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From the in-bye end the drift known as No. 6 or Taffy's Drift was started about eleven months before the explosion, and had been driven 438 yards, leaving 150 yards to be excavated to complete the road, and at the time of the explosion operations were being carried on from this end, which was the portion of the mine in which the explosion occurred.

The drift was being driven by a contractor, Mr. Rowland Williams, who found all labour and put in all timber and girders. He had eighteen drifters employed at the face and twelve hands, for taking away the stones, spread over three shifts, there being usually an interval between each shift of about an hour when no men were actually at the face, the outgoing shift passing the incoming one somewhere on the haulage road.

A hand-worked fan was placed in the drift and the men working it were understood to change at the fan itself, being paid overtime for so doing. They were employed and paid by the Colliery Company.

The Company's officials inspected the drift in compliance with the General and Special Rules, and a shot-firer for each shift was provided and paid for by the Company, who also provided the explosive and surface clay for stemming.

The "station" (General Rule 4) was the foot of the drift, a point known as "McAdam's turn."

The haulage road from which No. 6 Drift started is in stone (see plans and section). The rising gradient of the drift, 1 in 17, is nearly the same as that of the strata, and the drift did not cross-cut the "metals" to any great extent until it crossed at 200 yards a fault with an 18 fathom (36 yards) "upthrow" in the direction in which the drift was being driven. Before reaching the fault there was no coal in the drift, but after crossing it it was associated with two coal seams, an upper one 17 inches thick which was either in the roof or just above it, and a seam 7 inches thick 6 feet below the upper one, which was either removed in forming the drift or lay just below it.

There were workings in the Main Band above the whole length of Nos. 5 and 6 Drifts which workings had been abandoned 25 years ago. Above the inner portion of No. 6 Drift the pillars had been partially "robbed" or worked.

No. 6 Drift was completed to full size, viz., 13½ feet wide by 7½ feet high for about 200 yards from its commencement, the roof being supported by iron girders resting on props at each end and "lofted" above; beyond this completed length it was continued forward about 238 yards 10 feet wide and 5 feet high and timbered with legs and wooden crowns, the intention being to make it full size later and put in iron girders.

210 yards from the bottom of the drift was a 14 inch incline wheel, and up to this point two sets of rails were laid forming a self-acting incline, the loaded tubs of stone from the face always running on the south side. From the top of the incline to the face the tubs, ordinary coal tubs, were run by hand.

No. 6 Drift was ventilated at the time of the explosion by a range of iron air pipes which acted as the return air-way.

As shewn on the plan in Plate VI. there were two entrances to the drift separated by a small triangular pillar. One of these entrances, a curved road, called the "shunt," leading out-bye, was used for bringing out the loaded tubs of stones and a split of fresh air (from the current of 40,000 cubic feet per minute — measured as 63,384 cubic feet per minute on 7th November, 1907—) reaching the point, passed into it and up the drift returning by the iron pipes. To divert a portion of the air current into the drift a canvas sheet extending to within 1 to 2 feet of the floor was hung across the portion of the haulage road lying between the two entrances to the drift. The other entrance to the drift, the continuation of the drift itself, was closed by a brick wall 14 inches thick, and in it was a wooden door 5 feet by 4½ feet opening towards the face of the drift, and rails were laid through it along which the empty tubs were brought into the drift. At the left-hand upper corner of the wall two iron pipes 16 inches in diameter were inserted. One was not continued and its inner end was closed by canvas. The other pipe continued up the left side of the drift in 6 feet lengths fitting into each other with the joints caulked with putty and carried near the roof by wire attached to the girders and crowns. The pipes continued as 16 inch pipes for 239 yards and were then carried forward as 20 inch pipes for 136 yards to a hand fan 56 yards from the face, beyond which they were continued, also as 20 inch pipes, for 51 yards, at the time of the explosion extending to within 15 feet of the face of the drift.

The air ventilating the drift rejoined, on the in-bye side of the canvas sheet, the current it had left.

The hand fan which was 18 inches in diameter by 9 inches wide, geared 11 to 1, was placed in connection with the pipes so that it both exhausted air from the face and forced it to the other end of the range. A fan man was only in attendance when men were engaged or about to be engaged at the face of the drift. When the fan was being worked the handle was revolved about 44 times per minute, the fan itself making 484 revolutions in the same time.

