A Record for Posterity – underground haulage at Thoresby Colliery.

Nottinghamshire, 2015

Colin E Mountford

All information, diagrams and photographs courtesy of UK Coal (Thoresby) Ltd

All information, diagrams and photographs courtesy of UK Coal (Thoresby) Ltd

Thoresby Colliery (SK 636676) at Edwinstowe, about four miles north east of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, was at the beginning of 2015 one of the last three deep-mine collieries left in Britain. It and Kellingley Colliery in South Yorkshire were the last collieries owned by UK Coal, and both were scheduled to close by the end of 2015. The third was Hatfield Colliery in South Yorkshire, which it was hoped would survive until the summer of 2016, but in the event was closed abruptly at the end of June 2015 when it lost its contract for the purchase of its coal. 

The sinking of two shafts 21 feet in diameter at Thoresby was begun by the Bolsover Colliery Co Ltd in August 1925. Work was held up by the General Strike of 1926, but coal was reached on 5th May 1928. Sinking ceased at 580.9 metres and production began later in 1928, the main production seam being the Top Hard. The mine boundaries in the north-west and south were set by geological constraints, whilst adjacent collieries subsequently closed formed the remaining boundaries. No.1 Shaft was used for man-riding, materials and the intake air, with No.2 Shaft used for coal winding, latterly using a skip (a hopper) carrying a 13.3 tonne payload, together with exhausting the return air. In 1947 the colliery passed to the National Coal Board’s East Midland Division No.3 Area and two years later a major development began, with the gauge underground converted from 2ft 4in to 3ft 0in. In the next two years No.1 Shaft was deepened to 691.5 metres (2,267 feet) and No.2 Shaft to 688 metres, to just below the Top Hard seam. A dedicated locomotive horizon was developed to serve the Top Hard and in 1949 seven new 100hp Hudswell Clarke diesels were delivered. In the years up to 1974 the diesel fleet rose to 22, all but one being 100hp locos built by Hudswell, Clarke & Co Ltd and The Hunslet Engine Co Ltd, both in Leeds. In 1977 the development of the extensive Parkgate seam began, by driving drifts down to it. This was seen as the future of the colliery, the more so when Ollerton Colliery closed in September 1994 and its Parkgate reserves were allocated to Thoresby. By the 1970s two of the major problems facing the coal industry were the efficient handling of materials and equipment underground and the length of time spent by men travelling between the shaft bottom and the coal faces. One of the solutions put forward to tackle the former was rubber-tyred battery-electric locomotives, with four-wheeled locomotives able to negotiate curves as severe as a radius of eight metres and gradients of up to 1 in 10, whereas diesel locomotives with steel wheels were restricted to no gradients more severe than 1 in 15.

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Timeline for Thoresby Colliery, near Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire August 1925 Sinking of two shafts begun by Bolsover Colliery Co Ltd.

5th May 1928 Coal reached; sinking ceased at 580.9 metres. No.1 Shaft (downcast) used for man-riding and materials, No.2 (upcast) for skip winding of coal.

From 1949 Major reconstruction of colliery; No.1 Shaft deepened to 691.5 metres, No.2 Shaft to 688 metres; rail gauge converted from 2ft 4ins to 3ft 0ins; loco horizon driven into Top Hard seam, with seven new 100 h.p. diesels built by Hudswell, Clarke & Co Ltd of Leeds.

By 1977 Number of diesels risen to 22, all but one being 100 h.p., built either by Hudswell Clarke or The Hunslet Engine Co Ltd, also of Leeds.

1977 Development of Parkgate seam begun, by driving drifts down to it. Acquired its first 4-wheeled ‘Pony’ rubber-tyred battery-electric locomotive built by Clayton Equipment Ltd of Hatton in Derbyshire for handling materials. This was 15 h.p. and weighed 4.2 tonnes. Had 15 of these by 1983.

1985 Purchased first of five 50 h.p. ‘Bo-Bo’/8-wheeled battery-electric locos by Clayton. Also fitted with rubber tyres and weighed 10 tonnes. Last diesel locomotives abandoned in the pit about 1987.

1989 Acquired first of three 150 h.p. ‘Bo-Bo’/8-wheeled battery electric locos built by Clayton. These weighed 21 tonnes and were not fitted with rubber tyres.

