Single Record

Full Details

Surname

JOHNSTONE

Forename

Henry

Day

01

Month

06

Year

1911

Age

20

Occupation

Miner

Mine/Quarry Name

Auchengeich

Mineral Worked

Coal

Owner

James Nimmo & Co. Ltd

Location

Chryston

County

Lanarkshire

Details of Event

The South Section of the coking coal seam was holed by means of a bar coal cutter, and the motive power was electricity, three-phase current of 440 volts. The cable conveying the current was armoured throughout, and was 580 yards long to the gate end box, and from the gate end box the trailing cable was also armoured. The system of earthing was common to all the electrical plant in use in the mine, and the machines were connected right to the surface, where there was a copper plate buried in the earth. At the time of the accident the current was on up to the gate end box, where it was switched off, and during the shift a bad leak took place and the armouring became alive as the leak did not go to the surface, the result being that the current travelled along the outer covering through the gate end box and on to the trailing cable, which was coiled up at the side of deceased's drawing road. He came out with a loaded tub to the entrance of the main road, and on stepping on to the cable to pass his tub he got the full shock, and falling on the cable lay there for at least 20 minutes, and when found no was quite dead. Searching investigation was made to find out why the current did not run to earth, and it was only discovered, after every attempt had been made to find out the cause, that a labourer, while he was engaged in cutting a trench in the vicinity of the copper leading to the copper plate, had cut the wire, thinking it was an old piece which had been thrown among the debris he was removing.