Edgar Allen and Company
Encyclopedia
Edgar Allen and Company was a steel maker and engineer, which from the late 19th century was based at Imperial Steel Works, Tinsley, Sheffield
, South Yorkshire
. The site was bounded by Sheffield Road, Vulcan Road and the Sheffield District Railway
to which it was connected.
.
The Melting Shop used metal supplied from two cupola furnace
s to feed a pair of Tropenas converters to supply metals to the foundry. These were similar to Bessemer process
furnaces except that the air was blown through tuyères on the side of the vessel rather than the bottom.
The Electric Melting Shop was home to two Héroult
electric arc furnace
s, installed in 1912, still working when the site closed. These provided metal for the foundry and to ingot production for forging. The company also offered a "remelting" service for special alloy producers, in particular magnet alloys and stainless steels.
The Foundry comprised moulding shops, casting bays, fettling shops and machine shops, all suitable for castings up to three tons weight. Although larger castings were made by mixing metal from all the sources these were machined and finished outside.
The remainder of the site comprised the Fabrication Shops, three bays laid out for the production of welded fabrications and heat exchangers. Following World War II
a new laboratory block was added adjacent to the Sheffield Road entrance. This comprised facilities for Chemical Analysis, Physical Testing, Non-Destructive Testing, Mechanical Testing and Metallography. This facility also had its own small machine shop, for making mechanical test pieces, and a reference library / conference facility.
On the Sheffield Road site, a narrow, triangular section of land between Sheffield Road and the Sheffield to Doncaster railway line, opposite the Imperial site was at its apex the Magnet Dept, the steel heat treatment and warehousing section and, opening in 1927, the first high frequency steel melting plant in the country. Fronting Sheffield Road were the main company offices. A memorial to those workers from the company who lost their lives in World War I
was fixed to the wall adjacent to the main doors.
The third section of the works was the Shepcote Lane site, between that road and the Sheffield Canal
. This was the site used by Edgar Allen Tools, makers of "Stag" brand engineers cutting tools, and the layout facilities of the railway trackwork department, which became Edgar Allen Engineering, makers of some of the most complex railway crossings in the country including the major crossing built for the east end of Newcastle Central station
where the tracks of the East Coast Main Line
crossed the local network after leaving the station platforms. This was constructed in sections in Sheffield and re-assembled on site. With track rationalisation this crossing was simplified using a new configuration. In connection with EA Foundry (and their Non-Destructive Testing facility to ensure quality) they were the first in Britain to develop cast manganese high speed main line turnouts.
, Jessop Saville & Company
and Hadfields Limited
.
The intention was to merge the foundry interests of the four companies to form one large steel foundry with the capability of making castings from a few ounces to 40 tons, with only English Steel Corporation
's Grimesthorpe foundry in the city able to make larger. As negotiations were taking place the deal fell through leaving Osborn's and Hadfield's to merge, with the foundry being located on Hadfield's East Hecla (Vulcan Road) site, and Edgar Allen's to purchase Jessop's, relocating Jessop's special alloy (medium frequency) melting on Edgar's Sheffield Road site and the 3-ton electric furnace at one end of the Tropenas Melting Shop.
Shopping Complex. The original plans saw this as a Tivoli Gardens themed area of amusements and catering outlets. This was never built and a few years later it was revamped on a Bourbon Street theme. Again this never got off the drawing board and the land remains as an overflow car park for the shopping centre, used only at Christmas and the January sales period.
The Sheffield Road site was also closed at the same time, cleared and now houses a budget price hotel and a catering outlet. This left only part of the Shepcote Lane site in operation.
Edgar Allen Engineering Limited, the suppliers of cast manganese trackwork for railway and tramway systems throughout the world, including the new "Supertarm" system in Sheffield became part of the Balfour Beatty
group in the 1990s but it was announced in February 2010 that the facilities in Sheffield would close in May 2010 and the work would be transferred to either their facility in Nottingham or Leeds. This will see the end of the Edgar Allen steel making and engineering connection in Sheffield. (Source: "The Star", Sheffield 23.2.2010)
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
. The site was bounded by Sheffield Road, Vulcan Road and the Sheffield District Railway
Sheffield District Railway
The Sheffield District Railway was a railway line in South Yorkshire, England with its main line running between Brightside Junction, on the Midland Railway's Sheffield to Rotherham line, and Treeton Junction, on the same company's Rotherham to Chesterfield line...
to which it was connected.
Imperial Steel Works
The site was the home of the foundry and the fabrication shops of the company, the steel warehousing and magnet shops being on the opposite side of Sheffield Road and the later established engineers tools and railway trackwork sections being located adjacent to Shepcote Lane, on a narrow strip of land between that road and the Sheffield CanalSheffield Canal
The Sheffield Canal is a canal in the City of Sheffield, England. It runs from Tinsley, where it leaves the River Don, to the Sheffield Canal Basin in the city centre, passing through 11 locks.- Early history :...
.
The Melting Shop used metal supplied from two cupola furnace
Cupola furnace
A Cupola or Cupola furnace is a melting device used in foundries that can be used to melt cast iron, ni-resist iron and some bronzes. The cupola can be made almost any practical size. The size of a cupola is expressed in diameters and can range from . The overall shape is cylindrical and the...
s to feed a pair of Tropenas converters to supply metals to the foundry. These were similar to Bessemer process
Bessemer process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. The process is named after its inventor, Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1855. The process was independently discovered in 1851 by William Kelly...
furnaces except that the air was blown through tuyères on the side of the vessel rather than the bottom.
The Electric Melting Shop was home to two Héroult
Paul Héroult
The French scientist Paul Héroult was the inventor of the aluminium electrolysis and of the electric steel furnace. He lived in Thury-Harcourt, Normandy.Christian Bickert said of him...
electric arc furnace
Electric arc furnace
An electric arc furnace is a furnace that heats charged material by means of an electric arc.Arc furnaces range in size from small units of approximately one ton capacity up to about 400 ton units used for secondary steelmaking...
s, installed in 1912, still working when the site closed. These provided metal for the foundry and to ingot production for forging. The company also offered a "remelting" service for special alloy producers, in particular magnet alloys and stainless steels.
The Foundry comprised moulding shops, casting bays, fettling shops and machine shops, all suitable for castings up to three tons weight. Although larger castings were made by mixing metal from all the sources these were machined and finished outside.
The remainder of the site comprised the Fabrication Shops, three bays laid out for the production of welded fabrications and heat exchangers. Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
a new laboratory block was added adjacent to the Sheffield Road entrance. This comprised facilities for Chemical Analysis, Physical Testing, Non-Destructive Testing, Mechanical Testing and Metallography. This facility also had its own small machine shop, for making mechanical test pieces, and a reference library / conference facility.
On the Sheffield Road site, a narrow, triangular section of land between Sheffield Road and the Sheffield to Doncaster railway line, opposite the Imperial site was at its apex the Magnet Dept, the steel heat treatment and warehousing section and, opening in 1927, the first high frequency steel melting plant in the country. Fronting Sheffield Road were the main company offices. A memorial to those workers from the company who lost their lives in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
was fixed to the wall adjacent to the main doors.
The third section of the works was the Shepcote Lane site, between that road and the Sheffield Canal
Sheffield Canal
The Sheffield Canal is a canal in the City of Sheffield, England. It runs from Tinsley, where it leaves the River Don, to the Sheffield Canal Basin in the city centre, passing through 11 locks.- Early history :...
. This was the site used by Edgar Allen Tools, makers of "Stag" brand engineers cutting tools, and the layout facilities of the railway trackwork department, which became Edgar Allen Engineering, makers of some of the most complex railway crossings in the country including the major crossing built for the east end of Newcastle Central station
Newcastle Central station
Newcastle railway station , is the mainline station of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line. It opened in 1850 and is a Grade I listed building...
where the tracks of the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
crossed the local network after leaving the station platforms. This was constructed in sections in Sheffield and re-assembled on site. With track rationalisation this crossing was simplified using a new configuration. In connection with EA Foundry (and their Non-Destructive Testing facility to ensure quality) they were the first in Britain to develop cast manganese high speed main line turnouts.
