Coming off night shift in winter.

[fortythreesflyer]

Remember coming off the night shift in winter time after showering I had a mile and half walk home, as you can see from my avatar my hair was quite long. By the time I arrived home my hair was frozen solid, it would take another half hour to defrost before going to bed. I also recall the walk home was across farm fields and on a number of occasions being dive bombed by barn owls.

[John]

Aug 23, 2013 3:54:12 GMT -5 fortythreesflyer said:

Remember coming off the night shift in winter time after showering I had a mile and half walk home, as you can see from my avatar my hair was quite long. By the time I arrived home my hair was frozen solid, it would take another half hour to defrost before going to bed. I also recall the walk home was across farm fields and on a number of occasions being dive bombed by barn owls.

I went on regular nights as an apprentice as I couldn't get out of bed in the mornings when I was on day shift, so decided it would be safer for my future to go on nights regular.. So remember walking home many a bitterly cold morning.

My strongest memories were my last years in the UK, I was working at Boulby then as an electrician and did many an early start, falling out of bed around 2-30am, God those winters on the North Yorks coast were bitter!! At least I didn't have to walk to work up there, my trust labourer would be waiting for me with a nice warm car..

[fortythreesflyer]

Hi John, did you ever come across a fitter at boulby called Derick Symonds? Kev

[John]

Jan 19, 2014 9:28:50 GMT -5 fortythreesflyer said:

Hi John, did you ever come across a fitter at boulby called Derick Symonds? Kev

Doesn't ring any bells, most of the time most of us were "isolated" from the other shifts, if you get what I mean. There were four shifts up to when I left, not including those on regular days, plus, underground staff and surface staff were two separate departments that never intermingled.

I only knew one of the process plant electricians, only because he was an EEPTU rep..
I don't know how many fitters we had underground on the four shifts either, I know there was none assigned to the Central District where I was situated the last couple of years. If I diagnosed a problem to be Mechanical, I'd notify the fitting Foreman on the shift.
Those I recall on "C" shift were Eddie Callandar, he was ex BS fitter, Peter Elliot, ex NCB Derbyshire fitter, there was another local, can't recall his name, he was a diesel fitter in the workshops underground, I know there were a couple more, but been so long ago now.

[fortythreesflyer]

Yes I know what you mean about a long time, Derick would have left Wheldale approx late 1970 early 71. He made the move after the face we worked on at the time, the loader gate collapsed near to the ripping edge. The result 4 men buried with 1 fatality. Kev

[John]

If he moved up there around that time, I'd say he joined the surface fitting team on the process plant.
I moved there in early 1975 and the mine was just getting going, developing the east and south sides, wasn't much of a walk in any direction.
No1 shaft was still having the steelwork installed for the skipping plant, so was just an emergency egress, No2 shaft was men, materials and mineral winding in two small convertable skips, everything had to be planned to the minute in that shaft, it was always busy!!
There was a chain conveyor bunker just around the corner from No2 pit bottom, wasn't big, but I don't recall ever seeing it full.

Not long after I started, the two 1000 tonne in seam ore bins were started by MCC the mine contractors, in the north area, surge bin for No1 shaft was also started.

About June or July the skip weighing equipment was commissioned ready for the skips to be installed and commissioned, later, around the end of July into August, most of the electrical and fitting staff were put on days, leaving one fitter and one electrician on shifts for three months, our job was just breakdowns, the day shift overhauled all the machines ready for starting full production.
It was during this time, the No1 winding engine was commissioned, without ropes. That was done on afternoons shift, once the engineer was satisfied, ropes and skips were installed.

End of that three month period we went on full production..
Elecs and fitters were then assigned a district, I covered the East and South East districts on "C" shift, Pete Elliot covered the East, and Eddie Callendar covered the South East as fitters.
That left Fred Fletcher Central Elec, John "Womble" Sinclair on the South District and Alan?? West District until he took over as winder electrician with Norman??

[fortythreesflyer]

Cheers thanks for the info, my first job after finishing my apprenticeship was on No1 shaft skip and area, not much to it basic maintenance any updates i.e relining skip pockets etc were done at weekends. I could not stand the tediousness of it so swapped with another fitter who hated face work. I relished the challenge and enjoyed it up to an injury to my knee forced me to the surface where I eventually ended up in the planned maintenance office on the electrical side.

[John]

Jan 20, 2014 6:11:52 GMT -5 fortythreesflyer said:

Cheers thanks for the info, my first job after finishing my apprenticeship was on No1 shaft skip and area, not much to it basic maintenance any updates i.e relining skip pockets etc were done at weekends. I could not stand the tediousness of it so swapped with another fitter who hated face work. I relished the challenge and enjoyed it up to an injury to my knee forced me to the surface where I eventually ended up in the planned maintenance office on the electrical side.

I liked the central area, for an electrician, it was a large district, we were under orders from the Manager, that we weren't to leave our district, which the Mining Shift Supervisors rigidly enforced.
One of my mates was snowed under with problems in the south district to the point they were not producing. I had nothing to do, other than cover the district, so requested to go down and assist and get the district back into production, but the mining shift super said NO!! I eventually persuaded him to allow me to go down there on condition I kept in touch at all times with the control room.

Some reading this might ask why we weren't allowed to leave our area, the two main ventilation fans were in our area underground, plus shafts and main pumps, all considered top priority on safety grounds. I also covered the main underground substation and carried the only keys on the shift and authorization to enter the locked subs, plus covered the several 6.6Kv subs feeding everything underground.
At that time it was "Shank's Pony" for transport and over a mile inbye to the South District.

[fortythreesflyer]

My memories of electrical substations at Wheldale is that they were unlocked, and the north and south side bunkers had their own sub,s and made warm places for the operators to spend a few moments contemplating their navels shall we say.

[John]

I don't recall why Dave Horner, the engineer decided to keep that one locked, there was an emergency button in the style of fire alarms, ie "break the glass and hit the button" which knocked the power off in an emergency. The two main vent fan starters were in the subs, probably that was the reason, been too long now to recall.
All other subs were open, there was one bank of Brush SF6's near the top of the drift that led to the ore bin bottoms, it supplied 6.6Kv to the south and west districts and trunk conveyor transformers down that area.

[merlin]

anybody worked on coalblower marvellus machine if the coal was dry 60tons a hour had one at bersham colliery n wales not many collieries had one