|
|
Post by Wheldale on Jul 30, 2013 6:45:51 GMT -5
If say a colliery employed 600 men and had two shafts, men and a coal winding shaft. If the man riding shaft was out of commission by an accident and the mine needed evacuating, how many men could ride in a skip and how long would it take to evacuate the mine?
|
|
|
|
Post by John on Jul 30, 2013 9:00:20 GMT -5
If say a colliery employed 600 men and had two shafts, men and a coal winding shaft. If the man riding shaft was out of commission by an accident and the mine needed evacuating, how many men could ride in a skip and how long would it take to evacuate the mine?
Depends on how big the manriding section of the skip is, Boulby had a large manriding deck on top of the skips, carried about the same number of men that the large cage carried in No2 shaft. Never rode the skips at Cotgrave years back, but guess when converted, would carry 30-35 men.
The original manriding deck of Boulby's skips held nine men, it was at the bottom of the skip, the conversion on the top of the skip held somewhere in the region of 40 men if my memory serves me correctly, I should remember, as I did a bit of onsetting a couple of times to let the Onsetter go early.
|
|
|
|
Post by colly0410 on Jul 30, 2013 11:36:07 GMT -5
Rode the skip a couple of times at Hucknall in the annual holiday shutdown, they were doing something to the downcast winder & only a few of us were underground at the time building a bunker at the top of the blackshale intake drift..
|
|
|
|
Post by fortythreesflyer on Jul 31, 2013 2:42:22 GMT -5
Whelale No1 shaft skip riding when converted was 14 men same as No 2 shaft, this was used quite often, freezing in the winter.
|
|
|
|
Post by John on Jul 31, 2013 7:10:43 GMT -5
A lot of later skipping systems were installed in the upcast shafts, a guess would be to reduce dust in the intake air.
I don't recall exactly when this happened now as it was too long ago, I think after Garry left us, but our No2 winder "crapped" itself at Boulby, fear was it was a motor fault. big problem was it happened on riding the nightshift up with a full double deck cage of men in it, mid winter! Not that bad in a conventional mine, but this was Boulby a hot mine where none of us wore a jacket or heavy clothing to ride out in, still soaked in sweat!!
The fear was hypothermia getting the men stuck in the shaft!!! They had been there for well over an hour in freezing conditions, it was decided they would "slip the brakes" take over manual control of the brakes and see if gravity would assist them in getting the men back to pit bottom.
It worked, the men were brought safely to the surface up the No1 shaft and to a waiting Doctor and nurse plus hot soup, and warm blankets, checked over and released to go home.
Good job as we were down for many hours with the spare standby NCB motor ready to roll from south Yorkshire...Tuned out to be a couple of thyristor "gating cards" that had gone faulty, no spare available, so a company made them up for us and had them flown in...
Again, my info is sketchy regarding the fault, as I wasn't a winder electrician so that info is third hand from my foreman at the time.
The skipping at Cotgrave was also in the upcast shaft, two independent winders.
|
|
|
|
Post by colly0410 on Jul 31, 2013 10:13:00 GMT -5
Wouldn't have liked to be on that cage, I'd have been the one who wanted the toilet.
I think I remember that in the holiday shutdown at Hucknall that because only the skip shaft winder was working, only a limited number of blokes were allowed underground, can't remember how many though. Seemed strange riding in a little cage on top of the skip.
In the downcast shaft you went past one inset, in the upcast skip shaft you went past five or six, only one of them (main bright?) was lit up. There seemed to be quite long roads off the disused insets, I often wondered if anyone ever went in to inspect them..
|
|
|
|
Post by John on Jul 31, 2013 10:42:01 GMT -5
I was going to say many would had to have had a pee, but thinking back, being a very hot mine, I doubt anyone would have had enough to drink during their shift, to have the need. I only used to take a quart bottle of frozen orange juice down a shift when I was in the districts, I made up for it when I got home though....
Makes me wonder thinking back, why many of us didn't have kidney problems..
|
|
|
|
Post by smshogun on Feb 8, 2014 15:32:27 GMT -5
Skips at Cotgrave could carry 15 men in an emergency, the chute of the skip was used which gave it a tapered form, it was actually a triangle.
|
|
merlin
Shotfirer.
prop and lid
Posts: 64 
|
Post by merlin on Apr 29, 2015 11:21:11 GMT -5
i n walesworked at bersham colliery a orange boxn wales where upcast shaft cage only held 4 men when i saw it first i though it was a orange box
|
|
|
|
Post by John on Apr 29, 2015 13:08:21 GMT -5
i n walesworked at bersham colliery a orange boxn wales where upcast shaft cage only held 4 men when i saw it first i though it was a orange box
Boulby, in North Yorks used 20 tonne skips when I was there in the 70's, it had a nine man deck behind the discharge chute, later the tops were modified to take 30 or 40 men, I forget now how many. They could be changed over from skips to manriding in a few minutes.
Odd I can't recall, as I've done Onsetting duty a few times to let our Onsetter go early, Oh well, it was 36 years ago now and I'm not exactly young anymore...LOL |
|
