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Finding the Selby Coalfield.

The Yorkshire Coalfield in 1923

‘Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland’ CC-BY (NLS)

Mining engineers knew about the richness of the coal seams to the south and south west of Selby. The North Yorkshire area around Pontefract and Castleford had been heavily mined. This area was not developed for the Barnsley seam but for a series of seams ranging from the Stanley Main seam to the Beeston Seam. Test borings were started in 1954 and seven seams were found to be workable. The two most important seams were the Silkstone and the Beeston seams with the Winter, Warren House (closely allied to the South Yorkshire Barnsley seam), Haighmoor with the Stanley Main and Dunsil seams all workable. With this information a new colliery was planned, Kellingley Colliery, the first since 1927. As mentioned in The Doncaste r Co nnection the Doncaster Coalfield, South of Selby, was sunk between 1905 to the 1920s to work the Barnsley seam so a natural progression of this seam would be north towards Selby.
A drilling programme was started in 1964, running for 4 years at Barlow, Camblesforth, Hemingbrough, Whitemoor and Kelfield Ridge to prove the coal reserves and found that the Warren House and Low Barnsley seam, which splits north of Doncaster, merged to form the Barnsley seam, a continuous, high quality seam.
The N.C.B. re-started drilling in 1972 to confirm the extent of the Barnsley seam around Selby. Coal deposits were found at Cawood at 405 yards depth and were 10ft 3inch in section. With this information the N.C.B. started a combined systematic exploration of the area comprising 50 boreholes at 3 to 4 km apart and seismic surveys, a system of small underground explosion to ascertain coal seams and fault formations using shockwaves, to complete the research program. They found 2000 million tonnes of workable seams. The Barnsley seam comprised of a 600 million tonne area of high quality, low ash, low sulphur coal. The seam section was over 3 metres at 300 metres depth at the west to over 2 metres at 1100 metres at the East. The seam continued to the southern edge of York and to the River Derwent to the East.
These findings, along with the Plan for Coal 1974, started the process of the application for planning permission to North Yorkshire County Council on 7th August 1974 to mine the Barnsley seam in the Selby Coalfield.
Bibliography
Arnold, P. and Cole, I., 1981. The Development Of The Selby Coalfield. [Heslington, Yorkshire]: [Selby Research Project, Dept. of Social Administration and Social Work, University of York].

Mines Rescue Training

The 14 Permanent Rescue Brigadesmen worked a 14 week “rota” system where 5 men were available along with an officer between 1600 hrs and 0800 hrs. The 6 men, who were on call at weekends, undertook work and telephone duties due to the Nightwatchman working only Monday to Friday.

Two Rescue Brigadesmen were allocated to service breathing apparatus on weeks 4 and 12 of the rota.

Weeks 7 and 14 of rota did not have any after hours duties so the rescue brigadesmen could use these weeks to book holidays.

Initially – Mondays were Permanent Corps training days, where a team went to a local mine with the Assistant Superintendent or Third Officer and undertook a rescue training wearing breathing apparatus

Wednesdays were station training days where a team of Rescue Brigadesmen undertook a rescue training wearing breathing apparatus in the rescue station “galleries” which had 2 x 36 metre mock of both a coal face (low and high seam) and headings (low and high seam)

Rescue Brigadesmen also undertook a number of daily duties i.e. ground maintenance, cleaning, painting etc.

The station had a hot and humid chamber where rescue workers could do work under extreme conditions (hot and humid working reduced working time wearing breathing apparatus from 2 hours to as little as 19 minutes)

The site also had a large lecture room that could accommodate 50 people and its own gym (treadmill and weights)

The station staff spend a lot of days training part time rescue workers including;

New rescue workers who had to complete a 15 day initial course in rescue with 3 to 4 courses completed each year with around 8 to 12 trainees per course.
Existing rescue workers had to undertake 6 rescue practices per annum.
Rescue Brigades men had to undertake minimum of 12 practices per annum.
At its peak there were 23 part time rescue teams from mines covered by Selby Rescue Station so it is not difficult to see that quite a lot of time was spent training people and servicing equipment.

When station opened the Siebe Gorman Proto apparatus was still in service as was the Aerolox liquid oxygen breathing apparatus. Proto had been in service in various forms since 1908. These sets were replace by the Sabre SEFA breathing apparatus around 1989 (this was eventually replace by the Drager BG4)

To give staff experience and improve competency Rescue Brigadesmen also worked in mines carrying out the following tasks;

Building prepared stopping sites
Building stoppings
Building air doors
Sealing air doors with shotcrete
Involved in installing / dismantling ventilation fans

These were useful skills to develop as an emergency underground was more likely to require rescue teams to undertake activities to save the mine, rather than save life, as monitoring systems, ventilation and general health and safety had improved dramatically in the mining industry.

