Description

Number 14 on the list occurred at the Louisa Pit, of South Moor Colliery, on the 2nd of March last, at about 4. 15 o'clock p.m., causing the deaths of John Barron, a rolleywayman, and William Neal, a driver.

The shaft in which this accident occurred is used for winding the coal from the Low Main Seam, and also for lowering and raising the persons employed in that seam; it is fitted with two cages, each having two decks, carrying one tub on a deck, and when they were being sent up or down, four men were put into each deck, two at each side, or eight in all.

On the day in question, the shift being over, the men were being sent to the surface, and after several cage loads had gone up without any mishap, two men, one of them being Barron, and Neal and another boy, got into the top deck of the cage, on the west side of the shaft; then four men got into the bottom deck, and the onsetter signalled for the cage to be taken away. He says it had gone about 20 yards, when he heard a loud rumbling noise in the shaft, as if something was falling, and then he heard something strike the cage, and this was followed by a large stone falling into the ingate, and the deceased boy's body fell almost immediately after on to the scaffold. He signalled "hold," and the cage was stopped, but it was nearly at bank. On being taken to bank it was found that there was a large dent on the top of the cage, and Barron was lying dead in the bottom, the other man, in the top deck, had one of his hands and head injured, but the other lad was not injured at all, nor were the men in the bottom hole or deck. The boy Neal was on the same side of the cage, as the deceased man, Barron who, I think, was killed by the stone falling on to the top of the cage, just above his head, and he had then fallen to one side and knocked Neal out of the cage, and he fell to the bottom and was quite dead when found by the onsetter.

I, along withMr. Walker, my assistant, made a careful inspection of the shaft after the accident, and found a piece of stone, weighing about 63lbs., of triangular shape, had fallen out of the shaft, from between two "jacks" or partings, about 200 feet from the Low Main Seam hanging-on, at a point where the shaft is not lined, or protected in any way, and in falling had met the ascending cage, as described above and caused the accident.

It will be well here, I think, to give the evidence of the shaftman, who was examined at the inquest, as to the condition of the shaft, the lining or walling in it, and the periodical examinations made of it. He said, "I have been a shaftman about seven years. Prior to the accident I examined the shaft on the 28th of February, and I started about 5.30 p.m., and finished between 7 and 7.30 p.m. Another shaftman was with me on that occasion: we were both on the top of the cages and had open torch lights. We went down the east side and came up on the west side cage, and were lowered and raised at a slow speed. We pay most attention to a place, 24 to 26 fathoms above the Low Main Seam, just above the Low Main Post, where the stone is of blue metal. At the third water ring, which is cut out of the natural rock, and from where the stone fell, it is hard grey post stone. We examined this part. The report produced is the one made after that examination, and it states we found all right. The examination of the shafts, under General Rule 5, is done weekly as required. The examination of the state of the guides, and conductors in the shafts is made daily pursuant to General Rule 5. On the 1st of March, that is the day before the accident, Henry Abbott and I made that examination and found all right, and, in addition to making this examination, we also looked at the shaft sides, and noticed nothing wrong. We stopped the cages seven times, to examine the stone. I had no suspicion of any being loose. The blue metal above the Low Main Post is five or six fathoms in thickness; it is loose and breaks away in small pieces. We take any loose pieces of stone we may see off, but there were none to take off on that night. Water runs down the side of the shafts, and gets into the jacks, and slips, and loosens the stone. There are 41 fathoms of walling in this shaft. The shaft would no doubt be safer if it was all walled.

" I examined the place from which this stone fell, about 7 o'clock on the same night as the accident occurred; the stone is grey post, very close, and hard and triangular in shape, 63 lbs. in weight and caine out above the water ring at the north-east side of the shaft.

"The cage top is made of steel three-sixteenths of an inch thick, and has three cross bars, the middle one of round, and the outer ones of flat bar iron, to support it. I have seen the cage since the accident, it is bulged in, at what would be the southwest corner, and which would be just above the deceased man Barron's head. The middle crossbar is broken, and the rivets of one of the outer ones are also broken.

"I think the stone would have sounded solid, if it had been tried, before it fell away

"We are, at the present time, putting wooden cribs in where the stone is bad above the Low Main Seam. Five weeks ago we made an examination from the top to the bottom, on the cradle, and it took six hours to make it."

It was estimated that the stone fell about 160 feet, and that the ascending cage was travelling at 10 feet per second, and this being so, and the weight of the stone 63 lbs., the force of impact, when it and the cage met, would be about 5½ tons.

Until it is made compulsory for all shafts in which men are to be lowered or raised to be walled or lined from top to bottom, accidents of this kind are liable to happen. No matter how good the stone may appear to be, it is always liable to become insecure, from atmospheric and other changes, and fall away as this piece did.

In all the shafts, which have been sunk in this district within the last few years, walling or tubbing has been put in for the whole depth.

I made representations to the Owners and Manager, of this colliery, and they promised to put walling in in all places, which were then unprotected in this shaft.

Tombstone

Mines Inspectors Report Entry

Sources

• 1894 Mines Inspectors Report (C 7667), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 17 Where to find this report
• 1894 Mines Inspectors Report (C 7667), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 37, Accident Number: 14 Where to find this report
• Headstone(s) in Church of England Churchyard, Stanley
• Tombstone photograph (T-01630-01-0009) © Roy Lambeth

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