2009 Production in Parkgate seam ended. Development of Deep Soft seam, approximately 60 metres below the shaft bottom but above the Parkgate seam. Production in Deep Soft seam begun in March 2010.

2009 Acquired first of three 150 h.p.‘Co-Co’/12-wheeled battery electric locos built by Clayton, fitted with polyurethane tyres. These weighed 30 tonnes, could climb gradients of 1 in 10, where they could haul up to 29.5 tonnes.

2013 Produced 1,357,000 tonnes of coal, mostly sent by rail to Cottam and West Burton Power Stations in Nottinghamshire. Daw Mill Colliery in Warwickshire lost after fire; UK Coal in financial difficulties.

2014 Produced 1,233,000 tonnes. World price of coal £70 per tonne. Government grants to effect a ‘managed closure’ of the three remaining collieries in Britain, Hatfield and Kellingley in North Yorkshire and Thoresby.

February 2015 World price of coal has fallen to £41 per tonne; Hatfield closes, 29th June.

10th July 2015 Production at Thoresby ended; 700,000 tons produced in 2015. Colliery closed, 24th July. Kellingley closed, 18th December 2015. 3

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Thoresby latterly used three types of battery electric locomotives underground, all built by Clayton Equipment Ltd, initially at Hatton in Derbyshire and latterly at Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire:-

(i) ‘Pony’ locomotives, 4-wheeled with rubber tyres, 15 h.p./72 volts and weighing 4.2 tonnes ; 15 built between 1977 and 1983; used for handling materials.

(ii) ‘Bo-Bo’ locomotives, in two types:(a) 8-wheeled with rubber tyres, 50 h.p./114 volts; five built between 1985 and 1987.(b) 8-wheeled with steel tyres, 150 h.p., three built between 1989 and 1990.

(iii) ‘Co-Co’ locomotives, 12-wheeled with polyurethane tyres, 150 h.p./200 volts, 30 tonnes, three built between 2009-2010.

Bo-Bos and Co-Cos were used as required for both materials and man-riding. The track gauge was 3ft 0in.

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Colours indicate route restrictions, namely(i) Light and dark green – all locomotives(ii) Red – Pony and Bo-Bo only(iii) Blue – Pony only. Note that all locomotives were limited to six vehicles, full or empty, and that while the maximum speed for the larger locomotives was six m.p.h., it was only three for Ponies’, and that speed over points was 3 m.p.h. for Ponies and Bo-Bos, it was only 1 m.p.h. for Co-Co locomotives.

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The ‘Ponies’ were numbered with an E prefix. E7, CE B1850B/1979, in the Pit Bottom Loco Garage, known as ‘The Crypt’ and subsequently abandoned because of gas, on 20th September 2011.

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E9, CE B2274/1981, now 34 years old, parked near the F Drift junction, at the beginning of the visit underground on 5th February 2015. Latterly the ‘Ponies’ were not garaged, but just left somewhere convenient.

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This side view shows the Pony basic design, a single-ended loco, with huge buffer beams to aid re-railing. The rubber tyres can be easily seen. The wheels were 495mm across flanges and the wheelbase was 940mm, meaning they could traverse very sharp curves. The bodywork shows the effects of hard working conditions underground.

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The rear view of the same locomotive. Note the Hudson automatic coupler, mounted centrally, and the remains of the red ‘safety stripes’. 10

Some examples of different types of materials handled underground – two trams of steel mesh parked in the F Drift, not far from E9, again on 5th February 2015. This mesh pack was used for strengthening the roofs of roadways, together with roof bolts, in the development phase of a new coal face. It would be taken by a Bo-Bo locomotive from the shaft bottom to the outbye end of the face’s supply gate. From here either the Bo-Bo loco or a ‘Pony’ loco would take it up the gate to the face end, where it would be unloaded.

