AB16/125 Shearer (Anderton Shearer Loader)

[dazb]

Coalfield Strike 1970.
Correspondence relating to the miners' strike of 1970 including letters from the Department of Health and Social Security about striking miners returning to work, ballot for industrial action and state benefits. Minutes of Special Area Executive Council Meeting, National Executive Committee meeting and reports of other meetings. Copies of The Miner, numbers eighteen and thirty-three.

Just one other newspaper's reporting for Staffs area, over a few years before NPLA, I am guessing that there were very likely quite a few more than mentioned here
Evening Sentinel September 26th 1960. Late Final.

A strike occurred today at Mossfield colliery when 20 fillers stopped work in the Bull Hurst seam, the Holly Lane district was unaffected. More on this article is on this page in the "Sentinel"

Evening Sentinel July 3rd 1961 Page 5.
Resolve mining differences without strike war. An appeal to employers and employees, in the mining industry, by Sid Ford in his presidential address to the NUM conference. Since nationalisation about 20 million tons have been lost through unofficial action, while over the same period the NCB has had to import 26 million tons.

Evening Sentinel May 14th 1962 Page 1.
Silverdale miners still out on unofficial strike over Power Loading agreement. This concerns 30 men but is affecting 700 men.

Coalface trainees at Kemball pit threatened to go on strike today over a dispute regarding carrying powder cans. There was a meeting with the training officer and NUM representative. Thirty-six of them continued their work and three left the colliery.

Evening Sentinel . Sep10th 1963 Page 1.
Twenty four men stopped work at Hem Heath colliery today because, the NCB say of dissatisfaction with their wages and organisation of their work.

Evening Sentinel Final Sep. 26th 1963 Page 5.
The 24 men who were on unofficial strike at Hem Heath colliery were back to work today. 1,050 tons of coal was lost due to the dispute. The NUM had advised the men to return to work so they could negotiate an agreement.

Evening Sentinel Oct 25th 1963 Page 1.
Hem Heath colliery was paralysed by a strike of 1,300 men. Miners aggrieved by a six-shilling a day drop in the shift rate.

Evening Sentinel Dec 17th 1963 Page 1.
Because of a major unofficial stoppage, production at Florence was at a standstill today Tuesday. The stoppage began yesterday because men on one coal face worked the voluntary shift, producing 198 tons of coal. The loss in production was 3,000 tons of coal due to the strike. The voluntary Saturday shift was contrary to a previous decision taken by the NUM branch not to work the Voluntary shift.

Evening Sentinel Dec 31st 1965 Page 9. F.
About 2.500 engineering workshop and craftsmen in the North staffs coal field could become involved in the threatened official strike over the delay in settling with the Coal Board, a pay claim.

Sentinel 19th Dec 1957 late p1
Great Fenton Colliery on strike due to the poor quality of concessionary coal. 700 tons were lost with 200 men on strike.

Evening Sentinel. February 10th 1956. City Final Page 10
About 1,800 tons of coal has been lost at Norton colliery this week through a strike of underground workers, the strike started on the day shift on Tuesday, and the men returned to work yesterday afternoon.

Evening Sentinel. June 18th 1956 Late Page 1.
Production at Norton colliery as completely halted today, when 143 face workers joined 83 strippers who have been on strike since last Wednesday. Another 283 surface and underground workers were sent home

www.stokecoll.ac.uk/NSCFWeb/Sentinel/Sentyear.htm

[John]

The only problems I ever recall in the South Notts area were at Cotgrave fellers. I finished my last couple of months of my time there and left in Nov 1968. The pit had two new PLA's and the other three were still contract faces if my memory served me right.
Cotgrave at that time was run as a model pit, 'by the book" and anyone deviating from the M&Q Act was fined in no uncertain terms! The attrition rate in labour was tremendous!! Who wants to work under a dictatorship??
We weren't allowed to assist the fitter, help anyone else!! I recall one day shift, as usual the craftsmen were on the last draws down, still plenty of time before the end of winding!
Some of the electricians and fitters had already gone down, we had about three draws of blokes left at two deck winds...Phone rang on pit bank and the Banksman told us all he had just received orders to single deck!! That meant half the electricians and fitters would be docked! Any later and they'd have sent us home. We just moved back to discuss what our action would be and decided to call underground and let the other blokes know out postion. After that we refused to ride down until the idiots altered their position. It was either go down and be docked an hour or go home was the response from upstairs, at this point our boss arrived on bank top to find out what was going on, we were already starting to make our way to the baths after letting those U/G what we were doing, they were on their way to pit bottom to go home with us.
Our boss remonstrated with us to hang on while he went to see the Manager, after all, this idiotic action was about to stop all coal being cut because their would be no craftsmen to sign for and cover the equipment on the faces etc!

