Enigmatic Variations No.1766 – On Board by Luxor

“The wordplay in every clue generates an extra letter, not to be entered into the grid. In clue order these letters provide a name (initial and surname) and an instruction which solvers must take ON BOARD. Chambers (2016) is recommended.”

The extra letters spell J MASEFIELD HIGHLIGHT CARGOES OF DIRTY BRITISH COASTER. This is, of course, a reference to John Masefield’s ˋ1903 poem Cargoes, from the collection Salt-Water Poems and Ballads. The coaster’s cargo (singular in the poem) is TYNE COAL, ROAD-RAILS, PIG-LEAD, FIREWOOD, IRON-WARE, and CHEAP TIN TRAYS.

[Insert satirical remark about contemporary shipping and the Strait of Hormuz.]

‘Fun’ facts
The last coal mine on Tyneside closed in 1993.
Rail fares rose 20% in real terms between 1995 and 2018.
The term ‘pig-lead’ comes from medieval casting layouts, in which molten metal flowed down a central channel (‘sow’) into mold cavities (‘pigs’) set off to the side like a litter of piglets.
The global rate of deforestation is c.10.9 million hectares per year.
Iron Man first appeared in Tales of Suspense #39 in 1963.
The use of tin began in the Middle East and Balkans around 3000 BCE.

Can you tell that there is a sizable gap between when I solved the puzzle and when I am writing this so I can’t remember much about the process and have to temporise?

In any event, I do remember enjoying it, so thank you Luxor!

As always, please let me know if anything isn’t clear.