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This tram, recorded on the surface on 17th June 2014, is stacked with ‘link locks’ a system of interlocking wooden cribs which were installed to provide a supplementary system for supporting the roofs of roadways or retreating faces. This would be handled similarly to the trams of steel mesh in the previous slide. 12

Steel pipes on the surface waiting to go underground, also on 17th June 2014. 13

Wooden railway sleepers already fixed with flat-bottomed rail chairs for track renewal work underground. ‘Main line’ track utilised 12ft lengths of 60lb per yard rail (a figure limited by the height of the shaft cage), laid on wooden sleepers in stone ballast. 14

A standard mine car, initially used for carrying coal until replaced by conveyors, and then utilised for a wide variety of purposes underground after being cut down to facilitate easier access.

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Several vehicles used underground were designed by the colliery and either made in the colliery’s workshops or by M-Tek Engineering Ltd of Nottingham. One of the latter was this stone dust hopper wagon, used for spraying limestone dust on to roadways to suppress coal dust and prevent it creating and spreading carbon monoxide in the event of an explosion, here parked in the 4th Drift siding, 10th October 2014.

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Another wagon made by M-Tek Engineering Ltd – a wagon designed by the colliery for carrying steel roof chocks, 5th February 2015.

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The rear view of the vehicle designed for carrying roof chocks, 5th February 2015.

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En route to the Deep Soft Charging Station in loco Co-Co 2: the escape points at the gravel drag in the 4th Drift, looking downhill, 5th February 2015.

19

The Deep Soft Charging Station, No.5 on Fig.2 (slide 5), about 1½ miles inbye from the shaft bottom on 5th February 2015. This was situated near the first face to be developed in this seam in 2009.

20

Co-Co loco 2, Clayton B4482B, built in 2009, parked in the passbye near the Deep Soft Charging Station, 5th February 2015. Overall, these locomotives were 1778mm high (to the lifting eyes on the battery containers), 1480mm wide and 11,133mm over coupler faces. They weighed 30 tonnes and their twelve wheels had not rubber but polyurethane tyres, which meant that they could once again climb gradients up to 1 in 10, where they could haul a maximum load of 29.5 tonnes. Note that the passbye was illuminated; single track roadways were normally unlit.

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The No.2 end of Co-Co 2. These locomotives were ‘double-ended’, that is, they could be driven from either end. Only locomotives and parts up to the size of a ‘Pony’ loco could go into a shaft cage to go underground. Bigger machinery like these locomotives had to be dismantled and the parts slung underneath the cage. At the pit bottom these had to be brought back to the horizontal and then re-assembled. These operations of course involved major Health & Safety regulations and risk assessment statements and were work done at weekends.

22

The cabs at each end of a Co-Co loco were identical. This shows the centrally-mounted electronic display, with the upper dial being the speedometer and the lower half-dials being the air pressure displays for Straight Air, Brake Cylinder, Main Reservoir and the Emergency Pipe. The rectangular display below these showed the locomotive’s status. The locomotive’s mileage (11,409) and operating hours (2,295) are also displayed. The photograph was taken in September 2011.

23

Looking north up the 4th Drift towards the passbye at the top, with Co-Co 2 and a parked man-riding train in the distance on 5th February 2015. Note the thick layer of limestone dust, especially on the floor. With most loco wheels fitted with rubber or polyurethane tyres, rails did not get shiny.

24

The ‘split points’, or ‘catch points’, a safety device used to de-rail runaways, in the 4th Drift looking downhill, on 5th February 2015.

25

One end of Co-Co 2, Clayton B4482B built in 2009, attached to the 11am 3-car man-riding train near to the paddy station at the 4th Drift on 5th February 2015. The cars were also built by M-Tek Engineering Ltd of Sheffield.

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The cars were fitted with bogies and air brakes were and capable of holding up to 24 men. Because these travelled at a maximum of only 6 m.p.h., they were much more basic than the gondola cars used on high-speed man-riding trains at other collieries.

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One of the colliery’s two Ambulance Cars, parked in the passbye at the 4th Drift on 5th February 2015, with ‘Pony’ E7, Clayton B1850B built in 1981, beyond. Rebuilt from a man-riding car in the colliery workshops and painted white, it was ready to be taken at a moment’s notice to wherever it was needed. Various of the colliery’s staff had first aid qualifications.

28

The three former mine cars, filled with concrete, used for the weekly brake tests on the locomotives in traffic, also in the long passbye east of the 4th Drift Locomotive Maintenance Garage, with ‘Pony’ E2, Clayton B1504A of 1977, beyond on 5th February 2015.