The hot and humid chamber was also utilised on occasions and staff volunteered to wear a variety of types of new breathing apparatus that were being trialled prior to being manufactured.

Many thanks and kind regards to Ronnie Munro, a Mines Rescue Officer at Selby Mines Rescue Station, now at MRSL (Mines Rescue Services Limited), who trained me on many occasions and who provided me with the information in this post.

Mines Rescue Incidents

During its life the Rescue Station teams attended many underground incidents including;

Gascoigne Wood Drift Mine – fall of ground due to heading collapse and rescuing trapped miners.

Stillingfleet Mine – fall of ground; Assisted in clearing a fall of ground thus allowing some trapped miners to be safely extracted from the area.

Kellingley Colliery – Ignition that resulted in a number of small “explosions” at the coal face; Nitrogen was injected into this area to reduce oxygen content to allow retreat mining to continue; this in turn left the affected area behind where oxygen content would be insufficient to allow an explosion to occur.

Prince of Wales Colliery – an explosion occurred and affected area needed to be sealed off.

Grimethorpe, Hatfield, Kellingley, Riccall/ Whitemoor, Askern and Barnburgh – assisted in sealing areas off due to spontaneous combustion.

Further incidents;

Stockline Plastic Factory, Glasgow – some staff assisted in search and rescue / recovery of bodies from this disaster.

Assisted in rescuing a person who was trapped by a trench collapse near Leeds.

Castlebridge Colliery, Longannet Mine Complex, Fife, Scotland – assisted in sealing area of mine due to spontaneous combustion.

Some rescue workers also had cameo roles in the movie “When Saturday Comes”

I served as a part time rescue brigadesman during my time at Riccall Mine, Hayroyds Colliery and as a member of Hatfield Main Colliery Teams. The training and support given to the teams in the Selby Complex and beyond was outstanding and it was an honour to be part of Selby Mines Rescue.

Many thanks and kind regards to Ronnie Munro, a Mines Rescue Officer at Selby Mines Rescue Station, now at MRSL ( Mines Rescue Services Limited ), who trained me on many occasions and who provided me with the information in this post.

Mines Rescue History

When the Selby Coalfield was developed all the parts of the process were meticulously planned and checked to ensure success. The Selby Superpit was a huge part of the Plan For Coal set out in 1974 with huge investments being made both in infrastructure and staffing.

When the six Selby Mines were planned a provision for rescue from the mines had to be staffed and a rescue station built to provide this cover. The original plan was to going to be a “B” type station which does not provide a team of Permanent Brigadesmen but is staffed by Part Time Rescue Brigadesmen employed at the surrounding mines. The original site was to have the following staff to manage, train and support the part time brigadesmen;

A Superintendent who takes overall charge of the station.

Two Assistant Superintendents.

A Third Officer.

Two Permanent Brigadesmen for training part time men, assist with equipment, breathing apparatus servicing and supporting rescue operations.

Two Nightwatchmen to provide telephone cover during non office hours of 1600 to 0800 hrs.

A cleaner.

The link below provides further information.

Selby Mines Rescue.

The site of the Rescue Station was located at Osgodby opposite at what is now Selby Garden Centre on a plot of land consisting of 4 acres.

There were 6 houses built on site to accommodate the Superintendent and other staff listed above. It was a statutory requirement at the time that the full time rescue personnel lived within a half mile radius of the rescue station (The Coal and other Mines (Fire and Rescue) Order 1956). A further decision was made to increase cover and the rescue station was made an “A” station. The increase in manpower required 2 further houses to be built on the site and properties to be purchased in Osgodby and Barlby, with properties being rented in Riccall and Barlby.

The new station was staffed with trained Permanent Brigadesmen who transferred from closing rescue stations in areas where stations were no longer needed due to colliery closures.

Wakefield Rescue Station- 8 men transferred.

Ilkeston Rescue Station- 2 men transferred.

Rotherham Rescue Station- 2 men transferred.

Two further staff were recruited from mines to complete the 14 permanent corp of men.

