HIGH PIT WILMA

Thanks Alan, it's intriguing me noo aav thowt aboot it! 

Another memory was jogged ,on the right hand side,at thi top of the bank,them hooses have a walkway  built -up so each hoose has a pavement ootside their door.

Whey,cos thi bank gaans away doon-owa,and the path is horizontal,a waal is formed,getting higher as yi come doon the bank.

Whey, one day,when a was a wee bairn,me aulder Brother,[by exactly three years,born on the syem day!!],was poking aroond in  thi holes in thi waal,cos Starlings used ti nest in the holes every year.[in the days when we used ti gaan bird-nesting for eggs.]

He got excited this day when a Farthing came oot thi hole alang wi bits o' muck at the end of his stick that he was using as a poker.

Whey Farthings were still legal currency,so he kept on poking at thi hole wi he's black-handled Jack-knife.[ye knaa..thi one wi a blade at one side,and a steel slightly curved pointed "progger",at the other side...very common sight in kids' pockets, in them days!]

After a while,poking thi lime mortar oot wi thi progger,and using his stick ti rake thi hole oot,he got he's hand inside,and pulled dozens of Farthings,just them,nae other coin denominations,oot thi hole!...Buried Treasure!!

We got all  excited and started imagining that there might be Gold and Silver treasure in other parts of the wall,so we started howking oot thi lime where could,but we only ever found old Starlings' nests!!

NOO! ..there's nae reason not ti think that there COULD be  a cache of coins or jewellery inside the wall,cos we never telt anybody,but there MUST have been a reason for somebody,mebbe a hundred years before,ti stash a whack of Farthings inside a hole in that wall,in the days when that amount would have been a lot of money to a poor peasant,in the days before the  pits came alang!...mebbe the Bailiffs were coming ti tek aal he's belongings and ti kick him oot...like the Coal-owner's heavies did ti My Mother in 1944,when she was in Hospital having me.

I was maybe seven or eight yrs old,at thi time of the treasure trove,probably 1952-ish..I wonder if you could find out when the present houses were built Alan?,and whether them hooses are the original buildings on that plot...mebbe there were ancient primitive buildings standing there before the present ones,even though they are very old.

Cheers!

Bill.

Hi Alan,firstly,the Bates pic,No 7 is Derek Burt,a smashing really weel-liked lad,who went on deputy work and was posted back onto the face in charge of his own Marra's!!...Unconventional for that to happen,they usually sent new deputies to a different face. Derek used to shout and bawl on at the men ti keep the coal coming ...then play football with them all on a Sunday...highly unconventional,he's Marra's used ti say,jokingly,that he was "Crackers"..!!

No 1 looks very much like Davy Wood who took part in the short documentary called" Report from the Northern Coalface",also featuring Alan Dixon,[one of our contributors in the past],and John Douds,who built a model of a pit in intricate detail,which also features in that documentary,and which was on display  at the Woodhorn Museum a year or two ago. It's a brilliant well-made Pro. film Doc, and if ye haven't seen it Alan,it is really worth watching.

It was made by "Crinkle-cut Productions", and it's advertised on the web.

Noo! Thi 1956 pics doon Bedlington main street,and doon Bedlington Bank ,were taken when aa was only twelve years aad.

Aa lived just aboot 30 yards doon the street and in ti Hollymount Square on the left turn in, doon Bell's Place.

A divvent knaa anybody on thi pics,Alan,but a dae clearly remember an older fella,who used to dance side to side doon the road aal the way from the top-end doon ti thi Field,drunk as a newt,and  there is a bit of footage of him on this gallery in one of the short cine films on one of the picnic days. But that fella did that every year!,and he was a lot older,and not as tall,as this lad,in these pics.

A can only remember the one fella daeing that,Alan,a cud nivvor mind of anybody else daeing it..he was so funny,we kids used ti watch ti see where he was going to drop onto the road!!

 Great ti see thi aad Gas lamp on the Bank..nivvor seen that since aa was a wee skittering young ched!!

If ye look closely,ye can see a hundred years..[it seemed!], worth of Graffiti on the big wall on the bank,there used ti be some great bits of artwork,only lads in the old days didn't hae spray cans of paint..not even chalk...it was aal done wi a bit o stone,or a bit of red hoose brick!

...AND!...it wasn't caaled "Graffiti"...it was just "Aal thi writin' on thi waal doon thi bank"...ti local folk....and thi Cooncil weren't bothered aboot it...they didn't mek any effort ti clean it off..the weather gradually did a lot of the clean-up.

