HIGH PIT WILMA

Hi Folks! "Sprags" was another name for "Dregs"..the latter term being used in every pit I worked at. I think "Sprags" might have been a Durham/Yorkshire pit term,maybe even the Midlands. Whenever you were needing to control the speed,or halt,a pit tub,you hoyed a dreg in between the spokes of..[usually] the back wheel of the tub or tram. Why the back wheel?.....think about it! The tubs and trams had no steering mechanism!...four wheels mounted on two rigid axles,and sitting in rigid,[bearing-less] "Cods",like a half-bush-bearing. If you dregged the front wheels as a vehicle was taking a turn in the roadway,you were asking for it to jump a catch on the rails and hoy it off thi way!! [Refer to Eggy's excellent film..."Jowl...jowl..and listen" where it shows you how to lift a tub back on the way....well....suggestively!] The free-rolling front wheels would ride around a turn,and roll alongside a moderate catch on the rails,while the dregged rear wheels would by now,be skewed and following the front end. A "Catch", on the "way",was a bad joint between the sets of rails as they were laid,usually lack of fish-plates holding them in place,or loose bolts on the plates if these were in place,causing the rail joint to open up,and fall out of line,so producing a "Catch",or "Jump". Choppington High Pit was run on a strand of a shoestring,and we were lucky to even have rails,in the Tailgates,and none whatsoever,in the Mothergates,until the last year or so,when they drifted down to the Top Busty seam,and laid rails in both gates. But in the Beaumont seam,where my Father also worked as a 14 yr old putter,in 1929,nothing had changed by 1959,when I started as a 15 yr old. Now the seams all rose steeply to the West,and it was a hell of a pull for the ponies,taking in heavy machinery,girders ,etc,and the "Way"..[rails-rolleyway..],was badly deteriorated due to all the water running down the roadways,constantly,and forming 100 yard long "Swalleys",up to your waist in places,nothing unusual. The rails in the tailgates never had any fish-plates to tie them together,and a scarcity of sleepers,nails and dogs..[dog is a nail with a turned-over head,which gripped the rail flange to the sleeper,as opposed to a proper nail which went through a hole in the rail flange,into the sleeper.] SO!! .....going up a typical tailgate,was like going up Murphy's Switchbacks!!....zig-zag all the way with most rails having catches on them. Getting off the way with a coal-cutter stator..[motor section],weighing 23cwt..[nearly a ton and a quarter..],in a swalley in waist-deep black stinking water,with your pony deciding it was toilet-time,and passing 200 gallons of ammonia into the water,as well as other things...........wasn't much fun! We would get back on the way,heaving with sweat,and knowing that the Electrician would condelm the motor with an earth-fault, would still have to persevere our way right up to the coal-face!! Now,on the way back outbye,we would be dropping severely in places,so we would put a wood dreg in the rear wheels of the tram,climb aboard,and stick our wellied-foot through the bars of the tram,and put the sole of our welly onto the flange of the front wheels,and "brake " the speed of the tram down the steepest parts of the roadway,still travelling at speeds of about 15 mph or more on straight stretches!!....which is incredibly fast when the roadway arched girders are only 12 inches from your face!!!! Sometimes dregs broke,and the tram just went "Amain",[out of control],with the pony galloping like hell as the tram hit his fetlocks.....we didn't have "Limmers" [limbers],just thin tracing chains attached to the pony's collar,each side,and attached to the tub or tram. We HAD to rely on dregs all the time. The reference to a "Spragger",would refer to a young kid,just started the pit,who worked at the shaft top,on the Heapstead,dregging "chummings"..[empty tubs] as they approached the shaft flatsheets.or at the shaft bottom,either working in the "Dish",dregging the chummings ready to send inbye in "Sets" on the haulage rope,or on the "Kip",dregging full'uns [full tubs],as they came free-fall to the shaft bottom,ready to send to bank..[the surface],after being filled at the "Loader-end", which was usually a canny distance inbye from the shaft bottom. More kids than enough had badly crushed hands doing these jobs,[including my older Brother,AND Myself,cos you had to couple and uncouple the sets of tubs as they were moving..[no H&S them days!] I often wonder what the average 15 yr old kid would say nowadays if he was stuck into a job like that! Nice to be back on the forum!