Starting at Riccall Mine

Riccall Mine

I remember my transfer to Riccall Mine like it was yesterday. I was working as a heading / coalface electrician at South Kirkby Colliery from 1979 to 1986. The pit seemed to be doing quite well with two new seams, the Fenton and the Highfield or Top Newhill having successful faces running. Suddenly the pit was planned to merge with Ferrymoor/Riddings Drift Mine. The writing was on the wall, as we all knew in the coal industry, merge a pit with another and then close two for the price of one. I knew I had to make my own way to the Selby Coalfield if I had a chance of staying in the industry as transfer options were still very difficult due to planned staffing at Selby taking place from closing collieries in the old North Yorkshire Area mentioned in previous posts. After a few phone calls and an interview with Bill Hagan at North Yorkshire Area manpower to explain the transferring, travelling and moving house allowances I transferred to Riccall Mine. It proved to be the best move I made. I signed on at Riccall Mine in September 1986 with a lot of lads from Kingsley Drift Mine, signing on the same day due to closure of their pit. It was on a thursday so my last day was to be Friday at South Kirkby Colliery. I said my good byes on the Friday dayshift and had the weekend off before starting Monday, on the day shift at Riccall Mine. The first day consisted of getting my new two piece overalls, something I had never seen before, tools, pit head bath keys, electrical locks and PPE for the new pit and introductions to some of my new shift. Quite a few of the people who signed on the same day as me ended up on the same shift including one of my new Shift Charge Engineer who I worked with until my last day at Riccall Mine.
As I walked around the surface buildings I was very impressed by the brand new pit and how clean, tidy, modern and well designed it was. When I went into the pit yard for a look around the surface the first thing I noticed was the mine car handling plant at the No1 shaft.

Qualter Hall were the contractors for the Mine Car Handling Plants in the Selby Coalfield.
Coal is unloaded from the cages in mine cars through a tippler, which emptied the coal, and returning back onto the cage to go underground using a LOFCO chain driven system. The coal was then sent by road for processing elsewhere. This system was used at all the Selby Mines, for the heading drivages, before the mines were connected to Gascoigne Wood Drift in December 1987. This was not the equipment I expected to see at Selby but it served it’s purpose well.

Riccall No 1 Pit Bottom with mine car coal clearance in 1987

The mine car handling plant was later removed when the Gascoigne Wood coal clearance was fully operational. During the time the mine car handling plant was used for coal clearance, the underground supply system was a double bogie GMT (Gyro Mining Transport ) mine car system using the No2 shaft, something I had never seen before.
The surface was 64 acres, very small compared with my old pit, and was built on a disused WW2 airfield, virtually invisible from the road. It has a huge soil banking which was landscaped around the visible edges of the mine surface using trees to hide the mine from view as agreed in the public enquiry in 1975. The plan, after closure of the mine, was to restore the mine surface back to farm land using the soil in the banking as infill but this was never used as the mine is used as a business park nowadays.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is riccall-mine-surface.jpg

Riccall Mine Surface Buildings

No1 Shaft was a downcast with a ground mounted double parallel winder with two eight tonnes or 72 manriding capacity cages . No2 Shaft was an upcast with a tower mounted multi rope friction winder with a single cage and counterweight. The cage capacity was 16 tonnes or 149 manriding capacity on 2 decks. It also had a system of a tilting deck cage so larger or longer pieces of equipment could be lowered underground inside the cage without using slinging under the cage. The tilting deck cage was used for the huge amount of compound girders used in development drivages and bunker / drivehouse roadways at the North of the mine where the coal was loaded into Gascoigne Wood.
The shift I was put on had two Shift Charge Engineers, one from Royston Drift Mine and one from Kinsley Drift Mine who started on the same day as me. The lads on the shift were mainly from Newmarket Colliery with a couple of Woolley lads, one Fryston and myself from South Kirkby Colliery. The chargehand was from Woolley Colliery who I knew from my apprenticeship times at Monk Bretton Training Centre.
My first day underground was to give me an idea how the pit was set up and how things worked. I rode underground in the No2 shaft and was suprised how large the cage was. It would carry 149 men on two decks. When I got off the cage the temperature was quite warm and I realised why we were given 2 piece overalls.
The mine was set up to use No2 shaft as the mine supply shaft. The pit bottom was very modern with a Qualter Hall hinged platform and chain ram system used to push full articulated G.M.T. Mine cars off the cage using the empty G.M.T.’s. The full cars were kept in the pit bottom passbye system for later transportation to districts. Headings were supplied with arch packs, a pre packed system with all the materials needed for setting a pre determined amount of girders. If the girders were 16 x 12 ft they were packed in 5 settings with 19 x 13ft being packed in 4 settings. The materials were transported by flameproof Clayton BoBo or Clayton Pony rubber tyred battery Locomotives.

