2s MAIN ROAD HAULAGE WAY - THE ROPE HAULED SET HAS JUST GONE IN BYE

bewildebeeste :- In reference to your original comment under the photo - if this wasn't long before closure, then was the roadway improvement just another way to add costs onto the mine balance sheet?
And why did this Archibold have it in for Bates in particular?

high pit wilma :- Spot-on!
Mind,this tactic was employed as far back as 1964/5,by the Labour Government who were in power at the time.
Dr Beeching closed all the scenic and small railway branch lines,and the Minister of Fuel and Power started closing all the "Uneconomic" pits.
They transferred men from all the pits around ,in batches of a dozen here and a dozen there,like from Newbiggin ,Hartford,Hartley,North Seaton,Seghill,etc,TO Choppington
High Pit,doubling the workforce from 300-odd,to 600-odd,virtually halving the output-per-manshift,while,at the same time ,demolishing the perfectly working steam winder/house,
and building a brand new electric winder/house...which was more trouble than enough.
It tripped out every two minutes,and lost a lot of coalwork time.
Also,they decided to "modernise" the shaft top and bottom areas,installing rams to push tubs into the cages,and doing away with the flat sheets.
All this investment and no increase in coal production[which was impossible,cos they 
hadn't organised winning out more faces,to take the extra men],deemed the pit to be
"Uneconomical"
Mind,a was pleased at the time,cos a went ti Bedlington A pit...a much better pit for conditions. 
They put £30million Dosco Roadheaders,in stripped down sections,on trams,into a disused seam "inset" halfway down the shaft, at Bates Pit,just to exaggerate operating costs artificially,as well as other costly measures,to justify the plan to close the Pit...
then when closure was officially announced,they quietly shifted the Machines from their hidey-hole in the shaft,and moved them to Ashington Colliery,and did the same thing there with them,deeming Ashington Pit for closure like the rest of the pits in the coalfield,under thatcher's pre-conceived plan.
Noo,that's not hearsay,i actually saw the same machine sections at Ashington,when i was transferred there![STILL WITH BATES 3/4 SEAM SCRAWLED ALL OVER THEM!]
Archbold,for a few years,kept sending grossly under-powered face supports,down the Three-Quarter Seam,hence the depressing photo's of R20's on this set.
Lots of times men were injured,and nearly killed,by the legs on the face chocks bursting,under severe roof pressure,and a lot of pressure from goaf-breaks,pushing the whole line of chocks,[70 at a time] forward towards the coal,and flattening the whole chock-line like a box!!
I think [only my suspicion],that if Budge hadn't destroyed most of the records at Team Valley head offices,when his staff took over,a lot of skeletons might have been found in Archbold's cupboards....
It had already happened in the past,where officials had accepted holidays abroad,gifts,etc,for presenting contracts to these mining companies......
Why was he risking LOTS of men's lives by refusing our Manager's request for more costly,but more efficient sets of face supports...[it would have been for 200 per coal face]
...a lot of money to wangle contracts with eh?
DO YOU SAVVY,BEESTE?

high pit wilma :-

Now that it's 30 years since the strike,in 1984,official secret documents are being released,under the 30 - year rule,which are revealing the true facts about thatcher-thi -hatcheter's plan to destroy the NUM,and any other union who dare to suggest militant action against her....and in doing so,she destroyed the whole of the coal industry.
There's gonna be some interesting facts released in due course...
it's now 20-9-14,Saturday,1.07 am.