Post by John on Dec 23, 2013 17:24:37 GMT -5
As many know I served my time as an electrician with the NCB in the 1960s and came out my time in 1968....Left the industry for a while, but went back in to work underground as an elec in one of BG's gypsum mines at East Leake.
I left there after a couple of years as an opportunity came up at a brand new mine in North Yorks, CPL's Boulby Mine.
One thing I could never have done was to work low seams again after being able to stand up and walk to machinery to repair it.
Once I'd tasted thick "seams" there was NO going back...I still suffer with knee problems, so BG and CPL were a blessing in disguise.
TBH, private enterprise, for an electrician, isn't that much different to working at an NCB colliery, only the elec and mech staffs were smaller leading to a little larger workload at times.
In fact at CPL's Boulby, we were constantly short staffed both on the elec and mech engineering sides, plenty of overtime, in fact way too much at times...Puts a strain on a marriage when you're at work all hours!! Then when you get home, all you want to do is go to bed and "die"..
I then moved to Australia, where I started in a tin mine, then moved into the NSW coal industry, a lot like UK collieries, but thicker seams and back then, mostly Bord and Pillar working.
I enjoyed being an electrician, I always got satisfaction getting equipment working again.
I left there after a couple of years as an opportunity came up at a brand new mine in North Yorks, CPL's Boulby Mine.
One thing I could never have done was to work low seams again after being able to stand up and walk to machinery to repair it.
Once I'd tasted thick "seams" there was NO going back...I still suffer with knee problems, so BG and CPL were a blessing in disguise.
TBH, private enterprise, for an electrician, isn't that much different to working at an NCB colliery, only the elec and mech staffs were smaller leading to a little larger workload at times.
In fact at CPL's Boulby, we were constantly short staffed both on the elec and mech engineering sides, plenty of overtime, in fact way too much at times...Puts a strain on a marriage when you're at work all hours!! Then when you get home, all you want to do is go to bed and "die"..
I then moved to Australia, where I started in a tin mine, then moved into the NSW coal industry, a lot like UK collieries, but thicker seams and back then, mostly Bord and Pillar working.
I enjoyed being an electrician, I always got satisfaction getting equipment working again.