| COLLIERY | WELCH WHITTLE | ||||||
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| LOCATION | Approx. 2¼ miles south-west of Coppull station on LNWR West Coast Main Line. | ||||||
| OWNERS |
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Shafts
Original shafts sunk c1855 by J. Darlington. Colliery closed 1880. Two new shafts commenced 1892, completed December 1894.
Downcast shaft- Sunk to Arley Mine at 330 yds. 2 feet 4 inches, 16 feet diameter. Sunk through 110 feet 6 inches of surface drift and quicksand.
Upcast shaft – 14 feet diameter sunk to Arley Mine.
Winding
Downcast shaft – Twin cylinder horizontal engine by Worsley Mesnes Ironworks, 26 inches x 60 inches, balanced slide valves, parallel winding drum 14 feet dia. x 6ft. wide, cast iron in three sections each with 8 arms. Brake path each side of drum 15 feet 6 inches dia. Winding ropes fitted with Ormerod detaching hooks. Three iron wire rope conductors per cage. Four tubs wound in each cage, two tubs per deck from Arley Mine.
Upcast shaft – Twin cylinder horizontal engine by Wood & Gee, Wigan, 1894, Nos. 493 & 494., 26 inches x 60 inches, slide valves, steam reverser. Winding drum stepped, 14 feet x 3 feet and 9 feet x 3 feet, winding from Cannel Mine at 178 yards and “New Mine” at 108 yards respectively.
Underground Haulage (1896) – Ponies only
Pumping (1896)
Horizontal single cylinder engine at surface, 26 inches x 54 inches, balanced slide valve, made by Worsley Mesnes Ironworks. Geared 1:5 to second motion shaft, flat rod and quadrant to 14 inches bucket lift – 54 inches stroke – at 108 yards. 1949pm. at 6½ pumping strokes per minute, 12 hours per day.
Second set of flat rods and quadrant disconnected for pumping from Cannel Mine when required.
Ventilation
Guibal fan 24 feet dia. x 7 feet wide, c1859, duplicate engine, horizontal 20 inches x 19 inches stroke. 50,000cfm. at 1 inch wg., 50rpm.
Screens
Single cylinder horizontal engine 8 inches x 12 inches.
Boilers
Three Lancashire boilers 8 feet 6 inches x 30 feet, 100psi., hand fired, covered with “composition” and 4½ inches brickwork. Two boilers made by Yates & Thom, Blackburn and one boiler by Tetlow of Hollinwood.
Chimney 90ft. High.
Boiler feed
Hydraulic ram from brook to lodge, gravity flow to exhaust steam feed water heater, Cameron. pump, duplex, 10 inches steam and 5 inches dia. rams, from feed heater to boilers.
Seams Worked
1896 – Arley, Cannel, and “New Mine”, General dip 1 in 11 SE.
1933 – Haigh Yard, Smith, Wigan Six Feet. Output 100,000 tons pia.
1954 – incl. Day Eye – Smith, Six Feet, King, Bone.
Workforce (1954)– U/G 365, S/F 131.
CLOSURE – February 1960.
Copyright © NMRS Records: G. Hayes Collection
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