We'll be in the dirty side if you want us was our reply, you have half an hour, then we are on our way home.
We never made it to the baths, word had already reached the Manager and he "requested" we go back to work with no loss in pay!

Apart from a couple of incidents like that Daz, from when I started in early 1964 until when I left in Nov 1968, I don't recall any trouble in our area

I must stress though, conditions at all the south Notts pits were very good, faces weren't that high, but usually pretty dry...I think the highest "norm" was three shears on one face at my old pit, but the blokes made good money, almost three times what the tradesmen earned on daywage.... Could that be the reason why our area was pretty peaceful??

Now in Oz, we were a pretty Bolshy lot, we'd be out the gates a the drop of a hat, or if the Poms were playing Oz at the Sydney Cricket Ground in a one day international

[dazb]

There is an account of some of the problems that the 1966 implementation of NPLA caused resulting in strike action being taken. The same account also identifies some of the numerous "wage rate" related strikes within the time marks we are discussing, well worth a read at least it will give an insight into the more extensive coal industry strike actions. Read this account at;

www.marxists.org/archive/cliff/works/1985/patterns/part3.htmrkers.

There were numerous single colliery strikes in reaction to "unfair prices", on at least three occassions in the late 1950's I recall my own father on strike from Wath Main Colliery in South Yorkshire, I must admit that Wath was widely known as the Sunshine Pit (if the sun is shining we go home theory).
I remember that as an apprentice I had to work through two strikes in the 1960's. It is difficult to recall exactly why these two strikes were called but one was a wage increase demand and I seem to recollect that the other involved the Five Day Week Agreement possibly including the Essential Works Order arrangement but I can't be sure.

[Ragger]

1966/67,

I worked in Staffordshire, we had a couple of weeks out due to, (I’m almost certain), trying to improve the working hours of surface workers.

Once again showing the unselfish side of miners.

Anyone else remember this forgotten dispute?

[John]

Ragger said:

1966/67,

I worked in Staffordshire, we had a couple of weeks out due to, (I’m almost certain), trying to improve the working hours of surface workers.

Once again showing the unselfish side of miners.

Anyone else remember this forgotten dispute?

I thought surface hours were the same as U/G hours Bill, seven and a quarter...

I also think we have moved a long way from the thread title...Anderton Shearer Loaders...AB16...

[plantfit]

Hope this pic come through OK, thought you might like to ID and pass comments, Having not worked at the pits your expert knowledge is much appreciated

Rog

[John]

Apr 12, 2009 11:33:12 GMT -5 plantfit said:

Hope this pic come through OK, thought you might like to ID and pass comments, Having not worked at the pits your expert knowledge is much appreciated

Rog

Looks like an AB/16 200HP double ended ranging drum shearer Roger.
A lot longer than the old AB16's fixed head single ended shearer.
Daz will know better having worked for Anderson Strathclyde.
A bit smaller, but similar to the larger AM400 shearer.

[John]

Here's an Eickhoff shearer.

[dazbt]

Apr 12, 2009 16:24:46 GMT -5 John said:

Apr 12, 2009 11:33:12 GMT -5 plantfit said:

Hope this pic come through OK, thought you might like to ID and pass comments, Having not worked at the pits your expert knowledge is much appreciated

Rog

Looks like an AB/16 200HP double ended ranging drum shearer Roger.
A lot longer than the old AB16's fixed head single ended shearer.
Daz will know better having worked for Anderson Strathclyde.
A bit smaller, but similar to the larger AM400 shearer.

It is an AB16" DERDS with AM17" mechanical haulage, 22mm chain hauled. FIDD gearheads with 2:1 reduction gearboxes, the powered cowls are Dale Mansfield type. It is most likely the 200hp motor.
The mass of tangled auxiliary hydraulic hoses on goaf side would have been routed through protective guarding underside of flush top guards when manufactured by Anderson, the 'accident waiting to happen' stepped top guards are probably NCB Shafton Central Workshop alternatives (I have to admit to working there as well)
If I remember correctly the AM17" mechanical haulage was originally designed by an Anderson Boyes' engineer in the early 1950s but didn't come into general production and usage until decades later, it proved to be a fantastically successful double ended shearer haulage unit used in multiple machine configuration applications throughout the world. This haulage was the basis of the original Buttock Shearer concept ............ now there lies the basis of an historical International thin seam Longwall salvage attempt, that particularly included the USA.