightening stacks and the problems it could cause.



I tripped over this pic of Dobson and Barlow's stack at Bolton and it reminded me of Blinkhorn's stack, another monster so I have posted an article on it under Rare Texts as It isn't on the site.

[Stanley]

Have a look at THIS for an interesting report giving some details of Swabs stack at Middleton....

[Stanley]

My neighbour Ian across the back street was on the roof of his house installing a flue liner for his new stove and I was cautioning him to be careful and remember he was in the air. He said "You're a bright one to talk! I know about you and your chimneys!" I was ridiculously pleased that he knew. I look back on my days with Peter and the stacks with pleasure, I was so lucky to have such a good man working for me.



This was Ellenroad with Brooke Edgeley laddering but the new top was all Peter's work. I remember when the man laddered the chimney for the first time he came down and said who built that top? I told him about Peter and he said he wished he'd served his apprenticeship under him. Peter was retired but I called in at Tim's Terrace to tell him. Peter didn't do enthusiastic but I could tell he was quietly pleased.....

[Stanley]

A proper job! The concrete rim is cast in place in segments jointed with a bitumen layer to give a measure of flexibility and the joint reinforced by one inch diameter copper rods at each joint. Peter saw one of his stacks with this method of making the head felled by another firm and the rim stayed intact after it hit the ground and rolled off like an oversized Polo Mint.

[Stanley]

Peter casting the segments in situ on the head.....

[Stanley]

John has been busy again. Here's what he said this morning when he semt me the pics....

Attached are three photo's of the Lily Mill No. 2, Shaw, Oldham, showing the demolition in the early 1980's of the mills chimney carried out for the Littlewoods Mail Order firm, International Import & Export Co. The chimney when built by Messrs. S & J Smethurst, of Oldham, was completed in early September 1914.

Regards
John Burlison

[Stanley]

Another of John's images. Demolition of Lily no 2 in the 1980s.

[Stanley]

Lily no. 2 in the 1980's. Another of John's images.

[Stanley]

Map of the area of Oldham where Lily Mills was. Note that the Dee Mill on the map isn't the one at Newhey that I vandalised!

[Invernahaille]

Stanley,
Dee mill was not in Newhey/Milnrow. It was always in Shaw. I remember Ash mill, what I don't see on the map is Freds, (Dibnah), Briar, the stack he brought down brick by brick+

[chinatyke]

Stanley,
Dee mill was not in Newhey/Milnrow. It was always in Shaw. I remember Ash mill, what I don't see on the map is Freds, (Dibnah), Briar, the stack he brought down brick by brick+

Briar Mill is on the map, a third of the way up the left hand side.

[Stanley]

You're right Robert, my mistake.

[Invernahaille]

Duh,
Do you know Stanley, I am getting as blind as a bat.

[Stanley]

Join the club Robert! (Mind you I have no excuse now after the latest retread of my eyes....)