Clayton BoBo rubber tyred battery locomotive.

Clayton Pony rubber tyred locomotive hauling a powered face support.

The charging and maintenance station for the loco’s was in the pit bottom with dedicated fitters and electricians looking after the loco’s.
No1 shaft was used as the coal clearance shaft loading 2 tonne mine cars from the strata bunker in the north conveyor road onto the pit bottom coal handling system and then loading onto the double deck cage for disposal on the surface. The system was another Qualter Hall Engineering design and worked well. When I first saw the system I was very surprised at a brand new mine.
The mine was developed with three lateral roadways, two intakes and one return. The North Intake and North Conveyor were the intakes from the No1 shaft with the North Return to the No2 upcast shaft. The North Return had a central rackatrack installed on the sleepers from the pit bottom to 700m mark. This was intended for Rackatrack locos but they were never used as rubber tyred Clayton BoBos and Pony locos were a preferred option.

The North Intake and North Conveyor roadways were the connections to Gascoigne Wood for coal clearance. The North Conveyor and North Return were driven by Mk 2B roadheaders and were both completed when I started in September 1986. The North Intake was still under development using a Dosco Mk 2A revised hydraulic Roadheader with a trial MEDC intrinsically safe pilot circuit unit. The only one I have ever seen.
The South Headings were the South Intake and South Conveyor from the No 1 shaft with the South Return heading to the No 2 upcast shaft. I was to be the electrician in the South Return heading. All the headings were developed with cross slits for the coalface main and tailgates which also kept the temperatures in the lateral headings slightly cooler. The South Conveyor heading was driven with Dosco Mk2B roadheader and was nearly completed to the Whitemoor Mine connection when I started. The South Intake and South Return headings were being driven using Mk2A revised hydraulic roadheaders.
I started the next day in my new job with the heading team. The team was a mixture of men from different pits consisting of two young back up lads from Newmarket Colliery, the Deputy was from Fryston Colliery with the heading team from Rothwell, Peckfield and Newmarket Collieries, the fitter from Park Hill Colliery.
The South side coalface headings were HO1CR’s (C1’s) main and tailgate. The tailgate was developed using a Joy Continuous Miner (JCM12) with two shuttle cars for coal clearance to the gate conveyor. The maingate was driven by a Mk2A revised hydraulic roadheader.
The North side face headings were HO2DR’s (D2’s) Main and Tailgate. The tailgate was developed using a Lee Norse Continuous Miner (LN800 1TT). This machine was an American specification and could cut out for a setting in 7 minutes. This was the first heading at Riccall Mine to use bolts as a support system. The maingate was driven by a Dosco Mk 2A revised hydraulic roadheader.
I settled in to working at Riccall Mine within days and quickly realised I had made a good move. The mine was developing very quickly and new installations were happening on a weekly basis. The availability of overtime was limitless and the development production bonus was very good due to good mining conditions cutting a 2.6 metre seam and very powerful, high speed continuous miners being used in the face developments.

I worked in the South Return heading, which progressed well, until just before the heading made the connection with Whitemoor Mine, when I became chargehand on my shift. In April 1987 the heading hit a partial washout. In this area of the heading, water started dripping from the roof and sides. The water was incredibly acidic and left awful red marks all over any bare skin, so anyone entering the heading had to cover their skin with a special slimy barrier protection cream. The roadheader turned from a machine white to a very rusty orange within 2 days. This acid water continued for about 150m before it disappeared. The heading thirled in May 1987 as shown on the plan below. The roadheader was so badly damaged by the water that it was left when the heading was completed.

Mine plan showing South Return and South Conveyor roadways at demarcation mark.