After the Wartime rations ceased,and import restrictions were relaxed, My Mother came in one day from Hemsteads,with a few bananas..the first time we had ever seen one,apart from in Bob Hope films at thi top-end pictures!...they were huge things,and as I grew up and started the pits in 1959,me Mutha used ti put 14 sammidges up for me bait,wi one banana!..YE try putting SIX sammidges up wi one Banana noo..!..aa dae ivry day for me midday bait at yem...and these wee banana's are an insult!

Then another day,me eldest Sister,aged aboot 16 yrs,in the mid '50s,came in wi a Pomegranite..the name alone freaked me oot,when a was aboot ten,and it seemed weird to me that we aal sat aroond wi sewing pins,picking sweet seeds oot o this queer-lukkin' fruit!

Aam digressing again Alan,but pics like this bring back floods of happy memories of me yem toon,and that bank was the gateway ti wor childhood living!..

Cheers Alan!

Alan,as regards Heather needing Mining Memorabilia,I wouldn't mind any of my pics being used that doesn't have any body appearing in any of them,cos some of those Marra's are now Deceased,and others I haven't seen for years,to gain permission,but on the other hand,they are on here for the world to see!

I would be happier if I knew which Home it was ,and especially if I thought it was Holmside,at Bedlington Station...cos a  Heather,and her Mother used to be in Charge of that home when my Dear old Mother-in-law was residing there, a few years ago.

The wee picture of Heather on her post,looks like the Heather I am talking about....cud be a million miles wrang mind!

Is there any way ye cud find out for me Alan?

Cheers!

Bill.

Hi Alan,I knew aal these lads to taak ti,but not their names,except No 2 Gordon Hickson..[definately!],and No 5,who I took for a fella caaled Billy Smith.

Noo a wud gaan for the name ye have gotten from Malcom,cos he might have worked with him as a marra,I had Gordon Hickson on my Book,when I was  a Deputy,and I paid his wages ,virtually,every day for about two years.Now the lad who a thought was Billy Smith,must be the double of Billy,cos what's making me think twice about this,is the Specs!...Billy didn't wear specs when he was on my books,and maybe aad age is catching up wi me memory!

Ye knaa wat it's like when ya absoloutely sure,then doubt creeps in.....

Cheers Alan!

Bill.

Alan,me post has went bold in places,and wasn't when a typed it oot!

It looks as if a was trying to emphasise a point or two...not my intention at aal..just to let yi knaa,and Coatsy!!

Cheers again!

Hi Coatsy,and welcome to the forum,mate!

Now a knaa nowt aboot football,or sport generally,but aa have had the same trouble even just trying ti find photo's of the Choppington High Pit,cos the photo on thi Info board at the entrance ti thi pit isn't the High Pit at aal!

Somebody musta dug a picture of any old pit from somwhere else,ti stick on the board,just ti let visitor see what a pit looked from the top of the pit heap..or the cage wheels or whatever..there is no info to be found other than what we have on this forum,in the gallery,such as my own Father as a laddie in 1929-ish,and pictures of the houses lining the pit road.

Thi photo of the Miners underground is genuine,cos aa worked with aal the men on that photo,at some time or another,when I was a young Girder lad.

What I do know is that the Dreyer Family,Dor Dreyer,Freddie Dreyer,and their Fathers before them,aal played Cricket,for Choppington,and Bomarsund,Stakeford.

Just wildly guessing , mind,but a lot of lads that I knew who played one sport,also excelled in others.

Would a delve into the Dreyer Family's Ancestor's mebbe lead to a link with the Football club?

The High Pit musta been just a tax fiddle for the Coal-owners,cos it was hidden away from sight owa the fields,and was just a wriggly tin shed set-up...with no Real investment outlay on the surface buildings,OR the underground set-up..Dangerous hell-hole altogether,so it appears no-one wanted to visit to take pics...no records of production broken,except for Joe Barratt during the war years..[another story],and no newspaper articles that I can find....just a forgotten shack of a pit...and Old Ned Cushing [the training Officer who knew my Father....in 1929!!]...said to me on the first day there,starting in the winter of 1959...."It's a canny,friendly little pit Wilma,and  a think ye'll get on weel!....."

Whey it was friendly aal reet,sum real nice Choppington folk,my home village when very young,but the pit was owt but canny!!

Hope ye find what ya efta Coatsy!!!

Best O' luck,Marra!

Cheers,Bill.

