THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN

AH©
JOURNAL OF THE COAL AND IRON TRADES.

Vol. CXVI.	FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1918.	No. 3021.

Some Unique Methods of Working Coal Seams *

By R. W.

Perhaps one of the most difficult problems that has
had to be d«~alt with during the present year is the
acute shortage of coal, and what has happened in
recent days will not bring us instant relief from this
shortage. At the present time an attempt is being
made to ration all kinds of fuel, whether in the shape of
coal and coke, or in gas and electricity; and coal has
been rationed, in much leaner quantities, in practically
all Continental countries tor the last three or four
years; whilst some idea of its price in some of those
countries may be formed from the charges for sea
freightage, which varies at the present time from about
£2 10s. per ton for French Channel ports to £10
per ton for Port Said.

The general excuse for our shortage is that too many
men have been taken from the mines; and there is
much truth in this But there is another factor of
equal importance, and of even greater significance,
namely, the con inual decline in output per person
employed, and it does not seem sure that as much has
been done as might have been to improve this individual
output. In making comparisons many people who
ought to know better insist on com| aring our returns
with the returns from other countries, their favourite
country to quote being, of course, the United States,
where conditions are, to say the least, more favourable
than in the Wigan district. It is not fair to make
comparisons between such widely different conditions.
For example, last year even the Yorkshire Division
had an output of 80 tons per annum per person
employed underground greater than the Lancashire
division, which without doubt was due to the more
favourable natural conditions. The true comparison
ought to be our own returns year by year in each of
our divided districts. The table gives a return for the
years 1907 and 1917, the figures being arranged to show
the output in tons per annum per person employed
underground, without taking any account of persons
employed on the surface. The loss of output per person
in the 10 years is to be 47’2 tons, which, on the number
of persons employed underground in the year 1917, is
equal to 811,510 multiplied by 47’2, or a total of
38,303,272 tons.

	Year 1907.			Year 1917.			Difference.
	No. of persons under- ground.	Output.	Output per head.	No. of persons under- ground.	Output.	Output per head.	
Scotland 			Tons.	Tons.		Tons.	Tons.	
	101,766	40,092,548	394	102,205	i 34,245,744	335	-59
Northern		161,038	56,243,456	355	152,068	; 43, 28,230	284 .	-71
York and North Midland		—	—	—	192,040	69.128,836	360	
Lancas ire and North Wales	87,371	30,034,598	344	89,512	25,204,560	282	-62
South Wales 		121,351	36,7b2,508	303	184,633	,48,507,902	263	-40
Midland and Southern		—	—	—	90,397	28,062,201	310	
	1  1	Average ...	353’4		Average ...	306’2	i

The question arises “ How are we going to improve
on these figures ? ” In recent years machinery has
been brought more and more into use, particularly in
holing the face and in conveying the coal along the
face, but we still lag a long way behind. One con-
tinually meets with cases where output is sacrificed for
want of power to replace manual labour—the hard seam
still being holed by hand, shot holes in cross-measure
stone drifts still being drilled by hand—and the need
of an auxiliary haulage system to keep pace with the
advancing roads, and to dispense with such old relics as
“ mangles,” crabs, etc.

Speaking of the average mine, there is not much
doubt that, next to the actual cost of getting, the
cost of transporting the coal from the face to the
haulage road is one of the most expensive items in
underground woi king; and th s is perhaps one of the
most laborious kinds of work underground, especially in
those collieries where the gradient is fairly steep, or the
haulage roads are too few. In some of the examples
taken it will be explained how a lot of this class of
work has been dispensed with. The drawings are given
as approximate details to illustrate the system, and are
not intended to represent the district to any given scale.
Two examples each of thin, moderately thick, and thick
seams, have been chosen.

Generally speaking, the thinner the seam the nearer
the roads have to be set out. Figs. 1, 2 and 3 show an
example, which is an exception to the general rule, inso-
much as though the seam is only from 2 ft. to 2 ft. 3 in.
thick, yet the gateways are set out 100 yds. apart. In
the level gateway s horse haul ge is used from the face,
while the rise roads are made into jig brows. Each
gateway employs 14 or 15 persons, of which eight or

* From an address to the Past and Present Mining
Students’ Association, Wigan and District Mining and
Technical College, on November 16.

CORLESS.

nine are constantly engaged in taking out the metal
between the coal and the rock, which varies from 15 to
18 in. in thickness. This metal completely fills the
goaf, allowing little subsidence, while a ripping of rock
makes excellent building stone for then>ad sides. Alter
the meial has I een taken off for a depth of about 5 ft.,
the coal < an be lifted in such condition that the greater
part of it can be filled by hand, without any shot
firing, the percentage of round coal being well over
90 per cent. Another peculiarity to be noted is the
method of conveying the coal to the ga'e-end. Small
trucks with a loose frame top are used along the faces,
which, as far as possible, are arranged along the level
line of the seam. Boys commencing work underground
(at the age of 14 to 16), run these trucks, which carry
from 3 to 4 cwt. When the truck drops off the rails
at the gate-<-nd, the coal, together with the loose frame
top, slides off the sheet iron bottom, the boy pulling
back the frame and g<dng off for another load. As the
gateway is placed near the centre of the 100 yds. face,
there aie always supplies of coal coming from each side.
The advantages claimed are—complete stowing, and
hence smaller amount of subsidence (this being essential
owing to the proximity of other seams); better roads,
due to having fewer roads to make; the holing men
become highly efficient through being constantly engaged
on the same class of work; while it provides suitable
work for boys near the coal face, from which they
graduate (1) as fillers, and (2) as holing men.