The 1974 Plan for Coal

The Plan for Coal and the Selby Project

Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s the reliance on cheap oil was accepted as one of the prime sources of energy for the U.K. The National Coal Board were vocal in criticising this rationale as the OPEC countries had made it quite obvious they were pressing on with a program of maximising revenue from the oil by increasing prices dramatically in the future. The N.C.B. were also questioning the long term viability of the Nuclear Industry due to excessive cost and uncertain technologies. The suggestions and plans were made by the N.C.B. for a long term strategy for the coal industry. The plan involved increasing coal production and replacing older working collieries with new, highly efficient mines. This plan was conceived due to the increase in efficiency and concentration on productivity from modern coal face design and increased mechanisation at existing collieries.
Over a three year period from June 1970 ‘the price of Saudi Arabian light crude oil rose 1.80 dollars a barrel to 11.65 dollars, representing an increase of 547 per cent’. (Arnold and Cole, 1981, p. 14). These prices were dramatic and were a direct side effect of the Yom Kip pur War in 1973. This war created serious problems for the UK by quadrupling oil prices, an increase of £2bn to the oil import costs. The government had already started on a massive North Sea oil exploration investment but a plan for the coal industry had to be formulated to create a flexible energy policy. This was called The Plan For Coal 1974 and the Selby Project was to be a substantial part of the plan.
The Plan for Coal was designed to sustain the output from British mines in the 1970s and to increase production during the 1980s. The target set by the N.C.B. in the 1970s was to produce 135 million tonnes of coal by 1985. The deep mines were to produce 120 million tonnes, with opencast mines to top up production by 15 million tonnes. This target had a built in replacement of old capacity and a creation of new capacity of 42 million tonnes. This was to be achieved by sinking new mines, reconstruction of long life collieries and extending short life collieries by finding new reserves. ‘The cost of this new future for coal was estimated at £1,510 million (at September 1973 prices) and a major share would be devoted to the proposed Selby Project’ (Arnold and Cole, 1981, p.15)

After the Plan for Coal 1974 became government policy it became obvious 10 million tonnes of the 20 million tonnes of new capacity was to be the Selby Project and the planning permission was to be submitted as soon as possible.
When the N.C.B.’s planning permission to the North Yorkshire County Council was submitted on 7th August 1974 the new mine had already been discussed by the local community. The scale and breadth of the planning permission surprised the local communities, councils, local committees and planning authorities and a public enquiry was the obvious outcome.
Bibliography
Arnold, P. and Cole, I., 1981. The Development Of The Selby Coalfield. [Heslington, Yorkshire]: [Selby Research Project, Dept. of Social Administration and Social Work, University of York].

Staffing The Selby Superpit

The Selby Complex of mines was a huge project involving many aspects. The individual mines were developed over a prolonged period of time and staff were required as the project progressed. Mining contracting companies were initially used for shaft sinking and development drivages with supervision provided by officials at the pit sites and management from the N.C.B. North Yorkshire Area Headquarters, based at Allerton Bywater. Deputies, for the shaft sinking, were the first staff to be transferred to the sites. As the Gascoigne Wood Spine Tunnels progressed and shafts were sunk at the five individual sites men were needed to staff the mines.

The N.C.B. needed to provide the staff, from existing collieries, to ensure the pits had experienced supervisors, miners, craftsmen and management to run the new mines. A phased closure of the older collieries in the North Yorkshire Area was planned alongside a recruitment plan of local people. These staff were called green labour with no experience of mining. The colleries to be closed were all from Wakefield, Leeds and the Castleford area initially.
Having worked at Riccall Mine and having one of the Deputies, on my shift, who supervised the shaft sinking contractors, I acquired some information about the shaft sinking supervisors deployed at Riccall Mine, who all transferred from Walton Colliery, in 1978 when sinking commenced.
The first men to be transferred were the Deputies / Shotfirers to supervise the contractors during the shaft sinking operations. These men were released from individual collieries before they closed and were experienced in shot firing, used during the sinking process.
The North Yorkshire Area colliery closure program started in 1979 and continued through the 1980s until all the staff were needed for full production to commence at the new Selby Complex. The list below is not exhaustive but contains the main pits used to staff all the Selby Mines with closure year.
Walton Colliery, 1979.
Peckfield Colliery, 1980.
Lofthouse Colliery, 1981.
Manor Colliery, 1981/82.
Park Hill Colliery, 1982/83.
Newmarket Colliery, 1983.
Rothwell Colliery, 1983.
Ackton Hall Colliery, 1985.
Saville Colliery, 1985.
Fryston Colliery, 1985.
Glasshoughton Colliery, 1986.
Ledston Luck Colliery, 1986.
Wheldale Colliery, 1987.
Nostell Colliery, 1987.
The collieries chosen to staff the Selby Superpit were very old collieries and were virtually worked out. The miners from these pits were often working with equipment from a previous era of thin seam mining so the transition to very heavy duty mining equipment was to be overcome.
A documentary called There’s Life North of Watford was made in 1982, two years before the Great Miners’ Strike in 1984 / 1985 and contains interviews with two miners and their wives talking about the difficulties of the transfer to the Selby Coalfield and living in the new area, in a village near to Selby.
The first mines to be staffed were Wistow Mine and Gascoigne Wood Drift Mine. Stillingfleet, Riccall and Whitemoor Mines were staffed in that order with North Selby Mine being the last to be staffed. In the early development of the complex and subsequent need for staff, entire groups of miners from closing collieries were transferred to the newly opened mines at Selby. Examples of this type of mass transfer were Lofthouse and Manor Colliery men went to Wistow Mine and Newmarket and Park Hill Colliery men went to Riccall Mine. When the men were transferred, transport was made available for the men by using coaches. Other men would use their own vehicles, often sharing the driving due to large amounts of overtime being worked. Some of the transferred miners moved to live nearer the new mines in the villages in and around Selby.

