Coal Mining

Further exploration is precluded by the collapse of the roof of the adit in this Cheshire colliery. This mine worked through a number of adits from the first half of the nineteenth century until final closure in 1925.

In the engine house at Astley Green is the largest steam winding engine ever used in the Lancashire Coalfield. Built by Yates & Thom in 1912, the twin tandem compound engine delivers 3,300 hp. The steel lattice headgear for Number 1 Shaft is the only colliery headgear remaining in Lancashire. The structure, which is over 100 feet high, was built by Head Wrightson & Co. in 1912 and replaced the original wooden shaft sinking headgear.

The Hesketh Pit of Chatterley Whitfield colliery forlornly awaits its fate. The shaft was sunk in 1914 although the colliery dates back to 1863. It is 32 years since the colliery closed and 15 years since the mining museum closed. There seems little hope that funding will ever be found to conserve the structures that are rapidly decaying.

A typical small licensed mine that was once quite common. Silverdale, North Staffordshire, March 1982

A modern colliery colliery near Xiahuayuan in Hebei Province, about two hours travel west of Beijing, shot from a train window.

Crossing a frozen river in a desert landscape, a trainload of spoil pushes up onto the high tip at the Sandaoling opencast mine. Taken at almost exactly the same moment as this shot by channel packet.

Coal mine at the northern end of the Nanpiao mining area in Liaoning Province.

Evening at the Vreoci coal washery, Serbia.

John Darling Colliery of The Broken Hill Proprietary Co Ltd, c1937. The colliery was situated 12 miles south of Newcastle. The sinking of the two 22ft diameter shafts commenced in 1925. Both shafts were lined with concrete apart from 20ft at the surface. The Victoria Tunnel seam was reached on June 10, 1927, at a depth of 650ft, with a thickness of 10ft 3in, of which 5ft 9in was workable. In all, eight seams were proved, with a total thickness of 130ft. The average daily output in 1937 was 2,400 tons hand mined from the Victoria Seam (2,150 tons) and the Borehole Seam (350 tons). Pillars were worked simultaneously with the bords, resulting in almost the whole of the seam being extracted.

This culvert carries a stream under the spoil tip of Little Cannel Pit, Aspull. The nineteenth century brickwork is beginning to fail and the pressure of the waste above has distorted the profile in some lengths. What will happen when it inevitably collapses?

Steaming pipework and equipment at the Vreoci coal washery.

Clipstone Colliery closed in April 2003 but the Grade 2 listed headstocks and winding house remain. The headstocks dominate the district and are said to be the highest in Europe and third highest in the world.

Silverdale, North Staffordshire, March 1982

The Vreoci area of Serbia has extensive opencast coal workings as well as deep mines. The brown coal deposits are of great thickness as can be seen in this view across the pit to one of the draglines loading coal onto a conveyor. The size of this machine is evident when compared with the orange coloured excavator.

Sunset action in the Jalainur opencast mine, Mongolian Autonomous Region.

Beringen Colliery closed in 1989 and part of the site is now used as a mining museum. The second shaft headgear does not seem to have much attention lavished upon it and the roof over the sheaves has been removed.

A very pleasant visit to the preserved colliery site at Pleasley where the volunteers were most accommodating and informative. The view here is from the driver's seat at the Lilleshall Company built winding engine for the downcast shaft.

The headframes at the Zhangxin mine near Jixi are reminiscent of UK practice.