When empty wagons were received at the quarry prior to loading it was necessary to check that the bodies contained no foreign material e.g. scrap metal. This check was carried out because when the train arrived at the steelworks the ironstone was tipped and passed through a crushing machine as part of ore preparation. The presence of any foreign matter amongst the ironstone could result in significant damage to the crusher. The elevated platform provided a quarry worker with a high vantage point to check the wagons as they were pushed past by the locomotive. Any foreign material spotted was removed before wagon filling.