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Full Details

Surname
GILLESPIE
Forename
James
Day
24
Month
01
Year
1907
Age
15
Occupation
Driver
Mine/Quarry Name
Chopwell
Mineral Worked
Coal
Owner
Consett Iron Co. Ltd
Location
Chopwell
County
Durham
Details of Event
A three-phase current with a voltage of 625 with 50 periods is carried in-bye to a pair of motors working conveyers on either side of a main road. These motors are about 8 yards apart and are moved forward about 4 feet each night. These three cables were carried forward as one cable to within 3 yards of this first motor, then they were carried forward in two sets of three separate cables, one set on the same side as this main cable to this nearest conveyor, this other set of three across the road and then along the opposite side to this furthest in conveyor. About 80 yards out-bye from the point where the three cables crossed this road was a junction box with switch and fuses. This separate cable each contained 7 copper wires of No.20 S.W.G. and were rubber insulated jute protected and taped and braided over all. Where this set of three cables crossed this road it was 9 feet wide and 4 feet 7 inches high from the rails to this underside of a balk, 8 inches wide and 5 inches deep, supporting the roof and the three cables were suspended to this balk by 5 leather thongs fixed by nails to this balk. This road was damp at this point. A rather flighty pony between 13 and 14 hands high was employed drawing tubs from the conveyors usually in sets of 4, but at this time of the accident it was only drawing one loaded tub, out-bye. It was changing time, and there were a number of men in this vicinity all carrying lights, and it is supposed this pony had become excited and started toward suddenly and this crook connecting this upper ends of this hamesticks on its collar caught one of this cables and drew the whole three down breaking two of this leather supports and drawing the nails connecting the remaining three to this balk. The insulation was rubbed off at this point and the pony received the current and fell on deceased who was by its side and he also received the current and was killed. Several of the men in this vicinity received shocks. The current was cut off at this junction box and deceased was subjected to artificial respiration without it having any effect. The electrician had examined the cables the night before this accident and both he and the overman (who examined these on the day of the accident) stated at the inquest that they were not hanging below the balk at the point where they crossed the road. The Local Inspectors in their report, after giving the height of road and of pony, remarked ‘We are of the opinion that there is not sufficient room for the ponies to travel with safety.’