Thanks Eggy! This is a great film,a cudn't leave it ti gaan and put thi kettle on! Browt back a lot of memories again. Aa was 15 yrs aad,and working on thi screens,when a had my first experience of a fatality. The fella was a real canny owld sowl,and he went in ti oil and grease aal thi shakers,and conveyor belt gearboxes,which he had done for many many years,till that fateful day. We didn't actually witness his accident,but got graphic details from those who did witness it,and it lived with me for the rest of my life. It was a case of Jimmy was cracking jokes and getting he's bait with us one minute,then when he didn't return from he's tasks,after a half-hour had passed,we were told he had been fatally injured. It was a traumatic event for a 15 yrs old kid to experience. When I got home and told my Parents ,sitting at the dinner table,my Father went daft with me,cos he hadn't wanted me to work in the pits,especially THAT pit,cos he had worked there as a 14 yr old laddie as well,in 1929. His words were,"Thi bugga's aal rough and ready,and ye'll get bliddy killed doon that bugga"...[exact quote!"] That pit didn't change right to the day they closed it in 1966!....it was STILL rough and ready....I never witnessed so many accidents at any other pit as I did at Choppington High Pit! I've still got deformed and disfigured hands and other scars yet from my six years down that hell-hole.

....Hmm.....colour change.....mines a purple one......!!.......bah![pun intended!]...[and approved.....I thinks.....]

Another sad loss in the music industry. His playing and musicianship are shown to be incredible in the empty stadium on "Fanfare for the common man"..[as are his fellow musicians!] I'm an old-fashioned "whistler",always have been,and this tune is constantly destroyed by my feeble attempts to whistle it,usually when I am in the garden..... R.I.P. Keith.

VERY good point Foxy!!...for a number of reasons!! Already we are seeing quite a few failures....it's still early days yet!

Canny Lass,I'm shocked and really vexed ti hear about your Grandson. I'm not religious,so to speak,but I do believe in many of the Bible teachings we were brought up by from being a child,and the one I REALLY believe in is..."an eye for an eye,a tooth for a tooth",and also "let the punishment fit the crime". If he was my Grandson,I would want to get this swine,no.....that is an insult to an innocent animal,this scum,and give him a good hiding,to teach him a lesson or two. OOOOOOOOHHH! I maybe have stepped over the P.C. thresh,and shown myself to be a thug also............never had a fight in my life until I was also attacked innocently going about my own business,in 1989/90,outside my own home,10-30pm,in darkness. The attacker was drug-crazed,and set about starting to "kick the s.... out of me.."[in his seething temper...his very words..] He was head and shoulders above me,and half my age,[I was 46 yrs old at the time,and strong as an ox] I backed off for about twenty yards as he kept pushing me,and throwing punches,missing me,as i was sober and he was drugged to hell. But one punch landed right on my eyebrow,almost blinding my left side,momentarily,and I saw a red mist. One fast left-handed uppercut to his chin,[a non-voluntary reaction],made both his eyes go crossed,his legs went like jelly,and he slithered slowly to the ground. He was out for the count,but I just went for his throat to throttle him,cos I was now as crazy as he was,through no fault of my own. My good neighbours pulled me off this scum,and thankfully he was o.k.,and he sulked away home. When the police came,he had the nerve to come back out,and walked over,combing his hair,James Dean style,as if nothing had happened,and asked the policeman what was going on...!! It's a longer story,but suffice to say that he never bothered me again,I learned that I could stand up for myself when required!!! I often used to wonder if I could handle myself if the time ever came,and that night my confidence was boosted no end,but again,thankfully,I've never had to defend myself physically since,although several times bullies who have threatened me,even recently,for "being in the way" with my little dog,have never taken up my offer to come back and stand their ground...,because they are all big-mouthed cowards. All these bullies I mention,have been cyclists who have been riding with no lights,no bells,and dark clothing,on the narrow footpath with no street-lighting,near my home,and who have nearly ran me over,riding away shouting obscenities,and threatening to "fill me in". Sorry for going on,but bullies like this one who has injured your Grandson,always pick on people unexpectedly,or elderly or infirm people. Your Grandson wouldn't have stood a chance with a laser shone in his eyes before the attack took place..that's cowardice. I hope he made a good recovery,Canny Lass.

