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- Surname
- SMITH
- Forename
- Robert
- Day
- 07
- Month
- 10
- Year
- 1904
- Age
- 19
- Occupation
- Landing Keeper
- Mine/Quarry Name
- Bedlington
- Mineral Worked
- Coal
- Owner
- Bedlington Coal Co. Ltd
- Location
- Bedlington
- County
- Northumberland
- Details of Event
- An endless rope incline rising inbye 4 inches per yard on which the tubs are attached in pairs by a clip to a rope running beneath them comes onto the shaft siding at right angles to the main road on which deceased worked as landing keeper and driver of sets of tubs from a main and tail rope landing a short distance beyond the foot of the incline to the shaft. The 0.5in screwed wrought iron bolt fastening the shackle of a clip to the clips itself broke and allowed two full tubs to amain when about 170 yards from the foot of the incline. No other tubs were in front of them on the incline and they ran to the bottom, jumping the rails at the curve and dashing against the side of the main road killing deceased who was walking inbye to his horse. There was a runaway switch worked from the bottom of the incline, below the point were the tubs broke away, but the attendant the incline foot (who was not the regular hand there) was in the act of taking the clip off the last two tubs that had come down and had not time to make use of it. The Jury recommended that the bolts be strengthened by being riveted into the shackles instead of being threaded as at present. This the manager agreed to do as well as raising the outer rail of the curve and fixing a higher check rail on the inside of the rail. The Local Inspectors reported "there was no blame to anyone, as it was an unforeseen accident'.
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