Documentation of the historical extraction of molding sand in the Ruhr region from 1758 to 1986
Formsandgräberei im Ruhrgebiet (historische Dokumentation)
Bottrop · OberhausenNew on Amplifa
Molding Sand Pits in the Ruhr Region
This website documents the history of the molding sand pits in the Ruhr region. Molding sand was required as molding material for iron and steel casting; extraction began in 1758 with the founding of the St. Antony Hütte in Oberhausen-Osterfeld, the first industrial operation in the Ruhr region. Farmers and smallholders in Bottrop and Osterfeld initially extracted the sand by hand and transported it with horse-drawn wagons. From 1852 onward, extraction took place on an industrial scale, among others by Kleine-Brockhoff GmbH and Frau August Dickmann GmbH with a pit at the Donnerberg in Bottrop. Together with the company Wilhelm Kleinefenn, Dickmann operated a pit in the Revierpark Vonderort in an unusual verbal joint operation with a 50/50 split of profits, costs, and extraction equipment until 1965. Molding sand extraction ended on 31.08.1986.
- Site
- Bottrop
- Processes
- Iron and steel casting (historical, St. Antony Hütte, molding sand as molding material), Molding sand extraction (sand quarrying, historical 1758–1986)
- Materials
- Molding sand, Gravel, Lipperheidesand, Molding Sand
- Industries
- Foundry industry, Construction (road and railway embankment construction)
- 01
Extraction of molding sand in sand pits
- 02
Transport with field railways or horse-drawn wagons
- 03
Rail loading (connection to the Emschertal Railway from 1874)
- 04
Delivery as molding material for iron and steel casting
Materials and Extraction
Molding Sand
Used as molding material in iron and steel casting and gave the material its name.
Gravel
Extracted in the Oberhausen pit of Frau August Dickmann GmbH.
Lipperheidesand
Extracted together with gravel in Oberhausen, not for casting molds, but among other things for road and railway embankment construction.
Pits and Locations
Bottrop (Pit at the Donnerberg)
DEMolding sand pit of Frau August Dickmann GmbH
- Materials
- Molding sand
- 600-mm field railway
- Field railway locomotives
Osterfeld (Revierpark Vonderort)
DEJoint molding sand pit of Dickmann and Kleinefenn
- Materials
- Molding sand
Oberhausen
DESand pit of Frau August Dickmann GmbH (gravel and Lipperheidesand)
- Materials
- Gravel, Lipperheidesand
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron and steel casting (historical, St. Antony Hütte, molding sand as molding material)Casting | – | – | – | – | Molding sand, Iron, Steel |
| Molding sand extraction (sand quarrying, historical 1758–1986)Other | – | – | – | – | Molding sand, Gravel, Lipperheidesand |
1 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Field railway locomotive | – | – | 600-mm field railway (tipper wagon operation in the molding sand pit) | – | Bottrop (Pit at the Donnerberg) |
History of the Molding Sand Pits
- 1758
Start of molding sand extraction through the founding of the St. Antony Hütte in Oberhausen-Osterfeld (first industrial operation in the Ruhr region); first blast furnace blown in on 18.10.1758
- 1839
Founding of Frau August Dickmann GmbH with a sand pit in Oberhausen (gravel and Lipperheidesand)
- 1852
Start of molding sand extraction on an industrial scale with the founding of Kleine-Brockhoff GmbH by Franz Kleine-Brockhoff (pit in the Revierpark Vonderort)
- 1861
Existence of another sand pit at the Galgenberg in Oberhausen (until 1872)
- 1868
Entry of Frau August Dickmann GmbH into the molding sand business with the pit at the Donnerberg in Bottrop
- 1870
Acquisition of the Armeler Hof by Frau August Dickmann GmbH, whose land comprised large parts of the Bottrop molding sand pit
- 1872
Founding of the company Wilhelm Kleinefenn; joint molding sand pit with Frau August Dickmann GmbH in the Revierpark Vonderort
- 1874
First rail connection (Cologne-Minden Emschertal Railway) for the pit at the Donnerberg; connection to Bottrop-Süd station with 600-mm tipper wagons
- 1965
End of the verbal joint operation of Dickmann and Kleinefenn with a 50/50 split of profits, costs, and extraction equipment
- 1986
End of molding sand extraction on 31.08.1986