vi

Supplement to THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

July 24, 1914.

take steps to have the second means of egress constantly
available, because with the conditions which exist, the
requirements of the Act are not complied with.

Heps are provided, and are usually worked by the
banksman, and used when men are being raised or
lowered, but not for mineral. In consequence, it is
frequently found that they are not used when odd
persons ascend during the shift. This is a contravention
of the Act. The type similar to a plank turned edge-
ways is largely used. This allows dirt to accumulate at
the back, and is, on this account, not altogether satis-
factory. Cage gates are provided, and in one case at
least probably prevented a fatal accident. A man on
the cage had a seizure and stumbled against one of the
gates which held him until he received help. The type
of gate adopted is not always as satisfactory as it should
be, and would, in the event of a smash in the shaft, be
liable to be carried away, as they are not securely
fastened to the cage. An ingenious and satisfactory
type of gate has been designed by the agent and
manager of, and adopted at, Greenrigg Colliery, A
sketch of it is given herewith. Each door A is con-
structed of a mild steel sheet, -§- in. thick, strengthened
at the edges by a runner C, 1 in. broad by T3K in. thick.
The top and bottom runners are extended beyond the
door and turned round the sliding bar B to form
hinges. The sliding bar is carried on and is free to

Colliery the hook opened and liberated the cage when in
mid-shaft, with the result that it and its contents fell to
the bottom of the shaft, doing considerable damage.
Fortunately there were no men in the cage at the time.
A chain 2 ft. in length has since been put between the
cage and the hook, with satisfactory results. Detaching
hooks should never be attached directly to rigid cages,
or a serious accident, due to the copper rivets being cut
by the colliding of the plates against the rigid bow of
the cage, will probably occur. A minimum length of
2 ft. of chain will obviate the danger, and this precaution
should always be taken, a double length of chain being
preferable. There was some trouble when section 40 (11)
first came into force, prohibiting men carrying tools up
and down in the cage with them, owing to the tools
getting lost, but this difficulty has now disappeared. In
many cases travelling on haulage roads is prohibited
altogether. The men in one mine in Ayrshire
struck work because, owing to these provisions, they
were prohibited from travelling the haulage road.
Generally speaking, the horse roads are of sufficient
height, but it is not uncommon to find horses or their
harness rubbing the roof. Refuge holes are not as
satisfactory as they should be, and it has been necessary
to institute legal proceedings in connection with them
in several cases. There is no doubt in some mines, and
especially in the older ones, complying with* section 44

and supplied by Mr. W. Hamilton, manager of the
collieries. It consists of two pieces, one being of
elliptical shape, with a gap cut away at the bottom on
the long side, and the other has a hole in the upper end,
which is a tight fit on the upper long side of the
elliptical piece, and the lower end is enlarged and swings

D

_

Fig. 5.—Hutch Coupling Used at the Bathgate
Collieries.

in and out of the gap to allow the coupling links on the
hutches to be inserted or withdrawn. The advantage
is that it is possible to work with coupling links on
either end of the tubs or hutches. The device has had
rough work on steep gradients with mechanical haulage,
with immunity from accidents, and has given every
satisfaction.

FIG. 4.

END VIEW.

SHOWING GATE SHUT

— CAGE GATE ---------------

FIG. 5.
END VIEW.

SHOWING GATE OPEN

if

■ J/ 6

FIG. 2.

SIDE VIEW ON A.B.

80 TH GATES OPEN

GREENRIGG COLLIERY, FA ULD HOUSE.——

REFERENCE:-

a. a. doors.

d.	d. parallel bars.

e.	e. Ira ns verse bars.
R roller.

g.	Swivel bridle.

h.	Jianger strap.

k. angle'iron guard.

m.	"	’

n.	tumbler catches

p. hand hole.

r. hutch catch

FIG. I.

