Rainford Colliery

RAINFORD Nos. 1 & 2

Shafts
Sunk mid-1860’s
No.1 Pit (upcast), 9 feet 6 inches diameter, sunk to Seven feet or Lindsay Mine at 160 yards.
No.2 Pit (downcast), 11 feet diameter sunk as above.

Winding
Twin cylinder horizontal engine 24 inches x 54 inches, slide valves, flat rope reels 13 feet diameter bare. Engine between shafts winding one cage in each.
No.1 Pit, fitted with cage and weight – used for man winding.
No.2 Pit, fitted with double deck cage carrying 2 – 8cwt. capacity tubs per deck. Two pitch pine conductors to each cage.

Pumping
Single cylinder horizontal engine 24 inches x 54 inches, geared 1:4 to second motion shaft. Two flat rods to two quadrants or angle bobs placed over No.2 Pit. Pumping from 169 yards with two bucket lifts. Bottom lift 15¾ inches by 5 feet stroke lifting 72 yards to lodge. Top lift, same dimensions lifting 97 yards from lodge to surface. Six strokes per minute 228 galls./min.
Inbye Pumps, compressed air operated. Pearn vertical duplex 14 inches x 10 inches x 7 inches single horizontal 16 inches x 24 inches x 6½ inches double acting ram. Evans “Cornish” pump, horizontal 10 inches x 18 inches x 4 inches double acting plunger. Cameron duplex pump, 12 inches x 18 inches x 4 inches.

Underground Haulage
Main haulage, endless rope, steam engine located at surface, twin cylinder horizontal by Wood & Gee. 16 inches x 30 inches, geared 1:12 to 3rd. motion shaft carrying 6 feet diameter Clifton pulley. Haulage rope 1 inch diameter, Lang’s lay.
Subsidiary haulage, compressed air engine underground, Wood & Gee 10 inches x 15 inches twin cylinder horizontal, geared 1:4 to two 3 feet diameter drums for main and tail haulage.
Man-riding haulage, direct rope, compressed air twin cylinder horizontal engine, 15 inches x 30 inches, 5 feet drum.

Air Compressor
Twin cylinder horizontal, single stage, 25 inches (steam), 25 inches (air), x 54 inches stroke, built by Walker of Wigan, 1874.

Ventilation
Schiele fan 7 feet dia., 280rpm., belt pulley 2 feet 8 inches dia., 70,000cfm. at 1½ inches to 2 inches wg. Single cylinder horizontal engine 16 inches x 24 inches, 10 feet dia. flywheel with belt drive to fan. 75rpm.

Boilers
5 Galloway boilers 7 feet x 30 feet built 1891 (steel) for 60psi.
Two Lancashire boilers 7 feet x 28 feet, 50psi.
One egg-end boiler 50psi.
Boiler feed to Galloway and Lancashire boilers by exhaust steam injector using exhaust steam from air compressor.

Sawmill
Single 18 inch horizontal engine and Cornish boiler, 40psi.

RAINFORD Nos. 3 & 4

Shafts
No.3 Pit, 11 feet diameter, 200 yards to Arley Mine. (downcast)
No.4 Pit, 12 feet diameter, 200 yards to Arley Mine (upcast)

Winding
No.4 Pit, twin cylinder horizontal engine 11 inches x 30 inches, slide valves, 9 feet dia. parallel drum. Winding rope 1 inch dia., three wire rope conductors to each cage. Single deck cages carrying two 5 cwt capacity tubs.
No.3 Pit, twin cylinder horizontal engine 20 inches x 36 inches, two 13 feet diameter reels for flat ropes. Cages similar to No.4 Pit but two conductors per cage.

Underground Haulage
Main brow, endless rope, dip 1 in 8 westwards. Single cylinder horizontal steam engine sited near top of No.4 shaft. 18 inches x 36 inches, geared 1:4.
Subsidiary haulages, compressed air engines located underground, all engines twin cylinder horizontal.
No.1 engine, 6 inches x 12 inches, geared 1:4, 2 feet 6 inches drum for single rope direct haulage.
No.2 engine, 6 inches x 12 inches, geared 1:3 to 2 feet 6 inches drum for single rope direct haulage.
No.3 engine, 8 inches x 12 inches, geared 1:4 to 2 – 2 feet 6 inches drums for main and tail haulage.

Underground Pumping
Evans “Cornish” pump, compressed air operated, single cylinder, 10 inches x 12 inches x 3 inches double acting plunger pump.

Ventilation
Schiele fan 9 feet 6 inches dia., 220rpm., 100,000cfm. at 1½ inches, wg.
Single cylinder horizontal engine 18 inches x 24 inches, 79rpm.

Boilers
Three 5 feet x 32 feet , and one 5 feet x 36 feet, egg-ended boilers, 50psi.

Accidents & Disasters
On the 16th January 1869 during deepening of the shafts fire broke out in the shaft supporting coal pillars. Seven men went down to deal with the fire, but a sudden fall of roof occurred and interrupted the ventilation for short time and this caused the fire to flare up suddenly; all the men we fatally burnt. An 8th man jumped onto some staging that he thought was in the shaft, but it wasn’t there and he fell into the fire. The full report can be found here.

CLOSURES
Rainford Coal Co. Ltd. in liquidation September 1903.
Colliery re-started by Bromilow, Foster & Co. Ltd., December 1903.
Final closure c.1929.

A square brick chimney still remained in situ during the 1950’s.

Copyright © NMRS Records: G. Hayes Collection