METALS

Another bulk haulage sector, covering the movement of metals (primarily steel) and the raw materials required to produce it. Steel, both finished (coil, wire, plate and sheet) and in blooms or billets, formed much of the traffic, along with imported iron ore (to blast furnaces at Ravenscraig, Llanwern, Teesside and Scunthorpe), limestone and other ancillary products. The sector made extensive use of ‘37/0s’ plus ‘37/5s’, ‘37/7s’ and ‘37/9s’, along with small fleets of Class 20s, Class 56s, Class 47s and, later, Class 60s. Main centres of operation were South Wales, Glasgow/motherwell, Teesside, the West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside. Automotive flows (car parts and finished cars) were also included in this sector’s responsibilities.