IV

Supplement to THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

Julv 24, 1914.

Table A.

Description.	Number driven by		Statute tons cut by			
	. Elec- tricity.	Compressed air.	Electricity.		Compressed air.	
			Coal.	Other minerals.	Coal.	Other minerals.
			Tons.	Tons.	Tons.	Tons.
Disc		484	133	5,646,675	35,287	1,440,741	17,944
Bar 		191	8	1,878,081	22,676	63,821	—
Chain 		16	—	88,157	—	—	—
Percussive 		2	33	1,415	—	83,610	971
Rotary Heading		7	2	—	55,000	1,074	—
Totals		700 		176  	>	7,614,328  <			112,963	1,589,246	18,915 	)
	876		9,335,452			

them across the road. They were working with Ceag
electric lamps, and in spite of the fact that they had
been told of gas, they had secreted matches and ciga-
rettes in the folds of their caps and had begun to smoke.

Seventeen notices were also received during the year
under notice of cases of explosions of gas where no
persons were injured, 16 being caused by naked lights
and one by shotfiring.

There was a. decrease of nine accidents and 11 deaths
from falls as compared with the previous year. While
this is a record on which the management and workmen
deserve to be congratulated, there were a good many
accidents which would have been prevented if greater
care had been taken with the supporting of the roof and
sides. Id several cases coal, which had not been
properly supported by rances or sprags, fell and fatally
injured the persons working at it, and there were also
instances where large falls of stone came away when
timber was set under it, but as it was not tied
together it was displaced, the props and crowns being
knocked out like so many ninepins, and the unfortunate
men were buried amongst the timber and stone and
suffocated.

Mr. Walker strongly impresses on owners, agents,
managers and workmen the necessity of tying the
timber together so as to make it rigid and capable of
withstanding movement of the strata, especially where
there is lofting or space above the crowns, or where the
strata are of a soft and crumbling nature.

- In regard to one of the accidents, he observes that it
was not the custom to use safety appliances for with-
drawing props in Ayrshire before the Goal Mines Act,
1911, came into force, and many owners and managers
appear to think the use of such appliances is confined to
“ stooping and wastes.”

An accident occurred at Bowhill Colliery, belonging
to Messrs. The Fife Coal Company Limited, on June 13,
by which a miner lost his life. The roof at the working
face in the Lochgelly Splint seam here consists of 4 in.
of coal, above which is 1 ft. 3 in. of fireclay, and above
that again is 1 ft. 11 in. of an inferior friable coal, and
this makes a very treacherous roof and one which needs
olose attention as it is subject to constant grinding, it
being a common thing to see the roof all fallen to the
post back in the waste between the props, which are left
standing to support small patches of the original roof.
The place being worked by deceased was 26 yds. in
advance of that above. At the fatal accident enquiry
there seemed to be great divergence of opinion amongst
the officials and miners called as witnesses as to whether
the place where the accident occurred was waste or a
“ cundy ” or airway. Mr. Walker thinks there is little
doubt that it was a waste, although undoubtedly there
should have been a packed airway along the side of the
rib of coal to conduct the air from one place to the
other. In the present case it had to find its way through
the waste. The practice, which is unfortunately a very
common one, of having one place leading the next by a
considerable distance, is one which has been the cause
of a great many accidents, both fatal and non-fatal,
besides interfering with the proper ventilation of the
places to a very serious extent. In a fiery mine this is a
great source of danger. If the face cannot be main-
tained in a straight line, these cuttings should be kept
within the narrowest limits possible, and in no case
should they exceed 2 or 3 yards.

Twenty-four accidents caused the death of 26 persons
in shafts during the year, as against 16 accidents and
deaths in the previous year. This is a bad record, and
the prevention of accidents in shafts requires the serious
attention of all concerned. Nineteen, at least, were due
to preventable causes; three were caused by men
working in shafts stepping on to rotten or insecure
buntons ; four by a mistake in signals, or the cage being
taken away by the winding engineman without a signal
being given ; three were due to men opening gates and
pushing tubs into the shaft when the cage was not
opposite to the opening; three were caused by want of
proper appliances; one to the dangerous practice of
riding on a scaffold when it was being lowered; one by
a winding rope being allowed to become so deteriorated
*by rust for want of proper examination, care, and
lubrication, that it broke when a cage with a man in it
was being lowered.

