An industrial film produced by Turners Film Productions for the Tees Conservancy Commissioners showing the various stages in the construction of the new Tees Dock as a pre-stressed concrete quay built along the river Tees at Lackenby near Middlesbrough. The film shows the making of the various pre-cast concrete cylinders, beams and decking on site, the digging of the foundations and installation of fender blocks, and finally the laying of a working surface that includes rail tracks, coping...

An industrial film produced by Turners Film Productions for the Tees Conservancy Commissioners showing the various stages in the construction of the new Tees Dock as a pre-stressed concrete quay built along the river Tees at Lackenby near Middlesbrough. The film shows the making of the various pre-cast concrete cylinders, beams and decking on site, the digging of the foundations and installation of fender blocks, and finally the laying of a working surface that includes rail tracks, coping blocks and cast iron bollards. Title: A Prestressed Concrete Quay Construction for the Tees Conservancy Commissioners Title: Consulting engineers Sir William Halcrow & Partners, London. Consultants for he prestressed concrete superstructure AJ & JD Harris, London Title: Contractors The Demolition and Construction Co. Ltd, London The film opens on a large map of County Durham and the River Tees, including Middlesbrough and Teesmouth, hanging from a wall in an office. A man appears, stands beside it and looks down on a section showing the dock area at Lackenby, the proposed site for the new Teesport and dock area. A cross-section drawing shows the designs and layout of a quayside and piers. The various sections are pointed out and described by the off-screen commentator. A large sign at the entrance to the construction site at the southern end of the dock reads ‘The Demolition & Construction Co. Ltd’. General views follow of various temporary administrative and service buildings. Men and machines are at work in the large concrete casting bays. A man pushes a drag scoop up a steep mound of aggregate, the content pouring into a mixer. A second man wearing a face mask stands at the high-level controls of the mixer as another type of aggregate is added to the mix. A bucket of concrete mixture rises on a conveyor and drops into in a horizontal pan mixer. The content is mixed to form the strengthened concrete. In a laboratory on site two men test a sample of hardened concrete, squeezing it in a large vice to test its strength. A man fills a small cylinder with concrete. Two men push a large concrete cylindrical mould on a rail mounted bogie into a covered area. A bucket of concrete rises slowly on a conveyor and is poured over a filling cone into the mould below. A man introduces intense vibrations through a long stick to help compact the mixture. In the Bar Stripping Bay one man pulls on a rope while the other pushes the mould still on the bogie along a track. At this point the pre-stressed bars are removed and cleaned by a workman. The following day the bogie is moved to the Mould Stripping Bay where the metal outer and inner moulds are removed revealing the cylindrical concrete underneath. The finished units are pushed into a shed allowing them to dry and mature.   The bogie is winched to the stacking yard and a man gives instructions for the crane driver who stacks the cylindrical concrete. The bogie and mould are then cleaned, oiled and re-assembled ready for the next job. General view of the casting bay seen previously and workmen producing both main beam and deck slabs with pre-fabricated mould and re-enforced steel bars. A monorail hopper travels across the yard and pours the concreate into a mould. A high-frequency vibrator attached to the main beam mould helps the compacting of the concrete. Vibrating poles are used in the deck slabs. The following day the side-bars are removed and, following further drying, the concrete beams and slabs are moved to the Stacking Yards by crane ready for use. In the Stacking Yard an engineer works to re-enforce the concrete with the use of steel rods through the concrete and stressing the rods using a pressure pump. The sequence ends with him cutting the ends off. The film changes to a cross-section plan showing the construction of quay foundations with three cylindrical piers dug into the riverbed. General view of a bailey bridge construction on the water from which the construction work is carried out. General view of a number of larger and smaller cranes moving and loading various metal sections. A large crane moves a 7ft diameter steel tube into position on the bailey bridge, lowering it through a circular opening down into the water below. A large tubing-machine is also used to help move and position it correctly. Next, a pump is then used to remove the river water before an excavator is lowered to dig into the riverbed 80ft below the level of the platform. A workman stands on a concrete bucket that is being lowered into the hole. A number of pre-cast concrete tubing is brought to the site by railway. The concrete mixture used to cement the tubes together is made nearby. One of the concrete tubes is lowered down the excavated hole. The mixing cement is poured in before the next tube is lowered into position. Nearby another workman wraps PVC tape around pre-stressed vertical steel bars. Nearby other workmen attach the wrapped bars to a lifting-spider. A crane lifts the spider into the air and lowers it down into the shaft into the holes in the tops of the tubing. The cables are anchored with nuts. Two men are lowered on a platform and they use hand pumps to stress the bars in position. Ducting grout is then pumped over the joints. Back on the platform, a digger drops a mixture of aggregate, cement and sand grout into the hole. Additional material is dropped down filling the remainder hole. The steel tube encasing the concrete pier is removed by the tubing machine and hydraulic jacks. A cross section of drawing of a fender block shows various section cuts to a large metal shutter and socket for a fender block sitting on the ground. A diver jumps into the river and begins to move a bearing ring in position under the water.  One half of a sealing ring is lowered into the water. The metal shutter and socket seen previously are lowered into position to be fitted into place by the divers. The steel frame is added to the top and a pump is used to remove water from the structure. The reinforced cage arrives on site by train and is lowered around the structure by crane and a number of workmen. The pre-stressed ducts are added followed by the concrete, which is poured from a bottom discharge skip. Once dried, the side forms are removed and placed on the works platform ready to be cleaned and re-used. General views follow  of a fender block now complete in the water and smaller centre and rear blocks under construction and possibly filmed in time-lapse. With the platform now removed, there are views of the finished fender blocks in position in the water. The film cuts to show a large crane moving one of the large superstructure beams into position between two of the fenders. Additional beam sections are bought onto site by railway. In position pre-stressed cables are fed through both the beam and fender sections with wrapping added to the open sections ready for concreting. Hand pumps are used again to stress the cabling into position. Deck slabs are lowered into position by crane followed by a view of their inter-woven pattern. The film cuts to a view underneath the dock. Duct plugs are passed through the transverse stressing piles and attached to a pump which are then inflated. The decking joints are filled with sand cement mortar. Twelve-wire cables are placed through the structure and are stressed by hand-pump. The cable ducts are filled with cement for sealing. With the main structure now complete, the quay facing section is lowered into position. Men attach the structure to the quay before more concrete is poured. Pre-cast coping block and cast iron bollards are fixed to the quay facing. Rubber fenders are lowered and attached to the fender blocks. On the shore-side, a reinforced concrete service gallery is constructed in 30ft sections with an inner shuttle moving along the gallery allowing the roof and sides to be filled with concrete in one pour. On the main decking area an 18 inch layer of mixed concrete is poured and smoothed to allow the installation of mobile crane tracks. General views showing men working to install the new crane track.  The final part of the construction is the laying of a 6 inch thick reinforced concrete wearing surface which is poured on by digger and smoothed. Travelling shot along the 3250ft length of the finished quay, followed by a view travelling forward from the sea to the new quay, closing in on the construction of a warehouse. The film ends with shots from a boat travelling underneath the dock. Title: Steel formwork Stelmo Ltd. Deck stressing system Cable Covers Ltd. Beam stressing system PSC Equipment Ltd. Superstructure tendons Rylands Bros Ltd. Title: Cylinder stressing McCalls Macalloy Ltd. Grouting and bentonite process Cementation Co. Ltd. Railing installation Industrial Siding Ltd. Rail and crane tracks T.W. Ward Ltd.