1960s Rationalisation
It was seen in the mid-1960s that some rationalisation was needed within the Sheffield steel industry, particularly steel founding. With respect to this Edgar Allen split into separate companies: EA Foundry, EA Steels, EA Engineering, and with one of its subsidiaries, Aerex Limited, EA Aerex. Similar moves were taking place at Samuel Osborn & CompanySamuel Osborn & Company
Samuel Osborn and Company was a steelmaker and engineering tool manufacturer situated in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.- Early life :Samuel Osborn junior was born in Sheffield in 1826, his father, also named Samuel, was a partner in the firm of Clark and Osborn, makers of pocket knives, razors,...
, Jessop Saville & Company
Jessop Saville & Company
Jessop Saville and Company, the Sheffield-based special steel makers, was founded in 1929 following a merger of J.J.Saville and Co., Limited and William Jessop and Company, both of these being long established in the trade and in the city....
and Hadfields Limited
Hadfields Limited
Hadfield's Limited was a British Steel manufacturer. Previously named Hadfields Steel Foundry Co. Ltd., by leading metallugist Robert Abbott Hadfield in 1888 following the death of his father, Robert Hadfield, who had founded the works in 1872...
.
The intention was to merge the foundry interests of the four companies to form one large steel foundry with the capability of making castings from a few ounces to 40 tons, with only English Steel Corporation
English Steel Corporation
The English Steel Corporation Ltd was a United Kingdom steel producer. the company was jointly owned by Firth Brown and Vickers and was formed to bring together their basic steel making interests, principally in the Sheffield area....
's Grimesthorpe foundry in the city able to make larger. As negotiations were taking place the deal fell through leaving Osborn's and Hadfield's to merge, with the foundry being located on Hadfield's East Hecla (Vulcan Road) site, and Edgar Allen's to purchase Jessop's, relocating Jessop's special alloy (medium frequency) melting on Edgar's Sheffield Road site and the 3-ton electric furnace at one end of the Tropenas Melting Shop.
Closure
The Imperial works site closed in 1988 with the work being transferred to another foundry within the group. The site was cleared and was set to become the 'leisure' part of the MeadowhallMeadowhall
Meadowhall is an indoor shopping centre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It lies three miles north east of Sheffield city centre and four miles from Rotherham town centre....
Shopping Complex. The original plans saw this as a Tivoli Gardens themed area of amusements and catering outlets. This was never built and a few years later it was revamped on a Bourbon Street theme. Again this never got off the drawing board and the land remains as an overflow car park for the shopping centre, used only at Christmas and the January sales period.
The Sheffield Road site was also closed at the same time, cleared and now houses a budget price hotel and a catering outlet. This left only part of the Shepcote Lane site in operation.
Edgar Allen Engineering Limited, the suppliers of cast manganese trackwork for railway and tramway systems throughout the world, including the new "Supertarm" system in Sheffield became part of the Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty plc is a British construction, engineering, military housing, rail and investment services company. It is one of the largest construction companies in the UK, and the 15th largest in the world...
group in the 1990s but it was announced in February 2010 that the facilities in Sheffield would close in May 2010 and the work would be transferred to either their facility in Nottingham or Leeds. This will see the end of the Edgar Allen steel making and engineering connection in Sheffield. (Source: "The Star", Sheffield 23.2.2010)
Subsidiary companies
There were several companies within the Edgar Allen group:- Aerex Limited of Chesterfield, (which amalgamated with the fabrication interests of the parent company to form Edgar Allen Aerex), industrial fan makers.
- British Rema Manufacturing, Sheepbridge near Chesterfield.
- Hollow Drill Steel Company, specialist drills for shot-firing in coal mining and quarrying.
- Openshaw Forge, Manchester, steel forgings.