How the ‘ Smoggies ’ created Ironopolis – the ‘ infant Hercules ’ of the Industrial Revolution
Built on the banks of the
Tees
The last 200 years have seen the rise and fall of the Tees region as a world leader in the development of the railways , iron and steel , bridge and shipbuilding , and the manufacture of chemicals and plastics .
Men of iron - Blast furnaces lined the River Tees in Teesside ’ s ironmaking pomp .
On track – George and Robert Stephenson ’ s Locomotion No 1 .
RAILWAYS The Tees region can rightly lay claim to be the birthplace of the modern railway . The Stockton and Darlington Railway was the world ' s first public railway to use steam locomotives . Its first line opened in 1825 and is soon to celebrate its 200th birthday .
32
Connecting collieries near Shildon with Darlington and Stockton , the line hosted one of the most famous rail journeys in history when George and Robert Stephenson ’ s Locomotion No 1 became the first steam locomotive to haul a passenger-carrying train on a public railway .
IRON AND STEEL It was the discovery of ironstone in the Cleveland Hills that made Teesside what it is today .
The discovery of iron ore in the hills near Eston midway through the 19th century resulted in blast furnaces lining the River Tees from Stockton , through Middlesbrough to the river ' s mouth , near Redcar .
Ironmasters Henry Bolckow and John Vaughan had established an iron foundry and rolling mill in 1841 , but the discovery of the local supply of iron ore transformed Bolckow , Vaughan & Co into what was then the world ’ s largest company and by 1900 it was the country ’ s – and possibly the world ’ s – largest steel producer . By the mid-1870s , Middlesbrough was producing one-third of the nation ’ s pig iron output , earning the nickname " Ironopolis ", and Teesside was known as the iron-smelting centre of the world .
Teesside steel then became a driving force behind the Industrial Revolution . In its heyday , the local steelworks employed more