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E2, Clayton B1504A built in 1977 and at 37 years old the oldest ‘Pony’ at the colliery, in traffic and awaiting its next call to duty on 5th February 2015.

30

The rear of the Pit Bottom Loco Garage, with E15, Clayton B3045B of 1983, the last new ‘Pony’ loco to be delivered to Thoresby, undergoing maintenance on 10th November 2011.

31

Co-Co 1, Clayton B4482A, built in 2009, undergoing weekly maintenance following its brake tests in the 4th Drift Maintenance Garage (location 3 on Fig.1) on 5th February 2015.

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Looking north up the 1 in 21 gradient of the 4th Drift from the 4th Drift Loco Maintenance Garage, with freshly ballasted track, 5th February 2015.

33

The 4th Drift Charging Station, where batteries for ‘Pony’ (further from camera) and Bo-Bo locomotives (nearest to camera) were charged, on 5th February 2015. Note the hoists for lifting the battery containers between the locomotives and the charging tables.

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Having got off Co-Co 2 at the 4th Drift paddy station, we walked up the 4th Drift past the long passbye (slides 23 to 33), passing the Loco Maintenance Garage (3 on diagram) to the battery Charging Station (2 on diagram). We then walked up to the Water Dam, passing the long dead-end siding on our right and the intersections with the bottom endless rope haulage to reach the Co-Co Charging Station (1 on diagram).  We then walked uphill along the route of the coal conveyor to No.2 Shaft to where a large electro-magnet was located over the belt to collect metal waste and deposit it into a mine car operated by direct rope haulage before cutting over to the former downhill 3rd Drift, with its abandoned rope haulage, and No.1 Shaft to ride back to the surface.

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A barrier known as a ‘Manchester Gate’, again installed to prevent runaways. It was operated hydraulically, using water.

36

The first of the locomotives and vehicles in the dead end siding north of the 4th Drift Charging Station – Bo-Bo 3, Clayton B3224C, built in 1985. This was a 50 h.p. machine, here minus its battery after being withdrawn from traffic in 2014 and was being used as a source of spares. Its rubber-tyred wheels are clearly visible.

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Bo-Bo 1, Clayton B3224B, also built in 1985, attached to two of the mine cars weighted with concrete, on 17th June 2014. The arrival of these locomotives saw the withdrawal of the remaining diesel locomotives still working at the colliery.

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The rear cab of 50hp Bo-Bo1, Clayton B3224B, on 17th June 2014. Amongst the wealth of detail, note the sandbox sited neatly behind the cab.

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All the couplings linking a Bo-Bo locomotive (to the right) with a man-riding car. Fitted centrally are the Hudson couplers, which connected automatically upon contact. On either side of the couplers is a heavy duty safety chain, which is lifted over the large hooks on the locomotive’s buffer beam. Finally there are the air hoses, which enable the loco driver to apply the air brakes as required. Note the hook and chain on the locomotive for securing an air hose when not in use.

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At the end of the siding was BB8, a 150 h.p. Bo-Bo. This was one of three of this CB21 design which the colliery ordered in 1989-90. As can be seen, it was a very different design from the 50 h.p. loco and had conventional steel tyres and clasp brakes. The arrival of the Co-Co locos ten years later resulted in a decision to move them all to Daw Mill Colliery in Warwickshire via overhaul back at Claytons. Two had been overhauled and sent to Daw Mill by early in 2013.

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The last of the three was built as Clayton B3591/1900, rebuilt as Clayton C4521.3. Here it stands on the test track at Clayton’s works on 13th February 2013, photographed by R.D.Darvill. Nine days later Daw Mill caught fire and on 7th March the colliery was abandoned. It was the decided to return the loco to Thoresby, where it arrived on 16th May 2013. On the second day in traffic it suffered a serious runaway and was damaged beyond economic repair.

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It was one of only a handful of underground locomotives to carry a name. On 4th October 2012 Clayton’s works received a visit from HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and he kindly agreed that several locomotives there under repair or construction could carry the DUKE OF YORK name. The nameplate was acquired by one of the colliery’s employees when the colliery closed.

43

Trams carrying heavy steel fabrications, also in this 4th Drift dead end siding on 5th February 2015. Trams for heavy work were fitted with bogies and smaller wheels.