A serious accident occurred at the Lochore Colliery,
belonging to Messrs, the Fife Coal Company Limited, on
May 27, as the result of which two shaftsrnen lost their
lives and the shaft was wrecked. The winding shaft is
672 yds. deep, and two large double-decked cages are
used, four hutches being carried on each deck. The
winding ropes are 2| in. diameter, and have white metal
cappings. There is a short length of coupling chain,
the links being 12 in. by 71 in. outside measurement, and
of 2| in. diameter Lowmoor iron, between the capping

and the link to which the cage chains are attached. The
detaching hooks had not been fitted, but girders 18 in.
by 7 in. had been fixed in the lattice steel headgear in
connection with them. The 20 ft. drum is connected
to a pair of engines having cylinders 38 in. diameter and
6 ft. stroke. Steam blows off at 120 lb. The reversing
link gear is worked by a steam engine, and there is a
direct-acting steam brake. At the time of the accident
about 10 to 12 dozen of prop wood (weighing over
3 tons) had been loaded about equally on the decks of
the cage at the surface, and two 14 ft. air rhones were
put on the top of the cage, where the two shaftsrnen
took up their position, when the signal to lower was
given. The winding engine man, who was a man of great
experience, said he gave very little steam at the
beginning of the wind and then shut it off entirely, and
at about one-sixth of the journey he threw the reversing
lever over against the engine altogether. At two-thirds
of the journey down he noticed that the engine was
gaining speed although he was quite certain he had his
foot on the brake. Keeping the reversing lever in the
same position, he then gave a little steam to the engine,
but without effect. He repeated this a second time,
but failed to stop the engine, and then the crash came.
The upgoing cage crashed into the girders mentioned
with terrific force and twisted them badly. A link of
the short coupling chain referred to broke at the weld
and released the rope, which went over the wheel, made
a rent in the back of the engine-house, and then coiled
itself completely on the still revolving drum. The cage,
now freed, fell back and lodged itself at the high scaffold
level. It is interesting to note that there was not the
slightest sign of damage to the white metal hose. The
only explanation of this accident seems to be that the
engineman had the reversing lever in the wrong position
when he gave steam towards the end of the wind,
although it must be said that he strenuously denies this.
In any case the engines were found to be in perfect
order when tested in his presence immediately the shaft
could be cleared. It is unfortunate that the prop wood
should be sent down at the same time as men were
riding. Section 40 (11) of the Coal Mines Act prohibits
persons riding in the shaft with timber, but does not
apply in the case of men accompanying bulky materials
which cannot be raised or lowered in a cage. It seems
to be straining the meaning of this subsection to claim
that materials can be sent with men so long as some are
sufficiently bulky as to need putting on the top of the
cage. This accident was due to two causes : Firstly,
the drum of the winding engine was not keyed to
the drum shaft, but held in position on one side
by a gland or clamp round the shaft and at the other
by a dog clutch. Secondly, there was no brake on the
drum, and in using such a drum the manager contra-
vened section 40 (10) of the Coal Mines Act.

An accident, causing the loss of one life, took place on
June 19, in a sinking pit at Easter Jaw Colliery,
belonging to Messrs, the Carron Company. The
sinking contractor and two other men were going
down the shaft in the kettle, examining the pump
column as they went. It appears that the bottom dozen
feet of the signal wire consisted of two lengths of chain,
connected by a hook, and that this hook had caught in
the hollow bottom of the kettle, giving the engineman
what appeared to be a “ hung signal,” and in conse-
quence he kept on creeping down, waiting for the
hammer to drop. The cause of the accident was
directly due to the hook in the chain, though the hollow-
bottomed kettle and the use of hung signals also con-
tributed. The accident emphasises the danger of hung
signals, which is not always appreciated, as well as the
danger of having fittings in the shaft which may catch
things going up or down.

An accident occurred at Tofts Colliery, belonging
to Messrs. William Baird and Company Limited, on
the night of August 3, causing the death of a sinker.
The accident was primarily due to the man not holding
on to the chains by which the scaffold was attached to
the rope. A movable scaffold is one of the most
dangerous appliances in a sinking shaft, where all the
work is more or less dangerous. This scaffold was
10 ft. 9 in. by 2 ft. 6 in. by 4 in. thick, and only 3 in.
shorter than the breadth of the shaft, and as the rope
carrying the scaffold hung 26 in. from the end of the
shaft, it had 11 in. clear there. There was an end flap.
12 in. wide, on the scaffold, and this usually was folded
up when ascending or descending the shaft, but even
with this it was found that at the place of accident,
owing to the presence of “stringers” and an end bunton,
the clearances were only 5| in. at the ends and II in. at
the sides of the scaffold. The muzzle or “D ” link
connecting the four suspending chains was also at this
place passing between the rider beams, so the scaffold
may have caught either above or below them. The

prohibition of men being on scaffolds when they are
being raised and lowered in shafts is highly necessary
except under special circumstances. The custom is
both dangerous and often unnecessary.