Evidence was given at the inquest that when the hand fan was working the ventilation was satisfactory, but that during the fan man's absence on Sundays, from about 4 a.m. to 10 p.m., gas accumulated next the face of the drift, and it was usual, before restarting work, or even attempting to reach the face of the drift, to work the fan for an hour or so. The same conditions prevailed on one occasion when the fan broke down and had to be sent to the surface for repairs. Evidence was also given that even when the face was clear of gas it was not unusual to find it next the roof at a considerable distance back, and this condition Mr. Atkinson observed after the explosion and when the pipes had been renewed.

Previously a small hand fan had been in use, and evidence was given at the inquest that prior to the installation of the larger hand fan men had been affected by the fumes from the explosive used, and in some cases had to be helped from the face. But it was stated that the explosive then in use was Geloxite, the fumes from which are more noxious than from Saxonite.

When there had been a cessation of work in the drift for several hours and no fan man in attendance it appears to have been assumed by the deputies that gas would be present at the face, and they did not attempt to make the statutory examination until the fan had been worked for some minutes and the gas cleared away. One of them stated at the inquest that before working the fan on a Sunday night after the usual stop he found on examining the air issuing from the pipe that it was charged with fire-damp.

It was stated at the inquest by one of the deputies that the practice of working the fan on Sunday nights before inspecting the face had gone on since 11th October.

Although the station fixed under General Rule 4 of the Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1887, was at the entrance to the drift, it appeared to be the custom for the deputy overman making the statutory examination of No. 6 Drift on the Sunday night, not only to take one or two men past the station with him to work the fan before he had made any examination, but also to allow the other workmen to come up the drift to a refuge hole where they were in the habit of leaving some of their clothes.

On September 24th, 1907, an inspection made by two representatives of the miners employed in the pit of the working places and roadways leading thereto of the Lowca District, No. 6 Drift, and Lowca return and reported as "all safe in good working order."

On Sunday, the 24th November, work ceased in the drift about 4 a.m. At 5 a.m. James Bigrigg, a deputy, was at the face, and he stated at the inquest that it was then clear of gas ; he made a written report as to this inspection. About 10 p.m. Bigrigg came on duty again and reached the drift with a fan man about 11 p.m. Bigrigg went first and examined as far as the fan, and found it clear up to the fan; he then called the fan man forward and the fan was worked for hour. He then proceeded to the face and found. it clear of gas, but he made no written report as to this inspection. The fan man was left in the drift, none of the other workmen having come down in the 10 p.m. shift. Bigrigg visited the face of the drift again at 5 a.m. on the 24th, and reported in writing that he found it clear of gas, and soon after the ordinary workmen started work at the face.

Bigrigg examined the face at 7 a.m. on the 25th, and reported it (in writing) as safe.

On the day of the explosion Bigrigg examined the drift from 6.15 a.m. to 7 a.m. and found it clear of gas. The fan man was at his post but no one was in the face at the time, but the result of a round of shots lay ready for the next shift to clear away. He made a written report that No. 6 Drift was in safe working order.

The overman, Wilson Graham, was in the drift from 7.30 a.m. to 8 a.m. on the day of the explosion and found it in safe working order.

The under-manager, John Rothery, was at the face of the drift shortly after the overman left it and he found it in safe working order.

The miners employed in the Countess and Lowca districts were not allowed to ride on the endless rope road beyond McAdam's turn or the point where No. 6 Drift started, as the Manager did not consider it safe. They had made a demand to be allowed to ride further in-bye, and the Manager, accompanied by Mr. John Hanlon, local Miners' Agent for the Whitehaven Collieries, and Mr. Jas. Smallwood (local or check-inspector) on behalf of the William Pit miners, were down the pit together on the morning of the explosion respecting this question. The Manager promised that when the new road was completed an extension of the riding distances would be granted, and at about 9.40 a.m. they all visited the face of No, 6 Drift to see what progress was being made.

About 1.10 p.m., owing to the neglect of William Cowan (braker) to attach 6 tubs loaded with stone to the incline rope, they ran amain and collided with some loaded tubs standing near the bottom of the drift and caused a wreck. Cowan went to the face to report the mishap, and the Contractor's charge-man, Evan Evans, and all the face men except one went to the bottom of the drift to put matters right, one face man and the shot-firer remaining. When the tubs ran amain nine shots were just ready for firing.