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Another similar tram carrying a heavy steel cylinder casting in the same siding on 5th February 2015. These two photographs show the loads of heavy materials that the locomotives were called upon to haul.

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Two trams fitted to carry conveyor belting and made in the colliery’s workshops. In the last forty years of the coal industry conveyor belting was increasingly used underground to carry coal to the shaft, and men were also allowed to ‘ride the belt’ (the belt could be loaded or empty) to reduce travelling time. Long lengths of belt were difficult to move underground.

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‘Pony’ loco E6, built by Clayton in 1979, works number B1850A, parked in the headshunt up to the Water Dam on 5th February 2015. Water from the abandoned workings in the Top Hard seam was held back behind a dam wall, with some being allowed through to be pumped to the surface. Note the telephone on the wall.

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One of the colliery’s Emergency Fire Fighting cars, parked near the Water Dam. Again made in the colliery workshops, the container held a range of fire-fighting equipment ready for immediate deployment in an emergency.

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More heavy duty trams near the Water Dam, this time carrying bags of ‘Pozament’, used for sealing old roadway stoppings, on 5th February 2015.

49

The electric hauler at the summit of the incline which operated the direct rope haulage used to remove coal spillage from the sump of No.2 Shaft, on 5th February 2015. Direct rope haulage used a single rope, hauling up and lowering down alternately, here hauling the mine cars to No.1 Shaft for raising to the surface.

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The rope of the direct haulage for coal spillage going under the ventilation doors across the roadway down to No.2 Shaft, 5th February 2015.

51

The Co-Co Charging Station and Garage (location 1 on Fig.1, slide 34) on 5th February 2015, created by converting the redundant former 3rd Drift roadway serving the abandoned Parkgate seam. At the far end is Co-Co 3, Clayton B4482C/2010, withdrawn from traffic in 2014 when it needed repairs and then used as a source of spares to repair Co-Cos Nos 1 and 2. Note all the limestone dust on the floor.

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The electrical equipment cabinets in the Co-Co

Charging Station and Garage.

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A bottom endless rope haulage was used to remove a mine car filled with scrap metal from an electro-magnet suspended over the coal conveyor carrying coal to No.2 Shaft. This prevented this waste contaminating this coal, destined for burning at West Cottam Power Station not far away. This shows the electric hauler used to operate this haulage.

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Looking back towards the electric hauler from the rope side, 5th February 2015.

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On the left is the large magnet, suspended above the conveyor belt. When full and using the access provided by the wooden platform, it would be swung over above the mine car and the power switched off to allow the scrap to drop into the waiting mine car. The haulage would then take the mine car to No.1 Shaft for dispatch to the surface.

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Another view of the same location, this time clearly showing the two ropes of the bottom endless haulage, 5th February 2015.

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Looking down the former 3rd Drift from the closed Parkgate seam, towards the No.1 Shaft. Note the boarded walkway and the ‘handrails’ on both sides, made from ropes.

58

Unexpectedly, two Thoresby locomotives were saved for preservation. The ‘Pony’ locomotives could fit into a cage without having to be dismantled, and so could easily be transferred between underground and surface. It was decided to donate one each to two local mining museums.The first was given to the Bilsthorpe Heritage Museum, opened in July 2014 and dedicated mostly to mining and in particular Bilsthorpe Colliery, closed in 1997. The locomotive chosen was E2, Clayton B1504A/1977, the very first ‘Pony’ to be delivered to Thoresby 38 years earlier. She arrived at Bilsthorpe on 1st August 2015.

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The second, by co-incidence, was the very last ‘Pony’ to come to Thoresby, E15, Clayton B3045B, delivered in May 1983, which was given to the Pleasley Pit Trust, based at the former Pleasley Colliery in Derbyshire near the border with Nottinghamshire, closed in 1983. The colliery site is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument, with the Friends of Pleasley Pit, now the Pleasley Pit Trust, formed in 1995. E15 arrived at the Pleasley Pit and Country Park on 8th October 2015.

