Closure of Rio Tinto Alcan in Northumberland

Are they trains that the Deltic was hauling earlier this year? I concur that this is bad news for rail freight in the area. Not only that but the NE is very top heavy with public sector jobs and this loss of a major private sector employer is a disaster for the area.

 

Sad news, AFAIK all that came out by rail was 1 ingot train a day and I don't think that has run for years . The alcan tanks will end to blyth docks, not sure about the tanks that go to scotland.
Power station wise what I can gather from my soon to be new employer is
EDF are after it, and has plans to go 100% biomass.

 

Same thing happened on Anglesey,same firm, reason power too costly,An employee told me AngAl was the biggest single user of power in the UK, tragic.


Bob

 

It was indeed. Apparently Anglesey Aluminiums power requirements were a determining factor in Wylfa being chosen as the nuclear power station site.

 

That's shockingly bad news to hear. The Alcan plant must surely be the dominant employer in the Blyth area, and there's not much hope of anything of a comparable size taking its' place. The trains from the Alcan works have been a staple part of the north east freight scene for years. I'll miss them when they're gone.

 

another kick in the balls for the north east ;> as sprinterguy says alcan is the major employer in the area but i am sure the government will do something to ensure this major industry will survive becuase we will are havuing a private sector led recovery! Oh hang on............

 

The trains to Fort William are still running for now.

 

Going back even further in time on Anglesey, the eventual demise of the Octel plant at Amlwch led to the current situation that now exists with regard to the former Anglesey Central Railway.

 

Passenger re-opening, perhaps? Is OLE and spare 317/7s too much to ask?

 

Out of interest, was the alumina worked using MGR type systems or was it a car tipper type mechanism?

If the latter, why was the system not built for MGR as it is a fairly modern smelter.

 

I hate seeing huge manufacturing plants closing it is devastating for the communities and the knock on effect for feeder industries like suppliers and logistics rail and road is severe too.
If the power station goes too the whole freight network around blyth would go.
and there would also be less of a case to resume passenger services to blyth once this happens as it would become a deprived area the government needs to pull out all the stops to try and reverse all this and save the areas industry and employment.

 

Pressurised containers.

'Big' hose in the top for loading,small hose in the side for unloading.

 

Exactly. The closure of Alcan makes the case for reopening the ABT to passenger services even more crucial. Transport infrastructure is crucial to regeneration of an area, and if ever there was a case for rail to encourage regeneration, I'd say this is it.

If the Government is serious about rebalancing the economy from public to private sector employment, or they want to be seen to be doing something for the North East then announcing this to be added to the National Infrastructure Plan and funding it could help their cause.