THE Stockton-based firm T J Thomson and Sons has closed its metals processing business and from now on will only deal in metal trading. This means the end of railway vehicles being scrapped on the site just south of the town’s station, which has been open since 1932 and was once one of Europe’s largest metal processors.
The decision was made following the run down in rail connected steelworks, plus the relatively few rail vehicles that go for scrap these days. The redundant land will be cleared and used for housing instead.
Many diesel locomotives ended their days at Thomson’s, and some of the flame-cut number panels were included in an auction of equipment on March 1. Famously, however, Class 24 No. D5032 (24032) escaped to work at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in the 1970s, but was only bought by the line last year. The firm’s fleet of six shunting locomotives have all been cut up or sold, including one to the Chasewater Railway in Staffordshire.
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■ HAULAGE FIRM CLOSES: Heanor Haulage has closed down the transport side of its business to concentrate on warehousing and storage. The firm has operated for 75 years, with recent clients including Network Rail, Volker Rail and Balfour Beatty. Its haulage equipment is due to be auctioned off by Malcolm Harrison on March 23/24.
Read more News in the April issue of RE – out now!