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The colliery produced 1,357,000 tonnes in 2013 and 1,223,000 tonnes in 2014, most of it being sent by rail to Cottam and West Burton Power Stations, 3½ miles apart on the River Trent near Retford. In May 2014 the colliery’s workforce supporting the underground railway system and its locomotives comprised loco haulage teams on three of the four shifts, nine roadlayers (3 per shift), six loco fitters (2 per shift) and three loco electricians (one per shift). By this time the colliery was working between Mondays and Fridays four overlapping shifts, beginning with the ‘day shift’ at 5.30am, the ‘afternoon shift’ at 11.00am, the ‘twilight shift’ and the ‘night shift’. Each shift was under the direct control of a shift manager, whose office was on the surface near No.1 Shaft, and he decided the work to be done on that shift. This specifically included work which would need a locomotive and which locomotives were to be used. There was a shift on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with maintenance shifts on Saturday morning and afternoon. On Sunday a coal-producing overtime shift was operated. The equivalent of a colliery’s former mechanical and electrical engineers was now the ‘Head of Infrastructure’. However, the underground fire at Daw Mill Colliery and its closure on 7th March 2013 threatened the financial collapse of UK Coal, and in addition, the successful development of shale gas in the United States, and the consequent flood of U.S. coal on to the world market saw a collapse in world coal prices, which continued into 2014 as the core demand from both India and China also began to weaken; the world market price for coal in February 2014 was £70 per tonne and it continued to fall. On 10th April 2014 Reuters announced that the British Government was to give UK Coal a £10 million loan to help to fund a ‘managed closure’ of Thoresby and Kellingley Collieries. At Thoresby the Deep Soft 4 face was nearing the end of its production, but DS 5 was nearly ready to start. It was thus agreed that this should go ahead, and the new face, which would be the last, began production in June 2014. Man-riding trains were now running to the paddy station near Deep Soft 3, but to provide a new paddy station near Deep Soft 5 would have meant up-grading the roadway and the track and the cost could not be justified. So the men had to walk the 1200 metres to DS5, where they could ‘ride the belt’ in the main gate to reach the end of the face.

By February 2015 there were five ‘Pony’ locomotives available for use, E2 (curiously the first to be delivered in 1977), E6, E7, E9 and E15 (the last to be delivered). Three more, E8, E10 and E12, were out of use underground. Three of the 50 h.p. Bo-Bos, 1, 4 and 5, were available, with 3 laid aside after being withdrawn in 2014 and used for spares. The 150 h.p. Bo-Bo DUKE OF YORK was parked alongside it, also being used for spares. By mid-June 2015 the ‘Ponies’ available had been reduced to four and the Bo-Bos to one, BB4. All three Co-Co locos were present, but 3 had been withdrawn after needing major repairs, leaving 1 and 2 to handle the traffic.  With the ‘managed closure’ underway, the colliery’s workforce supporting the railway system had fallen to two loco haulage teams, six roadlayers, four loco fitters and three loco electricians, with the colliery then employing a total of 388 people, surface and underground. The world market price for coal had now fallen to £41 per tonne. In the event Hatfield Colliery found itself unable to find a market for its coal, Government funding was stopped and the colliery was closed abruptly on 29th June 2015. In its last months Thoresby was dispatching up to 25 full trains of 21 bogie hoppers a week via Freightliner Heavy Haul. It ceased production on the Deep Soft 5 face on 10th July 2015, officially closing a fortnight later, having produced 700,000 tonnes in 2015. The last colliery, Kellingley, closed on 19th December 2015. Thus the deep mine British coal industry came to an end, a once-great industry no longer wanted.  It is a rare experience for an industrial historian to know that he/she is witnessing the end of a great national industry which made possible the first Industrial Revolution and continued to be important until the end of the twentieth century. It stimulated the development of the first steam locomotives early in the nineteenth century, and British engineers continued to meet the challenge of providing locomotives for the harsh work underground right into the twenty-first century. It is sad that all this is now history. In attempting this final record of a typical British colliery’s underground haulages and locomotives, I am very grateful for all the help so willingly given to me by Steve Davidson, Past President, FNEIMME, who formerly worked for UK Coal, and by UK Coal Thoresby Ltd, Derek Main, Thoresby Colliery’s last Manager and Barry Graham, its last Head of Infrastructure. Without all their support and help this final record could not have been attempted.

Closed 24th July 2015