In another case of a thin seam, varying from 2 ft. 4 in.
to 2 ft. 9 in. in thickness, the faces are arranged parallel
to the line of full dip, the gradient being about 1 in 3J.
The seam has a very good roof, and the face is holed
by an electric chain type of machine. The peculiarity
here is the method of clearing the coal from the face.
Sheet iron troughs, made in lengths of 6 ft., are laid on
the floor of the seam along the whole length of the face,
and into these troughs the fillers shovel the coal, which
then slides down to the bottom into tubs placed under
the end of the trough. A crude yet effective method of
stopping the sliding coal near the bottom end is
employed, and roads are packed out (1) to provide
outlets from the face, and (2) to find material for

packing purposes. Six men have averaged 75 t »ns per
shift from this face, and the trough can be moved at a
cost of four shifts (two men each of two shifts), whilst
the number of roads is reduced by one-half, and the
main and tail haulage is kept close up to the face of the
main level.

In a third example the coal was most exceptionally
easy to get; but this great advantage would be lost to
both owners and woikmen unles-i tue haulage were kept
well up to the working face. To give an idea how well
this has been done, it may be stated that the output per
person for a whole distri t had been 12 tons per day,
and that on many occasions the tub', when filled at the
face of the main brows, had been attached on to the rope
without being pushed a single yard. In this case the
double wheel used to drive the auxiliary haulage is
situated some 2,000 yds. from the shaft bottom; the
light frames, each with two pulleys, are moved every 10
or 12 yds.—the adjustment of the auxiliary rope being
made by moving down brow the tightening wheel.
When the latter eventually comes do*n to the bottom
end a further long length of rope is put in, and the
tightening wheel is taken up brow to be used again in a
similar manner.

At another colliery the levies of young men taken
from the mine into the Army raised the question of how
to accommodate the older colliers who were left without
drawers. A new seam was commenced on a system
intended to cut out as much diawing as possible. A
fa<-e about 120 yards was opened out, in which the line
of face was parallel to the level line of the seam. Three
brows were set out, the centre one being the haulage
brow—a direct rope lowering six tubs alternately into
each side of the face. A feature in this case is a well
airanged shunt to suit this system. Built on iron
plating, all that is necessary is to fit the plates together,
and the shunt is complete—it being capable of being

moved forward in about half-an-hour, and being
de>igi ed to take up as small an area as possible, so as
not to leave too much roof untimbered. All debris
made in roof repait s and in tunnell ng is sent inbye, and
the space between the brows is packed solid. The coal
being left on each side was intended to be opened out
when the end of the war released a sufficient number of
men.

Fig. 4 illustrates a system of auxiliary haulages from
the face of every place in the district, and the system
has been applied to both rise and dip workings, the
only difference being that a tail rope is required as well
as a main rope in a rise district. The system is worked
with a single line of rails in each gate road, the gates
being 20 yards apart, with cross roads every 140 yards.
Each road has six to eight tubs at the face end, the full
tubs being brought out first, then the empties run in,

Fig. 1.

a

Fig. 2.

Tub with Loose Frame Top—used on face roads.

Fig. 3.

Figs. 1 to 3.—Working Thin Seams with
Gateways 100 yds. apart.

and the rope connections being made to wherever next
required. The roads are arranged so that there is a
difference of 10 yards between the lengths of rope
required in each successive road. When No. 1’gate has
reached the new cross road, the rope in this gate is
removed to No. 2 gate, and the adjustment follows
system aticaly as the face advances uniformly. A pair
of engines with three haulage hands are capable of
dealing with 100 tons per shift. The return wheels are
of steel, and being light are easily removed.

The case illustrated by figs. 5 and 6 presents several
interesting features. In the first place the seam is of
unusual thickness, and several methods of working had
been tried all with more or less success. Taking first
the case of a district worked to rise, the main roads are
first carried to within 150 yards of the boundary as a
narrow road, an emiless rope haulage road being set out
parallel to the boundary line. After the top poition of
the seam (3 it. 3in) has been worked out. panels of
work are set out in the bottom port on of the seam
(9 feet). A longwall chain machine holes the coal 10 to
20 yards at a time as requiied (no cutting shift being
required . All the goaf is packed solid, the debris and
empty tubs all being pulled up the right hand brow,
emptied and packed along the face, and then the same
tub fi led with coal is passed down the left-hand brow.
This brow is fitted with an uncommon t\pe of haulage,
there being an * ndless rope with a single lir e of rails.
The rope passes H tim^s round both top and bottom
pulleys and the rope pulled tight.

The tubs (full) are sent down in two’s attached with
a back chain to the rope and nothing passes upbrow
except a lashing chain to send down the next set. About
400 tubs per shift have been sent down this brow. The
output is regularised to the amount of debris that could
be found for stowing the goaf, and with the tubs filled
about half full of debris experience has proved that
approximately 600 tubs half filled with debris are
required for each 1,000 tubs of coal sent out.

In another district of the same seam an attempt is
being made to work the seam with one subsidence, and
a more equal division of the thickness. Three brows
have been driven down about 200 yds. in the form of
wide bays, with packs on each side; at this point a face
was opened out across the three brows in the lower
6 ft. of the seam, there being several well-defined part-
ings in the seam. This face was advanced about 20 yds.
upbrow, whereupon a face was opened out in the upper