When collieries closed and staff were needed for staffing later in the development they were held on secondment at other collieries until positions became available at their chosen mine.
After the Great Miners Strike, collieries closed at a very fast pace. As places became available at Selby, miners transferred from the Barnsley area. The colliery closures progressed and miners from many parts of the country transferred to the Selby Mines. This resulted in a huge mix of men, from different areas as diverse as Scotland, North East, Wales and the Kent Coalfield, all working in the Selby Mines.
At Riccall the workforce changed from the late 1980s and men from Nostell, South Kirkby, Betteshanger, Askern, Sharlston and Prince of Wales all came to work at Riccall as the industry was decimated by the closures due to the government energy policies and the ‘Dash for Gas’.

The Robbins 193-214 TBM

The Gascoigne Wood South Spine Tunnel was a very new concept in coal mining roadway development. A Thyssen 12-35 FLP Tunnel Boring Machine had been trialled in an 476m overburden undersea heading development at Dawdon Colliery starting in 1975 with varying success. The heading was a 3.6 m circular tunnel driven through coal measures in mudstones and fine sandstones with broken zones of coal, shalestone and seatearth. The machine progressed 1086m in 1975 but gradually proved to be unsuccesful completing only 1398m by 1978 when it was abandoned.

The Robbins 193-214 TBM was designed to fulfill the high speed drivage required for the development of the Selby Complex coal clearance tunnels exiting at Gascoigne Wood Drift. It was a 5.8m diameter TBM designed to have advance rates of over 120m per week.

The Robbins TBM Erection Chamber.

Capture TBM Spec

The cutting head consist of a disc cutter rotating at five revolutions per minute scooping heading material onto a rear facing conveyor. The cutter head, which contains 42 roller cutters, is designed so that they can be changed from inside the head at the rear of the face for safety.

Capture Robbins TBM

This picture gives you an idea of the sheer size of this machine and the size of the erection chamber required to build it which was 40m long and over 8.5m high. The T.B.M. was designed and built at the Robbins factory in Seattle, U.S.A. The T.B.M. was tested and then shipped to the Gascoigne Wood Mine erection chamber for the build up and testing before being accepted for use underground. The T.B.M. cut a 5.8 metre circular tunnel, then a 5 piece circular girder was installed at 1m centres. The heading roadway, behind the machine, was then backfilled, using the cutter muck, up to 1.2m. The conveyor running through the machine had a controllable delivery point, to deliver the muck, into the roadway at the back of the machine. This created a flat base, in the circular roadway, to allow for services such as the conveyor to deliver development muck to the surface and rails to be installed for the supplies to the heading.

Capture Robbins TBM 2

The Robbins Miner.

The 240 tonne 193-214 T.B.M. consisted of seven sections :-

The Cutter Head,

The cutter head carried the disc cutter and rotated at 5 rpm. It scooped the material, cut at the face, and transferred it via chutes on to the internal machine conveyor. It consisted of 5, large bolted sections. It allowed for changing of the rotating cutters from inside the cutter head structure for safety purposes.

2. Cutterhead Support and Main Beam,

The cutter head shield provided the support for the main bearing mounts, ring gear seals and gear reducers. It transmitted all the cutting and steering torque forces to the main beam. It also provided extending fingers, in the upper section, to the ring beam erection area. The main beam was bolted to the rear of the shield and slid within the gripper section at the rear of the machine. Its main function was to transmit forces to the main gripper assembly and also housed the machine conveyor.

3. Gripper and Propel,

The gripper assembly comprised of the gripper shoes, cylinder, gripper carrier, torque and propel cylinders. During cutting operations the gripper shoes were held against the tunnel wall whilst the propel cylinders pushed the machine forward against the gripper assembly. This allowed the machine to be steered.

4. Machine Conveyor,

The hydraulic machine conveyor was situated inside the main beam and delivered the heading material to the main clearance conveyor or the heading backfill facility.

5. Rear Support,

The two legs and shoes operated by 2 hydraulic rams which support the machine during the regripping phase.

