second usage

This is a bucket. Ok, it a large bucket. It’s even a very large bucket and a tree has chosen this bucket to be his home.

I was standing on top of a blast furnace for taking this photo and the bucket is lined with stones to survive the heat of liquid iron that was once filled into this bucket. The bucket with the liquid iron or steel was set on a special railway car to bring the liquid steel to the foundry. Therefore it has hinges on the sides instead of a handle on the top to turn it over and spill the liquid steel in the foundry.

Over the last couple of weeks, I presented you with some images from inside a small former steel plant. The first parts were closed in the1980s, while the last parts were closed in the early 2000s. Nowadays, it’s a museum and it’s quite interesting to see, what polluted the air while I was a kid. Soon, I will go there again. My grandson will become 5 later this year. So, I guess, next year it will be possible to take him there and he will be able to understand at least some parts.

The images were taken back in 2009 when I was there with my kids. The youngest was 10 at that time.

More of my images can be seen on my own blog.

be right back

Andre, Black And White Photography, Photography

No, up to now, the pause already lasts more than 30 years, and no hope for the blacksmith to come back here for work. But, every now and then a smith runs this workshop for demonstrating the old craftsmanship in the museum. The surrounding steel plant was close more than 30 years ago and transformed into a museum.

More of my images can be seen on my own blog.

be right back

Andre, Black And White Photography, Photography

No, up to now, the pause already lasts more than 30 years, and no hope for the chemists and metallurgists to come back here for work.

More of my images can be seen on my own blog.

not in use anymore

Andre, Black And White Photography, Photography

This is a Thomas converter. It’s used in steel plants to increase the quality of steel and produce the so-called Thomas steel after the British discoverers Percy Gilchrist and Sidney Gilchrist Thomas. Those interested in more details, I’d also recommend reading the corresponding article in the German Wikipedia, because it is IMHO better than the English one.

The converter in the above image is one of the smaller ones (the kids are about 1.70m tall) used in a small steel plant. It was hanging in the plant and when the steel was ready, the converter swung over a train to spill out the liquid steel for further processing.

More of my images can be seen on my own blog.

Another relict from the past

Andre, Black And White Photography, Photography

What do you think, this is? Looks like an old bus, but standing on tracks like a train. It’s a rail bus / railcar. I haven’t seen them for decades, but I still have a vague memory of them. This one was standing in a museum waiting for wondering eyes.

I’m not perfectly sure, but I guess, this is a VT95 from the 1950s. It was operated on secondary lines. As this is labeled as VT50, I assumed it is one of the 4 rail busses sold to Austria in 1970, as those 4 were operated under the type class name VT50. Whenever a reader knows it better, please drop me a note.

More of my images can be seen on my own blog.