Went back ti Live again just noo,and thowt ti mesel,aye,it might hae been a novel gud idea at thi time,but it must be one of the very few gud ideas,which are very effective,and STILL in use at thi same site,60-odd years later,in thi LIGHT[!],of aal this new L.E.D.. technology! Wonder.....has anybody at NCC,thowt of replacing the lamps inside the bowls,wi CREE L.E.D.'S...?[or aam a bit behind thi times and it's mebbe aalriddy been done?]

Hmm!!...wondered what time thi X21 got ti thi top-end......noo a naa,thanks ti Live!! Can anybody tell me wat thi purpose is of seeing thi Market-place at neet,constantly?....aam aa missin' summik? ...a mean,it's NICE ti see it aal lit up,cos a was browt up there,lang afore tha was any Belisha beacons flashin!,in fact a can mind when thi very forst one was put in,and that one was doon aside the Nothumberland Arms/Chemist's shop crossing. Aa musta ownly been aboot eight or nine,mebbe ten years aad,mebbe even younger,but aal a remember is me aadest Sister coming in from sumwheor,and being excited,and starting ti tell aal thi family aboot thi new "Belisha Beacon",which,at my young age,soonded a freaky weird thing..!! She started ti explain wat it lukked like,and so aal of us in thi family went up ti see it.....nae kid!! When we got up ti thi Market-place,tha was a lot of folk aal stannin aroond and taakin aboot it!! Seems absoloutely ridiculous noo,ti think aboot it,but remember,we still had aad gas street leets in places like Hollymoont Avenue,Bell's-Place...[wat leads doon ti Hollymoont Square],so this new-fangled electric flashing leet seemed a marvellous affair!![most of thi aad colliery hooses and other aad terraced hooses still had gas leets in thi hoose,fed from thi Doctor Pit Gasometer.]

LOATHE.....LOATHE....LOATHE......! That aal thi roads up where me caravan is,as shown on me pics of the "Jet-Patcher" machine above,are a million times worse noo than wat they were when this machine clagged tarry toot inti thi pot-holes,aboot three years ago! Thi roads are so bad that me car grounds in places,and yi can hear aaful crunching underneath even as yi gaan deed slow,and weave from side ti side ti miss as many holes as yi can,but it's an impossibility ti miss aal of thim. A had brokken coil-springs on me last car,[thi one that got written off by thi hit and run bitch last year],and aav noo got a broken one on this car,which is gaana gaan in next week for service repair and Mot. A wonder if a send the bill in ti NCC,will they pay it?!!!!

A think it musta been a foggy neet,and aav been dog.....[!]....tired not ti hae seen this damage,unless it's just started ti break up recently,but ti be honest,the breaks in the aad concrete dinna luk like recent breaks,mebbe they were cracks and mebbe a heavy vehicle has clipped the fence and pushed it owa,which would be consistent wi thi type of collapse that it's aal displaying! Nivvor mind,nae mair rabbitin' as lang as it does get fixed....nice one Mr Gilbert,whoever yi are!!