There were 52 accidents from miscellaneous causes
underground, resulting in the death of 73 persons, as
compared with 39 accidents and 40 deaths in 1912, or
an increase of 13 in the number of accidents and
33 persons killed. Of the increased number of deaths,
22 were due to the underground fire at Cadder No. 15
pit, and there were increases in the accidents by
explosives of one; irruptions of water, one; electricity,
three; machinery, eight; and sundry causes, two;
while there were four fewer haulage accidents. By
explosives nine fatal accidents caused the same number
of deaths, and 84 accidents injured 98 persons, as
compared with eight fatal accidents and deaths and 68
non-fatal accidents and 75 persons injured in 1912.
Seven persons were injured while shots were being
illegally unrammed. A fruitful source of accident is
the lighting of two or more shots fired by fuse at a
time. If this type of accident continues, it may become
a question for consideration whether the firing of more
than one shot at a time should be prohibited by the
Explosives in Coal Mines Order.

One accident from an underground fire occurred on
August 3 at Cadder No. 15 pit, belonging to Messrs. The
Carron Company, and resulted in the death of 22"
persons. It was the subject of a formal investigation
under section 83 (1) of the Coal Mines Act, which was
held by Sir Henry Cunynghame, K.C.B., in Glasgow,
and a special report was subsequently made to the
Secretary of State on its causes and circumstances.

An accident by an eruption of water occurred at
Lassodie Mill Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Fife
Coal Company Limited, on February 27, by which a
miner lost his life, and another received serious injuries,
in somewhat unusual circumstances.

The accident occurred at the face of a heading which
was being driven uphill in the coal, at an inclination of
about 1 in 2, to connect into a road which had been
driven at the same bearing, but which was being used at
the time as a water lodgment. Water from some rise
workings was being drained into it, the feeders being
about 40 to 50 gallons per minute. The water was
being pumped out by an electrically-driven pump with
a capacity of something over 60 gallons per minute. It
was not intended to drive through into the lodgment
until the water draining into it had been dammed back
at a level above. The manager’s instructions to the men
were that they were to withdraw as soon as there was
any indication of water at the face. He wished to get
as much of the barrier of coal from the lower side as
possible, as this was cheaper than getting it from above.
He was in the place the day before the accident, when
he estimated the barrier of coal as being less than 12 ft.
in thickness. The ground at the place was very troubled.
The arrangements with regard to boring were that a
5 ft. hole was put in the middle of the place about
1 ft. 6 in. from the roof (about 5 ft. from the pavement),
and then 2 to 3 feet of coal was taken off and another
bore put in. Flank bores were put in the left-hand side,
but not to the right, this being solid coal. Deceased
and his drawer observed water percolating through (it
was proved afterwards that the barrier of coal was then
reduced to 1 ft. 6 in.), and left the place to try to find
the fireman. Failing to find him they returned to the
place and commenced to hole, when the water broke
through and rushed down the heading. Mr. Walker
cannot understand why the men should not have been
withdrawn from the lower side altogether by the
manager, when he estimated the barrier of coal at less
than 12 ft. He could have holed through quite easily
from the high side when the dam had been put in, and
the coal could then have been put down the conveyoi*
pans.

Twenty haulage accidents caused the same number
of deaths. This is a decrease of three in the number of
accidents, and of four in the number of persons killed.
Sixteen accidents coming under the head of “ Run over
or crushed by tubs or trams ” caused the death of the
same number of persons, and four persons were killed
by “ Other haulage accidents.” In the previous year
20 accidents and deaths occurred from the former, but
there were none under the latter head. There were,
however, three accidents and deaths in 1912 by “ ropes
or chains breaking,” whereas there were no fatal acci-
dents from this cause during the year under notice.

Four persons were killed by the same number of
electric shock accidents during the year as compared
with one accident and one death in 1912. An accident
from electric shock occurred on May 21 at Kenmuirhill
Colliery. No. 2 pit, belonging to Messrs. The Glasgow
Coal Company Limited, and caused the death of a
drawer. Electricity is used at Kenmuirhill Colliery as
three-phase alternating current, at 400 volts, 25 cycles,
and the neutral point of the system is earthed. In the
No. 2 rise section of the Virtue well seam, where the
accident happened, it was used for coal-cutting only.
Until the present regulations came into force the cables
were single core and bitumen insulated, but unarmoured,
and these at the time of the accident were being replaced
by a three-core armoured cable. In that part of the
pit in which the accident occurred the new cable was in
place, and was almost ready for connecting up. Deceased
was found lying on bis back grasping one of the cables
in his right hand, and the front of two of his fingers was
burned away. His jacket hung over the cables. His
flask was in behind, where there was slack cable at the
corner of the road, and apparently the flask had fallen
there from his pocket. It is thought that he had drawn
the cable aside to get the flask, and that in so doing had
grasped a part which was without effective insulation,
and was killed. Each of the three cables was 7 14 S. W.G.
bitumen covered and protected with jute braiding. Just
at the part the man had grasped the braiding had
become frayed, and at some time in the past it had