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	Disasters - Names		Disasters - Names

Date:	16th July 1900
Colliery:	Eppleton
Company:	Hetton Coal Co., Ltd.
Cause:	Underground Haulage Accident
Lives Lost:	1
Category:

No. 263 on the list occurred at Eppleton Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Hetton Coal Co., Ltd., on July 16th, and caused the death of a driver.

The deceased boy left the flat or station with three tubs and had gone about 50 yards, when another driver in turning his pony round caught 12 full tubs that were standing in the flat with the pony's limbers, and they ran back into the last tub of the three deceased was taking out and knocked the first one off the way, knocked the pony down, and crushed the boy so severely that he died the following day.

The gradient was about 1 in 36.

At end of the flat there is a safety chock, which should be put on by each driver as he passes it, to prevent tubs running away as these did, but deceased had not put it on as he thought another driver was following him out and he would do so. The result of the accident shows how important the closing of this chock was by every driver, and it is to be regretted this poor lad did not chose it on this occasion.

There did not appear to have been sufficient sprags in the wheels in the full tubs to keep them at rest in the flat. There were plenty lying in the flat, but they had not been used. If the chock, however, had been closed this would have been of no consequence, as it would have prevented the tubs running as far as they did before running into those deceased was taking out.

Source:

1900 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 536), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 29 Where to find this report

	Thompson, William, aged 15, Driver, He left the flat with a set of three full tubs, and left eleven tubs at flat which should have been spragged and a safety chock put in, but this was not done, and the tubs run amain into his set, knocked pony down and crushed deceased. Died ten hours afterwards.
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