Grimsby Ice Factory

[Ian_Eb]

http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/industrial-sites/32180-grimsby-ice-factory.html
(http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/industrial-sites/32180-grimsby-ice-factory.html)
I am sure I saw something about this place a while back but couldn't find the thread. Thought it might be of interest to some of you here.

[Glenn Moore]

Hi Ian
Fantastic pictures. I was 15 and had just started at J&E Hall as an office boy, when the last of those High Speed Quads, compressors was built at the Dartford factory.
I used to go around the different parts of the factory and saw the crankcase being poured in the Heavy iron foundry. They had to do a further cast as the first crankcase casting cracked as it cooled.
Then I watched it being machined in the old South Machine shop.
It was then built in the South Fitting shop. There was 2 fitters working on it for about 3 weeks , scraping the white metal main bearings and then the big end bearings. Then the piston and con rods were fitted and the pistons were perfectly aligned by wacking the con rods with a massive lead mallet to get the con rods and pistons correctly positioned.
I had the privilege of working on one of these machines in the House of Commons .I had to do a strip down inspection of the pistons and bearings . It was in immaculate condition the bores were like chrome and the bearings still had witness marks from the initial bedding in. They were called High Speed Quads yet they only did about 500 RPM. Being able to work on that type of machine was simply magic, although you needed bloody big spanners to fit the nuts and bolts on it. Fantastic memories

[Magoo]

Brilliant photos of past machinery .
I agree Glenn, recall working on lots of those old Halls, the larger ones came with their own gantry crane for lifting out discharge assembly and piston/ conrod. Definitely large spanners required. Those resistive what ever starter panels on motors were scary, the thing smoking a way and winding the hell out of speed thingo. And recall spending days scraping white metal bearings as well. ( still have scraper tool )
Everything built like a brick out house and low speed to last for ever.
Even came across a double action horizontally opposed machine with huge flywheel and rope belts, still running slow and easy revs cannot recall the name , but size huge

[neil]

For those who haven't seen, the Cooling Post ran a series of three articles a couple of years ago on the history of the Grimsby Ice Factory and its refrigeration systems, with many previously unpublished antique photos.

http://www.coolingpost.com/features/iconic-refrigeration-frozen-in-time/
http://www.coolingpost.com/features/frozen-in-time-part-2/
http://www.coolingpost.com/features/grimsby-ice-factory-the-early-years/

[Magoo]

Hi Neil. thanks for posting.