Whey it seems up ti noo aa got it wrang again!!....tha NOT deaing thi dirt track alang ti thi Station,[but they might eventually!],tha daeing VERY essential repair work on thi Welwyn bridge itself. LIKE.. the fact that it's actually being done,cos a waaked LBJ alang there last neet,at midneet as usual,[!],and a saw where the road AND the concrete base which holds the fencing,is collapsing,and being undermined by heavy rainwater. If it had been left much langer,one day we wud see a bus or other heavy vehicle parked doon aside the Welwyn buildings,lying upside doon! Noo aav waaked alang that road many a thoosand times,but nivvor on the east side where tha's nae footpath,so yi dinna see thi damage from the proper footpath and yi dinna see it from thi car as yi drive owa thi bridge,cos yi hae ti waatch wheor ya gaan......! Just hope after thi bridge is fixed,that they continue alang thi road ti thi Station,and gie us a gud road alang theor.

Heh heh!!FINALLY.....FINALLY!.....the Welwyn bridge is closed for traffic,cos they are .....FINALLY....re-surfacing the dirt track road from the bridge to the Station![mind,it's only for a few weeks cos thi water board,or gas,or BT,or sum bugga else will come along and decide a trench needs digging to lay pipes or cables..... ....broadband.....fibre-optic cables.........heh heh!!!!] That stretch has been deadly for bikers for years noo,and it griped me when a full road crew,with planer....etc,re-made the road....in the back lane....at Milburn Terrace complete with signs,restrictions,road markings,etc......a back lane!!!!.....mind,a very senior NCC official happens to live there,nowt personal against the fella,just seems a bit........whey,ti me,the main roads should take priority owa a back lane!! Loathe....Barrington road also a dirt track fast becoming!!.... Nae money for that...it's aal gaan ti Ashington!!!...[see this weeks leader!]

A did Steve! Cheers! Bill.

Sarky Sod!....watch your windaes marra......!! Just been browsin' aroond and cum across ye here,Steve!!......thi lads doon thi pit used ti say aa was 21 when a was born!![mind...aa divvent knaa if that was an insult or a compliment...!!] Cheers Steve for ya kind observations!

Just had my problematic laptop in to Steve's at his shop..."Northumberland-IT",down at Grange Park,got it back today. My laptop is now running fine,and if Steve charged for all the laughs,while in his shop,he wouldn't need to rely on I.T. to put bread on his table!! First-class service from a first-class dude!! THIS is what we need more of to get Bedlington back the way it used to be when I was a young kid!! Thanks Steve.....! Bill. [aka H.P.W.]

Mebbe there shudda been mair phones so he can "phowne howme" from any location....!! Seriously,I was done at the Wansbeck hospital,a year or two back,when the first Parking-eye was installed. I paid the parking fee into the machine o.k.,but in my flustered state,out of breath,having had to park up beside the windmill,walk down to the machine etc,I entered a wrong letter into the machine. The "fine" came through the post a few weeks later,totally unexpected by me. No problem,I went in to see the "P.A.L.S." receptionist,a canny young lass,who sorted it,and I didn't have to pay the fine. Noo!! What annoyed me,indirectly,was the fact that the photo of my car front and rear,showing my registration plate,was absoloutely crystal clear,high resoloution. The point I am making is.....whenever anyone is mugged or a theft takes place,CCTV footage is always blurry and faces of perpetrators can never be positively identified. Makes me wonder why! Morrison's!!! ....a wudn't gaan back any mair [mind,a divvent gaan ti start wi!] stick ti Aldi and Lidl..!!,yi canna gaan wrang!

Me edit button just disappeared when a tried ti edit and dae a correction to spelling!! Where is it?....this happened another time and a nivvor found oot why!!

