Coal mine pit head tower photo

An excellent photo with plenty of detail. I think though that it is actually steel built, and I wonder if wood would have been strong enough to have supported two wheels?

The foot bars on the diagonal are a characteristic feature of wooden pit heads, so I think it could be - also note nature of cross bracing, steel or iron would not need to be anywhewre nere this size.

The rules required two access shafts within close proximity - I think most mines had two wheels on a single tower or two towers close together (very close together, almost touching). As I understand it only one shaft would be used at any one tie (could be wrong on that, but it fits with safety booklets I have seen bits of).

Normally the top of the shaft (the bit of the tower at ground level) would be enclosed - often in a large (flat-low) building housing the picking tables (rotating tables where people removed stones etc, later replaced by conveyor belts, originally made of rope). This one was exposed as the associated building had been demolished, the shaft may have been retained merely for ventilation however with the wheels in place an emergency rig with a block and tackle and a rope attached to an engine (loco or stationary winching engine) would allow it to be used as a rescue shaft.

Regards

Mike

Mike,

I remember being at a pit in Central Scotland in the 70s which had steam winding and electric winding on the two shafts. The electric winding brought the coal up, and put the empties back down, and the miners were carried on the steam wound cages. IIRC, the steam wound cages were a lot faster, or could be.

Jim.

Concur with Kieth, I'm 99% sure that's a steel headgear. The gussets where the girders join are typical of steel construction, as is the "T" shaped frame over the wheels. I've never seen that type of frame over a wooden headgear. The footbars on the diagonal are, I think, actually the visible part of a steel staircase, the handrails would only be inch and a half bar so would not show up on such a grainy photo. I could be wrong but I don't think so. Wooden headgears were a lot simpler. The degree of bracing is about right for a steel sructure, especially one lifting heavier skips.

The rules (Coal Mines Act ?) required two means of exit - two wheels on one headgear is still only one means of exit, ie one shaft even if it does have two cages in it. A blockage in the shaft would take both cages out of use. The other exit could be another shaft, or a drift, or an underground connection to another colliery (common where pits were close together). Where coal raising was in narrow gauge tubs, either shaft could be used for man-riding, the men went in the same cages as the tubs, the rails for which were set in the floor . NB - EITHER men OR coal on each lift, never both in the same shaft at the same time Where coal raising was by mans of skips one shaft (usually the largest) would be fitted with skips (basically a huge steel box with a hopper bottom) and the other with man-riding cages. The top of the skips were often flat and fitted with handrails for use by men in an emergency. Coal was wound a lot faster than men (coal doesn't get motion sickness). I have tried to establish whether there was any rule as to which shaft was normally used for which, but with no luck so far. Around Barnsley at least, the upcast (air out) shaft seems to have been used for manriding with coal being would in the downcast shaft. Certainly Barnsley Main and North Gawber followed this pattern.

Disused shafts could be left if required for ventilation - there *were* mobile emergency winders available but these were for use where a winding engine had failed. If a shaft was required for emergency exit I

Somewhere I've got a drawing for the wooden headgear at Crigglestone Colliery. If anyone wants a copy drop me a line at stu1968 at fsmail dot net.

Stuart.