6. Ring Beam Erector,

This section erected the 5 piece rings girders within 2 metres of the face. It was positioned under the cutter shield fingers

7. Pantechnicon,

This section was supported by a twin monorail system. It carried all the support systems for the T.B.M. and consisted of :-

a) The 120m overlap dirt disposal conveyor.

b) The 10 sections carrying the electrical equipment including 2 x 6.6kv / 1100v 1.5 MVA transformers and air scrubber fan.

c) The auxiliary fan overlap system for face ventilation including a telescopic sectional system for heading advancement.

d) Two hoists for unloading heading supplies from minecars.

e) A series of monorail mounted bogies used for carrying the 6.6 kv type 631 electrical supply cables and water hoses allowing a 200m advancement before a move up is required.

The invert fill was was 20m back from the face and did not require any tamping of material.

The materials needed for the heading was transported on an internal monorail system through the body of the T.B.M.

The dust control system was mounted behind the cutterhead and was connected to the dust collection system mounted inside the machine.

All the hydraulic services operated on an N.C.B. standard 40/60 oil/water emulsion to adhere to the fire resistance standards (HFB). These hydraulic system were mainly 2000 psi but some system parts were operating at 3000 psi.

The outbye side of the pantechnicon, mounted over the conveyor, was the 6.6kv GEC MIVAC electrical supply isolation unit.

Gascoigne Wood Spine Tunnels

The first contract for the drift drivages was placed with Cementation Mining on the 15th July 1977 with site work commencing on the 1st of August 1977. The 1 in 4 Drifts were completed using the modified SB 600 Roadheaders setting circular, waterproof, sealed, round section supports. The waterproof seals were installed at 832m and the drift continued for a short distance until the spine tunnel drivages started. Cementation Mining replaced the drift roadheaders with two, heavy duty Dosco Mk 3 Roadheaders. The South Tunnel continued at 1 in 33 incline to the East on to 1670m from the drift portal, setting 17 x 12 feet arches. At this point an erection chamber was created, 35m long, 8.6m high and 6.8m wide. This erection chamber was created to build the Robbins 193-214 Tunnel Boring Machine designed to drive the South Spine Tunnel. The machine construction was started in July 1981 and completed in October 1981. During the construction of the Robbins TBM, the North Spine Tunnel continued at an average rate of 65m to 70m per week using the Dosco Mk 3 roadheader, reaching 2891m when the contract with Cementation Mining was completed in August 1981.

Dosco MK3 Roadheader

The main reason the North Spine Tunnel continued was the urgency of the connection to Wistow Mine for the initial coal clearance. At the completion of the contract with Cementation Mining a new contract was started with Thyssens who took on the drivages, the South Spine using the Robbins 193-214 TBM. Thyssens replaced the Dosco Mk3 Roadheader with a Meco Titan E134 C Roadheader and the North Spine Tunnel continued.

Meco Titan(Paurat) E134 C Roadheader.

When the tunnels reached 3843m the gradient was changed to 1 in 40 North Easterly. When the contract with Thyssens was completed Amalgamated Construction (AMCO) took the next contract and completed the spine tunnels.

Having talked to a mate who worked at Gascoigne Wood for many years I have a list of the ventilation slits, substations and coal clearance bunkers travelling inbye from the Drift bottom. The connecting roadways between the North and South Spine Tunnels were called V Slits up to number 11 then they were called Bunker Slits.

926m- Pumping Station.

V1 – Locomotive Garage and main 6.6kv 185mm Ring main substation.

V2- Ventilation Slit and Substation.

V3- Ventilation Slit and Wistow Mine Staple Bunker

V4- Originally a Wistow Mine single staple bunker but later a North and South Staple with an East and West Westerland feeder conveyor.

V5- Ventilation Slit and a main 6.6kv 185mm Ring main substation.

V6- Offset slit for battery charging station.

7208m- South Spine ventilation shaft to Wistow Mine. (later disused)

V7- Staple shaft to Wistow Mine. (later disused)

V8- North and South staple bunker with access ladders to Wistow Mine.

7916m- Second ventilation shaft to Wistow Mine. 7208m borehole was disused when this was completed.

V10- Ventilation Slit and Locomotive passbye.

V11- Ventilation Slit.

Bunker 5-Ventilation Slit. Temporary bunker to Stillingfleet Mine and main 6.6kv 185mm Ring main substation.

Bunker 6-Stillingfleet and North Selby Mines staple shaft.

The Stillingfleet Bunker in the South Spine with a Westerland weigh feeder loader.

Between Bunker 6 and Bunker 7 was a 200m slit towards Stillingfleet Mine with a coal clearance borehole used until the complex closed.

Bunker 7-Riccall and Whitemoor Mines staple shaft.

Between Bunker 7 and Bunker 8 was the final inbye 6.6kv 185mm Ring main substation.

Bunker 8- Riccall and Whitemoor Mines staple shaft via Westerland variable speed feeder.

At the bottom of Bunker 7 and Bunker 8 Staple shafts the coal was delivered onto a Westerland weigh feeder conveyor onto a conveyor. This conveyor could direct the coal onto either of the north spine cable belt or the south spine ASL conveyors.

At the furthest point of the spine tunnels was the Riccall Mine connection via a 1 in 7 drift. The Gascoigne Wood / Riccall Mine connection had a dedicated 6.6kv supply to the booster fan supplied from Riccall Mine to ventilate Gascoigne Wood. I was on the team installing these fans and switchgear in a very hot area of the mine.

This area of the mine also had a connection via an angled access borehole from Riccall Mine to Gascoigne Wood. This 62m shaft, with ladders, was used for access before the 1 in 7 drift was driven.

The 62m inclined access shaft to Riccall Mine

Inbye of the 1 in 7 Drift, Riccall Mine Connection was the stub heading where the Robbins TBM was driven forward and abandoned

Gascoigne Wood Spine Tunnels at Riccall Connection 1 in 7 Drift .

Gascoigne Wood Surface.

The Drift Portals.

Gascoigne Wood surface site 1996

The Gascoigne Wood Drift Mine, surface coal preparation and delivery plant were by far the largest site in the entire Selby Complex. The surface site alone, when planned, covered 164 acres but eventually covered a 276 acre site. Once the coal had surfaced, via the huge drift conveyors, from the mines positioned around the coalfield it was delivered by overhead conveyors to a covered coal and stocking area capable of holding 43,000 tonnes of coal, a full day of production. This was the largest stocking area in Europe. Once the coal was delivered to this facility it was was deposited by 28m long stackers into stock piles ready for preparation. The next stage was moving the coal to the coal bunkers using 2x 40 m span Barrell Reclaimers which moved up to 2000 tonnes of coal per hour into the coal handler bunkers alongside and over the coal dispatch point at the railway line. The coal was loaded automatically at a 1000 tonnes in 11 minutes by rapid loaders into trains. The coal was loaded into the 36 high capacity wagons moving at up to 1.5 miles per hour through the loading points and then dispatched to Drax power station on the purpose built rail line. It was designed, at peak, to deliver a 36 wagon train every half hour, day and night, 5 days every week. Throughout the coal production cycle sampling took place to ensure the coal was the correct specification at the power station. Throughout the design and building stages the huge impact of the site on the surrounding environment was minimised by clever landscaping and using colours and shaping to blend in with surrounding landscapes.

The site was chosen for many reasons, a major factor, geographically was the access to the main railway network. Gascoigne Wood was previously a marshalling yard with fifty acres of disused sidings sited six miles from Selby and just north of the previous Gascoigne Wood station and had been used for coal train marshalling up to 1959.

The site of the Gascoigne Wood marshalling yard.

It had three power stations on it’s southern horizon, Eggborough, Drax and Ferrybridge. Drax, the biggest coal fired power station in Europe, was going to be the main customer with a direct rail link to be established. This rail link was established as the Selby mines were being developed and involved resiting of the existing East Coast Main line further West with a Selby Diversion to ensure mining subsidence did not effect the new line. The parliamentary act allowing the Selby diversion and new line to be constructed was passed in 1979. Construction was started in 1980 and opened in 1983 having been built to the very latest high speed specification to allow Intercity 125 trains to run with a final bill of £63 million charged to the NCB. This construction cost was offset by the NCB as the coal could be mined under the existing East Coast Main line as opposed to the mile wide pillar of coal to be left to maintain surface integrity, estimated at £500 to £800 million of coal production. Once the new 23 km East Coast Main Line with the Selby Diversion was completed the old rail link was abandoned.

Having looked at the Selby Coalfield mine plans, an estimate of around thirty coal faces would have been affected by the mile wide pillar of coal which would have had to be left un-mined had the Selby Diversion not been built. Riccall and Stillingfleet Mines would have been seriously affected as the old railway route passed over or very near to faces worked at both of the mines.

For photographs of the Gascoigne Wood Drift Mine surface site post mine closure click on the link below.

Abandoned Britain, Gascoigne Wood