Heh heh!...Aye Alan,BUT!,on thi poster,it's just thi name,so we wud naturally,wi wor brilliant sense of deduction,assume that if there was a female lead singer,then the backing vocals must be female as weel....until we get a pic of them ,then that rules them oot!

Noo...hoo else cud wi think of....?

ER!..Al, a think a might be a bit mair glaaky than a forst thowt!..a sed THREE Black lasses....when aav studied thi pic a bit closer,[bad image mind]..a think the left hand side one is a lightly-bearded fella!...he probably played the twin Bonga's that's on stage,if they were on that Programme listing...just wildly guessing noo!

Also another one to Maureen...aav just realised,it's not his specs on thi deck,it's the cross-faders...a shudda seen that thi first time a looked at thi pic..aav got me own home studio wi a six,and a twelve channel desks,so a shudda knaan...aad age,like Alan sed!!

....and Alan,ye musta bin a helluva gud-lukkin' dude fo thi lasses ti mob yi!!

Heh heh...happy memories.

Thanks Alan..a should be ashamed for not recognising a hero of mine,to this day..Joe Brown,mind,a knew Lulu..instantly..she was the only one a got ,a thought The Flowerpot Men were Dave dee,Eggy,Mick and Tich..!

A saw on the poster,the three black lasses,called Margo and the Marvelettes...?..would it not have been them?

Maureen,I never went to Lucy's either cos aam a teetotaller,and Jon Shelley it was!! [with prompting,I can mind of his name noo,and if ye study the pic closely,a think ye'll see his Roy Orbison black glasses on the decks in front of him,he must have been offstage,getting ready ti go on,when he hasn't had them on!..Ask him if I am right aboot the growl,or if it was his marra...it definately was the one with the black specs though..and aa was spot-on about the hair!

Pleased to see he plays a Tele,what sort of music does he play...I play a Strat,and three Burns guitars,the Marvin,Black Bison,and the Apache..all beautiful well-made guitars.

Give him my regards please. I never met him but remember him,so he must have made a gud impression!

Cheera Alan and Maureen

Bill.

Wudda be reet in thinkin' Arnie Buller might have been the booncer at the Domino in the early years,cos he was at the Clayton Baalroom,a powerful lad!..[amateur wrestler a think..]

One neet at the Clayton,two yobs were mekkin' a nuisance of thas'ells,wi my Lass,and me marra's Lasses,at their tyeble,when we were onstage playing the Dance neet,and a watched for aboot ten minutes,and cudn't stand it nae langer,they were shouting and swearing bad language up at us on stage,then pestering the lasses.

After we finished the number we were playin',a put me guitar doon ,jumped off the stage and put me arms aroond both of their necks,and started ti squeeze the life oot of them.

They were gaan white in the face as a throttled them,when a hand touched me shoulder..and a quiet voice said in me ear.."Now let's be sensible about this ,mate.."

It was the bouncer,Arnie Buller,not very tall but four feet across he's shoulders!!

A let the yobs gaan and Arnie grabbed each one by the front scruff of their necks,literally lifted them up off the ground and carted them to the door,threw them oot on the steps ootside,apologised to all of us group lads and wor Lasses,and said just carry on playin',it won't happen again...and mind it never happened again after that,Arnie was there ti keep thi peace...and every bugga knew him!!

Noo, a hae ti say,aav nivvor drunk,aav nivvor been in trouble,nivvor had a fight in me life,aalwis a quiet kid,but these buggaas just went owa far,and a saw red!!

Aye,as we say....happy days eh?!!

Heh heh! Wat a blast from the past!..Maureen,welcome to the forum!

Aa can vividly remember only one DJ,and this was when the Domino first opened,and we had never seen owt like this before.[  a CASINO...CABARET...at thi Station!!!...it soonded ludicrous...the very idea of Roulette...it was ownly on James Bond ,or The Saint,or otha yankee movies where we saw that sort o carry-on!!...not thi  Station!]

The desk slid oot onto the stage from the right hand side,motorised,on wheels hidden by the plinth,and the DJ was sitting at the desk getting a free ride on and off the stage...lazy bugga!!

He had a  mop of black hair...[Beatles style!],wi a straight cut fringe,[ Alan Freeman-"Pick of the Pops" style!]...wore black glasses...[Roy Orbison style!]...and brought  every word oot,in a low throaty growl...."...and this next one is...."...

What used to strike me was how he never ever looked anywhere but the floor in front of him...like a statue sitting growling about the next disc he was ganna play.....a bit like when aa was a Lead guitarist,and aa used ti stand motionless,but just looking aroond the place as aa was playin'.

