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	Individual Details		Individual Details

Age:	43
Died:	16th Jun 1869
Accident:	16th Jun 1869
Year Born:	abt. 1826
Colliery:	Sherburn House
Company:	Earl of Durham
Occupation:	Brakesman
Notes:	explosion of a steam boiler
Buried:	[not known]
Category:

Above-ground Accidents.

The fatal accidents which occurred above-ground during the last year have been of the ordinary character, consisting principally of crushes by coal wagons and trucks near the tops of the pits, with the exception of a boiler explosion at Sherburn House Colliery, which caused the deaths of three persons. I do not, even in this case, feel it necessary to enter into details, as there was nothing more in the case than what pointed to the old cause in the form of boilers being used until the iron is deteriorated in quality by long exposure to the hot air and gases of the boiler fires, and finally become further weakened by the process of pinning to get the rivet holes of the new plates used to repair them, until they are no longer capable of withstanding the ordinary working pressure.

I may add that I think it highly desirable that colliery boilers should not only be placed under the supervision of one or other of the several boiler inspection companies, but that the boilers should be insured, in order, so far, to ensure efficient inspection on the part of the agents and workmen of such companies. The faulty parts of steam boilers is a speciality with them, and their great experience naturally enables them to detect and report defects of a dangerous character.

• 1869 Mines Inspectors Report (C 124), South Durham District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 13 Where to find this report
• 1869 Mines Inspectors Report (C 124), South Durham District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 15, Accident Number: 39 Where to find this report

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