During our summer trip we stopped in Belgium for a while. The goal was to clean up some loose ends - locations we've had in our maps for a while, but didn't have a chance to visit. I've been to Belgium in 2018, 2019, and 2020, but back then many of the now evergreen urbex locations were still kept somewhat secret (and I didn't have as many people to ask for them). HF6 was one of them. I've had it in my map, but back then I had no idea about what it looked like inside and what to expect in terms of security. I had enough locations which I knew were doable, so I focused on those. As I assume many people do, I now regret my decisions back then, wishing I had gambled a bit and visited the unknown locations. I went on this trip with three friends, and two of them had visited the HF6 power station back in 2017 or 2018 - when the lights were on and everything was intact. They did not visit the boilerhouse however, so that was our main target. I also wanted to take a look at the awful state of the turbine hall and see if there is anything left in the control room, which used to be very nice. We also knew that there was a switching station somewhere nearby with a blue control room.
I'll include a short history lesson. Steelmaking in Belgium, and more specifically along the river Meuse, dates back to the 15th century. At the end of the 18th century, John Cockerill - a british engineer - moved to Belgium and established a company which dealt in steam engines and wool-spinning machinery. A few years later, they started making steel and coke in Liége. The businesss expanded to include coal mining, blast furnace blowers, and all sorts of other machinery, but the company faced bankruptcy in the 1840s. John cockerill was dead by then and his son died of typhus, leaving the company with no direct heir. The Belgian government bought the company and formed Société anonyme John Cockerill. The company expanded further, becoming the primary european steelmaker. After WW2, the company merged with SA Ougrée-Marihaye to form SA Cockerill-Ougrée. More consolidations followed - the company merged with the Forges de la Providence, becoming Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence, and then with Esperance-Longdoz (who owned the now-demolished steel plant in Chertal and HF6) to form Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence et Espérance Longdoz, but the name got too long and it was shortened to Cockerill. Then the steel market became oversaturated and the production dropped quite a bit. Due to economical and political resons, it was decided by the government that the steel plants in Liége should be under one umbrella and Cockerill was merged with Hainaut-Sambre, creating Cockerill-Sambre. That company got bought by Usinor in the 2000s, Usinor got merged with Arbed (from Luxembourg) and Aceralia to create Arcelor, which in turn got bought by Mittal Steel in 2006 to form the final form - ArcelorMittal.
The subject of this report was commissioned by Esperance-Longdoz in 1959. The furnace was capable of producing 1200 tons of cast iron a day, double the capacity of its older neighbour, HF5, which was only 5 years older. Esperance-Longdoz had five operational blast furnaces back then. The furnace underwent a major overhaul in 1993, increasing the diameter of the furnace and the number of nozzles, bringing the daily output of HF6 to 3600 tons under optimal conditions. The furnace was mothballed in 2005, restarted for a short time in 2008, and shut down for good in 2009. The nearby HFB ended up in a similar situation, shutting down in 2011. HF6 was demolished in 2016. The power station burned blast furnace gas, but from what could find scattered around the internet, the power station remained operational even after HF6 got decommissioned. The lights inside remained on even after HF6 got blown up. At some point it was decommissined as well.
The explore was uneventful. As everything ArcelorMittal in Belgium nowadays, the entry is dummy simple and the amount of copper left is steadily decreasing. We met a few people inside - one German guy, who we had a nice chat with, and a bunch of Belgian kids, who were quiet enough not to bother us. The turbine hall was fucked with only two turbines out of the former eight or something left. The control room was mostly there, but it has seen better days. It was basically what I expected, so it wasn't much of a disappointment. The boilerhouse was much nicer with its blue boilers and control panels. Just like Blue Power Plant, the boilers had a ventilation fan on the top. Just a nice, chill explore without any running, sneaking, or climbing - almost boring. We tried to find the switchhouse, but we failed - later when I was home already I found out it was on the other side of the rails, which sucks because I really wanted to see that control room. Welp, not much I can do now.
Anyways, I think it's worth a visit for the boilerhouse, so if you like those and are in the area, check it out. On with the photos!
Thanks for reading!
I'll include a short history lesson. Steelmaking in Belgium, and more specifically along the river Meuse, dates back to the 15th century. At the end of the 18th century, John Cockerill - a british engineer - moved to Belgium and established a company which dealt in steam engines and wool-spinning machinery. A few years later, they started making steel and coke in Liége. The businesss expanded to include coal mining, blast furnace blowers, and all sorts of other machinery, but the company faced bankruptcy in the 1840s. John cockerill was dead by then and his son died of typhus, leaving the company with no direct heir. The Belgian government bought the company and formed Société anonyme John Cockerill. The company expanded further, becoming the primary european steelmaker. After WW2, the company merged with SA Ougrée-Marihaye to form SA Cockerill-Ougrée. More consolidations followed - the company merged with the Forges de la Providence, becoming Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence, and then with Esperance-Longdoz (who owned the now-demolished steel plant in Chertal and HF6) to form Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence et Espérance Longdoz, but the name got too long and it was shortened to Cockerill. Then the steel market became oversaturated and the production dropped quite a bit. Due to economical and political resons, it was decided by the government that the steel plants in Liége should be under one umbrella and Cockerill was merged with Hainaut-Sambre, creating Cockerill-Sambre. That company got bought by Usinor in the 2000s, Usinor got merged with Arbed (from Luxembourg) and Aceralia to create Arcelor, which in turn got bought by Mittal Steel in 2006 to form the final form - ArcelorMittal.
The subject of this report was commissioned by Esperance-Longdoz in 1959. The furnace was capable of producing 1200 tons of cast iron a day, double the capacity of its older neighbour, HF5, which was only 5 years older. Esperance-Longdoz had five operational blast furnaces back then. The furnace underwent a major overhaul in 1993, increasing the diameter of the furnace and the number of nozzles, bringing the daily output of HF6 to 3600 tons under optimal conditions. The furnace was mothballed in 2005, restarted for a short time in 2008, and shut down for good in 2009. The nearby HFB ended up in a similar situation, shutting down in 2011. HF6 was demolished in 2016. The power station burned blast furnace gas, but from what could find scattered around the internet, the power station remained operational even after HF6 got decommissioned. The lights inside remained on even after HF6 got blown up. At some point it was decommissined as well.
The explore was uneventful. As everything ArcelorMittal in Belgium nowadays, the entry is dummy simple and the amount of copper left is steadily decreasing. We met a few people inside - one German guy, who we had a nice chat with, and a bunch of Belgian kids, who were quiet enough not to bother us. The turbine hall was fucked with only two turbines out of the former eight or something left. The control room was mostly there, but it has seen better days. It was basically what I expected, so it wasn't much of a disappointment. The boilerhouse was much nicer with its blue boilers and control panels. Just like Blue Power Plant, the boilers had a ventilation fan on the top. Just a nice, chill explore without any running, sneaking, or climbing - almost boring. We tried to find the switchhouse, but we failed - later when I was home already I found out it was on the other side of the rails, which sucks because I really wanted to see that control room. Welp, not much I can do now.
Anyways, I think it's worth a visit for the boilerhouse, so if you like those and are in the area, check it out. On with the photos!
Thanks for reading!
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