Wor Singer,Geordie,used ti use me as a stooge,and tell thi audience me name was "Static Wilma".. and in the actual situations,at the reet time of neet,it used ti draw a laugh...not forgetting in them days,the clubs were packed oot solid wi 90% Miners..[of which aa was one mesel]..and he used ti say,"Wilma's been shouting at his Pit Pony aal day,so ye  might gather that he's voice is a little HOARSE!"

ME Wife and Me went ti see The Ivy League,Johnny Citrone,Los Zafiros, Dave Dee ,Dozy,Mick,and Tich,amang a lot that a canna mind of noo,but the last one was a mate of mine,who was a local lad from Blyth,and who went ti London ti try for a break,and got one with his new GROUP!![NOT BANDS!]...HEH HEH!

His group was caaled "Toby Twirl",and his name was/is Davy Holland..."Holly".

He came straight ti wor table for a quick natter,then had ti gaan ti start he's set.[cos a hadn't seen him since he went ti London

He opened with "Up Up and Away"...not kidding ...but the best version I have ever heard..powerful and sweet as a nut!

When he was just a young lad,we groups aal used ti meet up at the "Record Bar",in Bowes Street,Blyth,and another coffee bar what a canna remember thi name of noo,and when the Stones were playin,on the juke box,Holly had Jagger off ti a "T"...both his mannerisms and his vocals...amazing!

They tell me Davy runs a pub in Blyth,and a wud luv ti hook up wi him again,after 50-odd yeors!!

Toby Twirl made the top ten wi tha first record,then a never heard any more of them..partly cos a had started a family and was totally committed to them,I only went ti the Domino ti see thi Artistes,a didn't and never have ,drunk alcohol,so a didn't gaan oot for a pint "wi thi lads"..a went oot wi me family...and we cudn't afford ti gaa gallivantin wi a young Son,on £12 a week..afore off-tyeks!heh heh!

Alan,thanks for the notifications,please keep them coming,waa gaan throo a really bad patch here,so a canna catch up immediately, but a will eventually!

Me brains gettin rusty,so a canna get the Artistes in the pics apart from Johnny,but a hae a few suggestions in mind,but not certain,can ye put me mind at rest please!

Cheers!Bill .

Waatcheor Alan ,once again,a big thanks for ya untiring work  in mekking the world a smaaler place!

This is incredible! Another luvly shot in winter..a bet it was caad up there,it was a summer's neet when Russell tuk me Son and Me up.

A hope Trevor and Russell hook up through the power of the Net!,young Adam is boond ti see thi pics..if he still comes on the forums that is...

Cheers Alan!

Bill.

Heh heh!...a little bit late on catch-up Community chat,as usual,but saw this and HAD  ti gie me tuppence - worth!

Aa was brought up by a smaal-time hobby gambler Father,who never in his married life,ever went two doors alang ti thi Bookie's runner.

[before a was born..he used ti  gamble he's pay away every week,at his Family's houses,amang themselves.]

But when we moved ti Hollymount square,he used ti send one the bairns ti thi runner,who,in the early 1950's ,had the phone in..I heard that the racecourse paid for it to be installed,but not sure aboot that!..[he was thi only one apart from the doctor and Aad pit Engineers who had the phone in,that we knew of!]

Anyway,fast forward till aa was aboot 10 years aad,and it became MY duty ti tek me Faatha's bets alang,and collect he's winnings.

10 YEARS AAD!!...thi runner used ti aalwis try it on wi me faatha,and a bet a lot of others as weel.

My Faatha's Faatha,was a bookies runner hese'l,and my Faatha knew ivery trick of thi trade.

When thi runner gave me thi winnings ,me Faatha was AALWIS short...sometimes even just a ha'penny.

Me Faatha used ti gaan leet wi me..."Hadaway back n' tell thi bugga,a had a three-cross-double on shifting the double,and aam a haapinny

short....."...[this is grained inti my brain..cos it was nearly every night]

So a wad gaan back ti see Mr S......and he wud reckon up on a bit of paper in front of me,explaining hoo the bet worked,and said me Faatha was wrang!.

Me Faatha wud send me back wi it written doon,and the runner aalwis gave in and paid me Faatha..who used ti brag ti me  that "thon bugga canna tell me owt aboot gammlin.."