A relative of mine has one of these which has a 25 mile range,with a distinct fine,but powerful beam which would be seen for miles around at ground level,and is used as a pointer in astronomy to point out particular stars etc. In responsible and educated hands,who understands flight paths of civilian aircraft,and only used on crystal-clear starry nights.with no wind,so even the furthest-away aircraft can be either seen or heard,this is a valuable tool,but even after all that,I cannot help but think they should be either banned,or restricted and licenced to those who can show justification for requiring one for personal use. One such night,a while ago,my relative was out star-spotting alone in the garden,in the early hours of the morning,and while momentarily testing the laser-pen out by flashing it quickly,in very short bursts,she was terrified by a whirring sound behind her back,and upon looking up,saw a strange craft hovering over the house-roof at a very low height. After a few seconds,the strange-looking craft turned slowly and just whizzed out of sight.This story has been covered in another thread,if my memory seves me correct,and whether it was a military stealth craft or an alien craft makes no difference,it is obvious that the reason it appeared was to recon the source of the laser. In the wrong hands,they are deadlier than a shotgun....i.e...the potential for disaster on a much greater level is present. Do we really need them even for instructional purposes?....what was wrong with the good old-fashioned stick?...it was alright in my hands on syndicate work on courses that I attended!!

Taaking aboot lights,aav got two TEN WATT Cree-Led security lamps ti put up in place of the 150 -watt Halogens that are up there ootside,so aal see what difference there is when they are up,cos it'll be a gud comparison ti mek....relatively-speaking of course!

Aye ,Steve,it's like aav got a haaf-moon shinin' up me drive noo,cos the street leet is reet ootside me door! Wor bedrooms are darker inside noo,so it suits me Wife and Son who are bad sleepers,but a can understand aroond your place,cos me [deceased] Mother-in-law used ti live up the cul-de-sac,aroond from your shop,it'll be dark as hell where the folks' back doorways are. When aav been driving aroond the place at neet,aal owa Ashington,Blyth,Morpeth,and Bedlington,aav tuk notice of a canny few leets failing aalriddy,after only a few weeks!!.......COST-SAVING?...a think the suppliers and manufacturers have a lot of explaining ti dae!! When a think hoo my "Dog-waakin'" cree-led torch lights the road up 300 yards,ahead,like car headlights,and runs for 100 hours on two "Penlight" batteries,and fits in thi palm of me hand.......THESE streetleets shud hae cost coppers runnin' on aboot ten watts apiece! Whey that's MY opinion anywheh!! Cheers Steve,aal see yi soon!

Heh heh! Thanks for aal thi info Eggy,this is aal interesting stuff,seeing as wor lass was born in Puddler's Raa..! Thanks again for posting,and tekking thi time ti research stuff!

I've been a radio listener [especially short-wave] since I was aboot 13 yrs aad...on a pre-war monster set wat a got from a neighbour and fixed up... Them were thi days of Barry Alldis,James Whale's night-owls,[lang afore Alan Robson wrecked it!],Radio Luxembourg.....fading...........! Lang afore phone-ins cos nae bugga had phones ti phone in!!![whey,not in thi mining communities....except the pit Engineer etc!] So when Terry came alang,he was a favourite from day one,like Tony Blackburn and he's jokes!! Thi thing that aalwis amused me,reet till we heard of he's passing,and mind,this WAS reet before,aa aalwis used ti comment ti wor lass hoo he just mutters away as he turns he's head away from thi mike ivry noo and again......aa really found that funny. But a nicer personality will be hard ti match..and fair enough,there are a lot of lovely folks on thi radio,but a think most of them wud agree wi aal us. R.I.P. Terry Wogan

For once....AAM sayin' NOWT!!

Wat aboot thi classic one of aal time.............."For Smash get ....Smash......!! [accompanied by loads of Ford hub-caps simulating merriment...!!!]

Heh heh! It's amazing whaat HPW can dae eh!! Aav got a lot o' pull wi thi planning department ye knaa.........whaat AAA say...... gaans!!.....[ownly it shudda sed "Puddlaa's Raa" !!] Thanks for daeing thi research,and posting thi info!