PLAN



Figs. 1 to 4.—Cage Gate in Use at Greenrigg Colliery, Fauldhouse.

move along the parallel bars dd, which are fixed along
the side of the cag e. The door is also supported at its
outer top corner from the fixed transverse bar e by
means of the roller F, swivel bridle g, and hanger
strap h. When the doors are in the open position they
only take up f in. of the cage width at hutch level, and
are protected by the vertical angle iron guard fc, and the
horizontal angle iron guard m from damage by the
hutches. They are held in the open position by the
tumbler catches n, when material is being wound. To
shut the door the catch N is turned over and the door
gripped at the hand hole p, and swung round into the
position shown in fig. 4. It is very easily moved, as no
weight has to be borne by the manipulator. The motion
is twofold, the outer edge travels across the cage under
the transverse bar from which it is hung. The hinged
edge is carried along on the sliding bar, which slides on
the longitudinal bars. The principal features about
this door are:—It almost closes the end of the cage. It
is light and strong, takes up very little room, and,
having a smooth surface, is free from being damaged by
passing hutches. It requires no fixing when in the
closed position, and can never project beyond the cage.
Attachment of rope to cage has been much discussed,
and is of especial importance in view of cases of the
shearing of copper rivets in detaching hooks. The type
of cage in use at many collieries is such that the cage
has no rods, the attachment to the rope being made
through the arms forming the top part of the cage, and
prior to the use of detaching hooks being compulsory
the hose of the rope was attached to them by means of
a muzzle or D link without the interposition of any
chain. The detaching hooks at first were applied in the
same way, with the result that the copper rivets in the
hooks were sheared, or partly sheared, by the bottom of
the hooks dumping on to the rigid cage. At Orbiston

of the Act entails an enormous amount of work and the
expenditure of a considerable sum of money, but as a
rule some attempt has been made to comply with the
requirements of the subsection (3), but the width has
not been made, as near as may be, 3 ft. and the depth
4 ft., and they have in many cases neither been numbered
nor whitewashed. The requirements of the subsection
are perfectly clear, but the expression, “ as near as may
be,” has been read with very great latitude, and it has
been suggested that refuge holes 4 ft. and 2 ft. in width
comply with 3 ft. as near as may be. This is, of course,
absurd. The intention of the Act is that the refuge
holes should be as near as they can be made 3 ft. wide,
but some margin is given for the width varying at
different heights of the same hole. The object of the
width being made 3 ft. is to prevent a hutch entering a
refuge hole, and if this were borne in mind managers
would not be liable to make such mistakes as have
occurred. Whitewashing of the refuge holes is required,
if necessary, to make them readily visible, both inside
and for a distance of not less than 1 ft. round the
aperture. It has been argued that in a pit where there
are gradients on which tubs can run away there is no
necessity to carry out this provision. How managers or
others come to this conclusion, Mr. Walker is at a
loss to understand. The object of whitewashing the
entrance and inside of the hole is to make it conspicuous,
so that a man may get into it readily in an emergency,
and such emergencies are likely to occur on all roads
where tubs will run by themselves. While there is some
improvement to report, there are still too many instances
of the entrances to refuge holes being impeded by signal
wires or cables.

Mr. Walker gives an illustration of a hutch or
tub coupling used at the Bathgate Collieries, Linlithgow-
shire, owned by Messrs. Gavin Paul and Sons Limited,

The provision of sprags, stop blocks, &c., is well
carried out except that blocks on side roads from
inclines or braes are often not fitted. Blocks on inclines
are generally used, and safety chains at the top of steep
headings. Runaway blocks could be used more
frequently with advantage. There are a great number
of 9 in. diameter pulleys used on steep braes for single
tub haulage, but they are being superseded in a great
many collieries, and in view of the great number of
accidents this is desirable. Attention has often to be
called to obstructions, such as timber and girders left
by repairers on haulage roads, but there is a great
improvement in this respect.

The majority of the mines in Scotland are wet
throughout, but there are also mines which are dry and
dusty in parts. The removal of coal dust hitherto has
been confined to the pavement or floor, more attention
is now being given to the roof and sides, by removing
the dust and watering. Flue dust is also being used at
some mines. Mr. Walker would, however, speaking
generally, like to see the question tackled with much
more energy and thoroughness.

The wages of persons employed are paid once a week
at the great majority of the mines, the owners and
workmen having mutually agreed on this question.
Mr. Walker only knows of one case where it was
necessary for a ballot to be taken, and this resulted in
the workmen deciding that the wages should be paid
once a week, instead of fortnightly, as had previously
been the practice.

Several cases were reported from outside sources, and
also by the inspectorate staff, in which it appeared that
the firemen could not, owing to the size of their districts,
adequately make the necessary inspections within the
legal period.

Up to and including December 31,136 examinations