Noo,looking back on aal that scenario,which was nightmarish for a bairn ti be thrown between two grown men arguing owa a haapenny,seeing as his Daughter was one of my friends at school and at home,and a luvly family,aa often wonder if he just gave in ti me Faatha,cos he cud see the anguish aa was gaan through,and didn't want ti prolonge thi agony for me.

Also,aam thinkin',if he was being accused of robbing me Faatha,why didn't he gaan alang and sort it oot man ti man?...a knaa aa wad o' dun!!

So aa grew up totally against gambling of any sort..even raffle tickets...lotteries...owt!!

A also grew up ti totally against alcohol,and smoking,cos a lived amang it!

Me marra's at thi pit used ti say ...."What DAE yi dae Wilma?...dae ye BREATHE!!!"...Heh heh!

Jimmy Milne's aad hoose ..isn't it...wasn't it!...and was it not the top club for a while...next i thi Post Office?

Somebody was weel off who built that hoose!

For aal a lived in Bedltn till a got married,a nivvor knew the history of that place,tha was a luvly orchard behind there,us kids cudn't wait for this time of year ti gaan raiding aal thi apple orchards!...[slap me hand ....Sir...!]..a hevn't been doon thi street for a waak for a lang lang time..oot o touch noo Alan!

Heh heh!... boots!.. they used to dry oot and curl up at the toes... and covered in the white salt deposits... ye cudn't get them on.. we used ti either wet them under the shower.. or if ye were late for clocking in ye had ti painfully squeeze ya feet in, waak aal hobbly.. and gaan ootside and get a diddle on them... owt ti just get them comfortable! Vic, noo a knaa wat ye mean, doon the pit, whe n discussing conveyors, we just used a "Colloquial" term like either a "Rubber" or a "Chyne" (Chain) belt... we knew it wasn't Rubber, and we knew somebody might mean a 61W,rather than a Crawley afc, sometimes it wasn't important, just general conversation... so aye, a flight belt meks sense! The Dalek. (Flyght), pumps were the best thing since sliced bread, for shifting waata quickly, for us lads, but were they a sod ti repair, Vic? 

Thanks a lot Alan!.. noo aam wondering whoo aal us buggaas wud manage here.. if ye fluke the coop..!!! Cheers, Al. (lukking forward ti a reply from Wor Vic noo!.. just ti settle my mind on the differences in pit terminology!) 

Thanks Alan!

As an afterthought,studying this luvly scene...notice the cloud of moisture condensing as it escapes from the Ventilation Fan Duct Funnel!

90% of that would be coming from the Three-Quarter Seam..where the water from the seabed teemed in constantly,and where everything just seized up over a weekend,on the coalfaces,all of Vic's electrical switchgear,panels,Shearer handles,etc,if there were no Electricians working over the weekend,on maintenance duties,...it was so humid,you could see the moisture droplets in the air like fine dust,in the beam of your caplamp.

OH!..and the other 10% would be from me...sweating..after cutting the coal with the trusty old-fashioned coal-cutter,drilling it with the trusty old "Huwood" driller..firing it down,and then filling 24 tons of coal,and wet stones,onto an old ,old,old-fashioned "rubber"[!]conveyor face belt,using even older-fashioned big "Pan" "Filler's" shovels..["Shuul's"]....in a pit ,[right up to the day that thatcher--the-hatcheter,gave the order to pull out],that left two £30 million-pound Dosco Road-header driving machines of the latest Technlogy,in the "Plessey" Seam!

Two vastly contrasting methods of winning out new roadways and coalfaces at the same pit,in different seams!!

Cheers again! Bill.

WOW!! THAT is a stunner!...yi wadn't cud imagine the scene aa tuk on a summer's neet,[ interesting but pretty dull to the uninitiated eye!],ti turn into a beautiful scene like this...wad ye noo?...but this pic should be on a mining calendar...if it isn't aalriddy![It's a lovely January month pic!]

Me youngest Son used ti gaan extreme exploring,and a lot of it was doon the aad Lead,Fluorspar,Flourite,etc,mines from the 1700's..owa Weardale and places like that.

Noo the Mine Explorer Society,had calendars printed,composed of pictures each month,and chosen from the Members' pics.

Me Son had one of his pics published,and they were aal stunners,so aam wondering if any Coalmining calendars are printed from pics of wor pits.

Alan,please pass my comments of appreciation to Trevor,for posting this gorgeous shot of a bygone age!

Vic,thanks for your comments aboot the flat conveyor belts.Mind ,aam puzzled as ti wat ye mean by "Unplugging"..regarding a conveyor belt?

