Volume Twelve - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - further aspects - The River Ely Iron Ore Wharf . . .

1885 - 1887 - The wharf is now probably less utilised for solid ballast since, around this date, steam overtook sail in numbers of vessels (and their tonnage) visiting the dock and tidal harbour. Solid ballast was progressively being superceded by water ballast which could be pumped from a series of tanks in the vessel's bilges to trim the vessel, hence, the wharf became available for upgrading and re purposing.

1887 - Iron Ore at Grangetown - The Taff Vale Railway Company has completed a stage at the eastern end of the Penarth Tidal Harbour for large vessels laden with iron ore. There is no space at Penarth Dock for the reception of iron ore, and the wharf has been constructed fitted with four lines of rails, connected with the Penarth branch of the Taff Vale, as it was found that the owners of some of the vessels carrying iron ore objected to pay dock dues. The stage is 500 ft. long, and fitted with four hydraulic cranes, capable of unshipping 400 tons of iron ore an hour. The stage will admit two large vessels being unloaded at the same time.' - Engineering [627] [716] 22nd July 1887.

1888 - Ships at the Ely Tidal Harbour iron ore wharf which within a few years was destined to become an oil importation wharf as photographed by Margaret R. Collings of 47 Bute street, Cardiff. - (repeated from Volume Six)

1888 - 1891 - During these years, construction of the new East Moors, Cardiff, iron and steel works was coincidental with the creation of the new iron-ore wharf and associated facilities. However, during this period oil tanks were built adjacent to the wharf and the iron-ore wharf, yet again, seems to have been given a dual purpose as the following newspaper report indicates.

1890 - On the 20th August the first bulk consignment of petroleum was received from Batoum (Batoum, on the Black Sea, was a part of Turkey until 1878 after which it became Russian under the Treaty of Berlin) at the wharf although two years earlier there is evidence of three oil storage tanks nearby.

1891 - 1892 - No iron ore was imported during 1891 but during 1892, 1,163 tons was imported. - Penarth Dock and Tidal Harbour Handbook of General Information - 1893.