Visitors will be able to watch the dramatic sight of flaming red hot ingots flying through rollers using power supplied by steam engines as part of the living history museum’s Steam event.
Scrap wrought iron will first be taken from the furnace and beaten into ingots by a huge 20-ton steam hammer - the ground literally shudders from the mighty force as the metal is pounded. Using a process that has not changed for centuries, the iron ingots will then be reheated to temperatures in excess of 1,400°C and passed rapidly through a series of rollers resembling huge clothes mangles, each time being stretched into a longer bar before being passed on to the next roller by skilled workmen using giant tongs.
During the two days, Blists Hill will be celebrating the power that drove the Victorian world – steam – as around eight miniature steam locomotives will be on display. There will also be a working replica of Richard Trevithick’s steam locomotive, arguably the first of its kind in the world, and a winding engine in full steam as well as ‘Billy’, a 1903 Wallis & Stevens steam roller.
Visitors will be able to watch some of the machinery in operation as they amble through the town, enjoying the opportunity to see how life was led by the Victorians more than a hundred years ago.
Open 10am to 5pm daily, Blists Hill is one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums. A Passport to all ten museums valid for twelve months and multiple return visits costs £14.95 per adult, £12.95 for the 60 plus, £9.95 for students and children and £48 for a family of two adults and three children aged up to 18 years in full time education; under 5s free. Individual museum entry tickets are also available and activities and workshops vary day-to-day with some carrying an extra charge in addition to the museum admission fee.
For further information, contact the Ironbridge Tourist Information Centre on Tel: 01952 884 391 or visit www.ironbridge.org.uk. The Gorge is easily reached via the M6 and M54 motorways exiting at Telford (M54 junction 4 or 6).