Also,a think ye might have got me wrong wi me poor description of the screen belts at Choppington high pit.

AFC belts were "Armoured,Flexible, Conveyor", belts,and the abreviated description applied ti all steel flexible conveyors.

My very first encounter with an Armoured Steel Conveyor belt,were the ones that I described up on the screens at the High Pit,unlike any other screen belts at aal thi other its I worked at,and visited.

When I say "Flat",I mean exactly that...flat steel plates,on a four feet wide belt,with each 4'long by 12" wide plate,overlapping it's neighbouring plate by a couple of inches,like the plates on a slatey beetle's back...or an armadillo.....!

No "Flight" bars as in AFC belts in the years of mechanisation..[the term AFC came to be accepted as "ARMOURED FACE CONVEYOR",in later years]....just a completely flat moving conveyor belt..[like the moving pavements in the new Asda superstores to take trolleys and Customers to the upper level].

Now when one of those pates got a smaal stone trapped in the guides,it buckled the plate,which screamed like a  wailing banshee..and when it went around the head-end,the sparks flew like hell and slivers of sharpsteel like thin knives used ti come aroond on the next revolution of the belt..deadly as hell.

My next encounter with an AFC,was when I started underground,on heavy transport,with a pony,tekking everything steel inbye,or bringing gear outbye that had ti gaan ti bank.

The Overman sent me in to a coal face,ti seek two "Panzer pans"....a sed Whaat?!...The pan sections were from the face conveyor,and were made by a German Company called "Panzer"...mebbe the same company that made the Tanks and guns during the War.

Noo they were a minaiture version of the big Crawley AFC's,which we got in later years at other pits,but not High Pit!

The Panzer belts were aboot 16-18 inches wide,with trapped "Flight" bars,spaced aboot two feet apart,and which were snaked into the new face track by the "Pullers",using the deadly old "Sylvester" pulling device.

At Bedlington aad pit,in the High Main seam,they used 61AM flexible "PAN" section belts,which had high spill plates,and no guides to trap the "Flight" bars..completely open pans,and which had to be laid as flat on the ground as possible,the slightest rise at the head-end which wasn't graded properly...and the chain and bars just flew up out of the pans,and lashed around wildly,due to the tension put upon the chain,by the motor head.

At Bates,we used the same type of belt,but it was a heavier duty version,called the 61W,and the term "Flight" bars,was a misnomer,cos the correct term was "Flyght" bars,made by the same company who made the "Flyght" pumps,["DALEKS"...ti thi pitmen!],which can be seen in my Bates pics in the gallery.

So when "Flyght" belts came into thi pits,in the early years,the "Flyght" bar system came to be universally accepted and referred to,on every flexible belt that had bars!...the 61W and 61AM,belts ran with a single centre chain,with the bars mounted like wings,on the chain.

The small Panzer,AND the larger "Crawley",belts,had two chains,one each side,with the bars connected to each side chain with a "Kidney" link.

SO!!..Vic,ti clear up in my mind,which system were you referring to,when ye say "Flight " conveyors,cos the screens at the High Pit,didn't have "Flight/Flyght"..bars at all...completely flat!...and they weren't referred to as anything but the "Screen belts"...["the belts with no name"...!]

As I said earlier,[a think!],the only other place aav seen these belts,is at Beamish Museum,up on the screens there,cos the guide was fascinated when aa started telling him aboot the dangers of them,cos HE hadn't actually seen them working...he just got the job,and with a bit of training,he was gud at he's job,but didn't have hands on experience !

Aa wondered if they came from Choppington,and a wud luv ti knaa if there was any other pits,even in Durham,that used them.

Maybe in the old days aal pits had them,and maybe it was just that the High Pit hadn't been modernised,wi being a little tetty pit!

A speak from me aan experiences,wi nae references from books or owt else,so a stand ti be corrected if aav had a severe memory lapse and aid thi wrang things!!

Cheers to ye Vic,and Alan,and Trevor,and aam wondering what's happened to Canny Lass,and Maggie...been off the Radar a while?

Bill.

Whey,me comment posted by itsell afore a was finished,and when a tried ti edit by adding more text,it wadn't save,so me detailed description of the screens and heapstead was wiped..!

The last sentence above should read as: " ....before the Government inspectors and Area Director and Safety in Mines People aal came ti the pit"

The next night's Evening Chronicle read ..." a safety guard rail has since been erected aound the machinery..."

