Bishopton Ordnance Factory
Transporting explosives wagons on one of the extensive 2ft 6in gauge lines in the Royal Ordnance Factory at Bishopton on 29th August 1991 was Hunslet 4-wheel diesel-hydraulic '9' (Works No.8967 built in 1980).
The Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Bishopton was a UK Ministry of Supply, World War II, Explosive ROF. It is sited adjacent to the town of Bishopton, Renfrewshire, in Scotland.
It was built, with the Ministry of Works acting as Agents, as three separate, almost self-contained, explosive factories within the same perimeter fence. They shared a common Administration Group and Workshop Support Services Group. The factory was built to manufacture propellant, Cordite in the main, for the British Army and the Royal Air Force. It did not produce propellant for the Royal Navy in World War II as the Admiralty demanded, and got, its own propellant factories.
The three explosive factories opened between December 1940 and April 1941. Explosives manufacturing survived on parts of the site until about 2000; although ROF Bishopton was privatised in the early 1980s. The whole site was extensively connected by an internal narrow-gauge railway system and also had a standard gauge connection with the network and its own internal shunting locomotives.
The privatised ROFs become known in 1984 as Royal Ordnance PLC, then in 1987 as RO Defence; and then BAE Systems Global Combat Systems Munitions. The owners of the site, announced their intention to cease manufacturing at the plant in December 1999, although BAE Systems has retained a small Environmental Test Facility and Gun Propulsion laboratory there. The rest of the area has been given over to residential housing in an area now known as Dargavel Village.
© Gordon Edgar - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission
Bishopton Ordnance Factory
Transporting explosives wagons on one of the extensive 2ft 6in gauge lines in the Royal Ordnance Factory at Bishopton on 29th August 1991 was Hunslet 4-wheel diesel-hydraulic '9' (Works No.8967 built in 1980).
The Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Bishopton was a UK Ministry of Supply, World War II, Explosive ROF. It is sited adjacent to the town of Bishopton, Renfrewshire, in Scotland.
It was built, with the Ministry of Works acting as Agents, as three separate, almost self-contained, explosive factories within the same perimeter fence. They shared a common Administration Group and Workshop Support Services Group. The factory was built to manufacture propellant, Cordite in the main, for the British Army and the Royal Air Force. It did not produce propellant for the Royal Navy in World War II as the Admiralty demanded, and got, its own propellant factories.
The three explosive factories opened between December 1940 and April 1941. Explosives manufacturing survived on parts of the site until about 2000; although ROF Bishopton was privatised in the early 1980s. The whole site was extensively connected by an internal narrow-gauge railway system and also had a standard gauge connection with the network and its own internal shunting locomotives.
The privatised ROFs become known in 1984 as Royal Ordnance PLC, then in 1987 as RO Defence; and then BAE Systems Global Combat Systems Munitions. The owners of the site, announced their intention to cease manufacturing at the plant in December 1999, although BAE Systems has retained a small Environmental Test Facility and Gun Propulsion laboratory there. The rest of the area has been given over to residential housing in an area now known as Dargavel Village.
© Gordon Edgar - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission