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Ralph Lowes
| Age: | 18 |
| Died: | 18th Sep 1857 |
| Accident: | 18th Sep 1857 |
| Year Born: | abt. 1839 |
| Colliery: | Pease's West, Lucy Pit |
| Company: | |
| Occupation: | Putter |
| Notes: | he was putting a tub of coals to the shaft mouth in the Lucy Pit, when he suddenly fell 18 fathoms to the bottom. The overman and three men went down and found him lying dead. It was supposed that he had thought the cage was there, but it had been drawn to bank |
| Buried: | [not known] |
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| Description | |
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No. 56 accident arose through a putter having pushed a tub of coals into a pit at an upper seam of coal where there was a mouthing, in the absence of the cage, whereby he and the tub of coals fell to the bottom of the pit, causing his death. He appears to have forgotten to see whether the cage was there or not, although he had been told previously that there was something to do to the engine before he could have the use of the cage to draw coals.
Nos. 40 and 56 accidents are of the nature of persons falling down pits from mouthings where they have been employed to put tubs of coals into cages, stopped at such mouthings for the purpose of receiving them. In both instances there seems to have been an unaccountable want of care on the part of the workmen in not discovering that the cages were not there to receive the tubs when they pushed them into the shaft. Yet this want of care is unfortunately not of rare occurrence. In one case the practice has been discontinued at my instance ; in the other I suggested that a guard should be provided, which would require removal by a simple and expeditious process before a tub could be pushed into the cage, or into the shaft in its absence, thinking that it would cause the workmen to ascertain more certainly that the cage was there to receive the tub before it was pushed into the cage, or into the shaft in its absence. Strange to relate, however, more tubs have been pushed into the shaft in a given time since that provision was made than before, for the simple reason that the guard had come to be relied upon while it was frequently fixed up, so as to be of no use; and was thus, by the neglect of the workmen themselves, made a positive snare instead of a safeguard, as it was intended to be, and otherwise would have been. Fortunately, however, no lives have been sacrificed by these accidents since it was adopted. Owing to the abuse just stated, it is probable that it does not add to the safety of those abusing it.
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| Related Articles | |
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| Pub. Date | Article (Newspaper) |
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| 26 Sep 1857 | County Of Durham Inquests (Newcastle Guardian and Tyne Mercury) |
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| Sources | |
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- 1857 Mines Inspectors Report
- Contributions by members of the Public
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