Just came to me,they have the same steel-plated four foot wide flat conveyor  belts on the screens at Beamish museum,the only other place where I have seen these deadly peices of machinery,deadly, cos the plates used to get bent up with hard bits of stone becoming trapped in the guides,and sharp, long bits of swarf edge spikes used to rip your hands and arms,as they were concealed under the load of wet coal and stone slurry on the belt.

Malcom Mckenna,the washery tower looks like a giant ice cream cornet..whey, a bit like one..!

Thanks again Vic for helping me oot!

Cheers Alan!

Bill.

Well,that was a fine example of pooled education!...We are aal wiser and richer  noo!.....thanks Vic for rescueing me here,a remember noo,aboot the drum,thanks to your prompting my grey matter,but aal the rest of the fascinating information aboot thi other processes are completely new to me.

A nivvor saw another improvised Washery like the one aa described that was at the High pit..when a say "Improvised" ..it's not be taken lightly!..A lot of engineering,went into thi making of that mechanical monster!

The single-throw crankshaft  was forged from steel maybe a foot thick,maybe more or a wee bit less,as was the connecting rod.

The bearing saddles had to be massive also,to withstand the forward/reverse motion,and inertia which was sufficient to move the whole of the screens and upper heapstead,where all the tipplers and creepers were..and which were all built on heavy girder stilts.

The platform weighed a canny few tons,and danced back and forward as if it were a kids toy.

Noo! We stood wi wor backs to this moving and rackety deafening monster,with a gangway separating the sreening belts,only aboot

four feet wide,so if yi fell backwards,which ye med sure yi didn't,ye wud hae ya arms tekking off by the carriage wheels which ran on rolleyway rails,and which went completely unguarded from installation,until Old Jimmy,the oiler and greaser,got trapped in the moving machinery,sustaining fatal injuries...then within hours of Jimmy's death,the Blacksmiths,engineers,and senior management,were all up there installing guard handrails aal aroond the washer,before

Alan,in the Pegswood pic,you can see the railway 21-tonner,underneath the washer,being loaded with stones.

I stand to be corrected if I have given any misinformation,through ignorance of the actual process..not being experienced in the process..only what I learned in training and asking questions of those who did know and worked up there!

Hi Alan!  It was the coal washery plant tower.

All the pit's coal output went through this process,cos no coal was ever just perfectly clean coal!

When the coal was brought to "BANK"..[..The surface!],it went first to the screens,which were flat conveyor belts,where, usually,older disabled men,and young boy trainees,stood at each side of the belt,and hand-picked what stones they could,and threw them down a chute which took the stones,plus any other rubbish like pieces of damaged conveyor belt,old steel stranded haulage rope ,etc,into a waiting railway truck underneath the screens,or onto another short conveyor belt which took the waste into the big hopper which you might have seen travelling up the pit heap to be emptied at the top of the heap.

The coal was then taken by conveyor belt up and into that big round washery tower,which was full of water,being swirled around to create a vortex,like a big whirlpool,into which was added a product called "Magnatite",the purpose of this being to cause the coal to float like bits of wood,and allowing the heavier material and waste products to sink to the bottom.

In a nutshell,it was a separation plant.

Noo! ..that's the bit aa knaa,but how they retrieved the coal,and the washed out waste stones etc,without leaking water oot...is still a puzzle to me,and it's something aav nivvor thowt aboot,Alan,since the pits closed doon.

A dae remember being curious aboot the process,and asking Russel,the Shaftman/Joiner,who took me and me Son up the heedgear,ti get them excellent shots from the pit wheels,but aav forgotten noo.

A think we might find oot on Google,surely somebody has posted info of the process online!..not often HPW is stumped on mining,but I was never up there in the washery,only the plant Attendants,and maintenance men were allowed in there,due to the chemicals being used..probably.

This process was used at most "Modern"-ish pits,with the exception of the old Choppington High Pit!

Did you notice how,on your posting of the old O.S. maps of Choppington,that the "A" pit,[or "LowPit"],was drawn out with all the buildings around it,whilst the High Pit is shown as just a "dot" saying the word..."Colliery"..of little importance...!

All pits in the sight of the public main roads,were fancy girder-framed and brick-built buildings...a sign of modern industry and investment..methinks!

On the contrary,the High Pit,was sunk over the fields,out of sight to most passers-by,and was all corrugated sheet-clad,like the old shanty towns you see in the old west in the States of the early days...[ a virtual hillbilly shack type of vibe!].

Now when I started in 1959,the weather had taken it's toll on the wrinkly tin sheets,and they banged and rattled,with loose sheets flapping in the wind...and freezing in the winter,inside!

Noo,the washery there,WOULD have been modern,in it's day,and consisted of a massive flat platform,aboot 30 feet long,by aboot 8 feet wide,and which was mounted on a rolling carriage,which in turn,ran on rails.

The platform was called a "Shaker",cos it moved back and forth ,driven by a huge connecting rod and crankshaft,which was driven by a webbing belt running on a motor,like the farmers use to drive implements from the tractor auxiliary pulley.

The crankshaft throw was only aboot 3-4 feet,at the most,but when it was running,the sheer end-of-stroke,shock,as it changed the direction of the huge platform,was enough to make the whole Heapstead building move in sympathy,so if you were getting your bait,you had to hold your cup of tea in an outstretched hand, at arms-length,or you would be spilling tea over yourself...worse than the old steam tankeys![ the shaker frequency was aboot once per second..and was a violent thump..each time]

Noo wat a missed oot was,this platform had rows of various sized holes along its length,the smallest ones being nearest to where the coal was tipped onto from the tipplers above which turned the pit tubs upside doon,and tippped the load down a chute and onto the "Washer"..[which this platform was.]

At different places along the washer,the rows of holes got bigger,and bigger,and high pressure water sprays were mounted aboot  two feet above the platform,on a separate frame.

If you can visualise this,Alan,here you had this huge machine shaking violently,back and forth,aboot three feet each way,and the machine was built with a slight gradient  up-over,with a series of steel thin strips welded on the flat platform,running crossways,and aboot a foot apart,aal the way alang it's length,so as the coal was tipped on,it was shaken up the gradient on the bed,washed clean by the sprays,[pure water-no chemicals at all!],the coal "crept" up the washer,with the smaller "Nuts" falling through the smaller holes,into the railway trucks underneath,the "Singles"..[house-hold sized coal],fell through the next rows of larger holes,the "Doubles",.."Trebles",..and "Cobbles",all fell through respective holes,which was an effective way of grading the coal out..and a lot cheaper than the later washery,and environmentally friendly also!!

Finally,any larger stones which escaped the grading holes,were shaken over the edge,tipped straight onto a steel flat sheet,hand-loaded into a wheelbarrow,and wheeled around the floor past the screening belts,and tipped down a chute into the "stone " truck below.

That was a hard,thankless task for an old miner,and which had been done since the washer was installed in the early 1900's![it was like that in 1929,when my Father started up on the screens as a 14 year old miner..]

It all changed as soon as HPW had  short spells on the screens as a 15 year old trainee!

I watched this little old man every day I was up there,[cos my main job was in the timber yard],and one day,I plucked up the courage to tell the "Keeker",[Chargeman]..Jimmy Framm,a suggestion,which aa thowt he wud tell me ti....yi knaa wat!

Whey Jimmy knew,and remembered my Father well,and had taken a liking to me,cos a was a quiet hard worker,so he listened to what a had ti say.

Next thing aa knew was ,within a few days,the Blacksmiths were burning a hole in the floor where the all the stones tipped from the washer,constructing a steel chute,with the purpose of directing the tipped stones directly into the stone truck below,saving a man's wasted labour!!

Only one of my claims to being an unrecognised inventor at the pits,in my pit life!

Somebody else would always get the credit for my inventions,usually a Deputy,or or Overman,cos they were the ones that took my suggestions to the Management,to get things done and put in place...same in the furniture trade...I was robbed of credit there as well!

Not that I was going ti be paid anything,just nice to be recognised and appreciation shown!

Well Alan,I hope you are a bit wiser now,and you might have found my recollections interesting..if not tiring to read!

Cheers Alan!

Bill.

Late of catching up as usual,but a BIG thanks Alan!

Caring duties at home becoming more intense Alan,so will be checking in whenever I can.

Cheers Bill.

Eh Alan!..thanks a lot for notifying me of this great pic of my old home village!

Please convey my special thanks to the person who made the reference to me on Facebook.

Brings back a lot of memories..climbing on the wall behind the chapel,which was a helluva height....for a three year old laddie..in truth it was probably about the same height as the one shown here..maybe four or five feet high!...playing in the back lane..up the field where the ponds were...in the days when they were lovely green meadows stretching aal thi way up the Barn'ton Born!

Imagine,we just used to walk over that road ti play in the "Front"  field,in the bomb crater,which grassed over by then..

Cheers and thanks again!