#colliery

[thunderstruck9]

Keith Vaughan (British, 1912-1977), Welsh Industrial Landscape, 1951. Ink, watercolour, gouache and coloured crayon on paper, 14¼ x 20 in.

[urbanrelics]

CHARBONNAGE H

This spectacular extraction building is one of the last abandoned buildings on this largely reconverted colliery. Due to the difficult access, it has managed to remain beautifully intact over the years...

As early as 1901, a rich coal seam was discovered underground in this region. The mining concession was applied for and granted in 1906, but it would take until 1930 for the first load of coal to be brought to the surface. In an attempt to develop a different, newer mining method, exploitation was delayed for years due to numerous setbacks, before it was decided to return to the tried-and-true mining method. By then, the world had descended into war. A significant portion of the installations were seized by the German occupying forces. Finally, in 1930, the mining site was able to resume operations.

The coal mined was primarily bituminous coal. Since this was primarily used in heavy industry, the Belgian steel producers in Liège and the Borinage region were the main customers. The mine had three production levels: at 720, 800, and 900 meters, served by two shafts: an air and material shaft and a production shaft with four elevator cages.

In 1955, this operation reached its peak with a production of 1.6 million tons of coal. Over the course of 60 years of operation, a total of nearly 75 million tons of coal were extracted here. Due to increasingly fierce competition from cheaper overseas coal and the rise of oil and nuclear energy, the fate of the Belgian coal mines was effectively sealed by the mid-1950s. The first mine in this region to fall victim to this closed in 1966. This mining site managed to survive until 1992, but was then also forced to close its doors.

The mine site has since undergone a thorough redevelopment, with most of the mine buildings being repurposed. Only this headframe and a water tower have been waiting for a new lease on life for 30 years.

[monkeyssalad-blog]

Lambton Loco by Treflyn Lloyd-Roberts Via Flickr: Lambton, Hetton and Joicey Colliery No.29 trundles along the demonstration line at Didcot during its 2021 visit from its base at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Locomotive: 1904-built Lambton Colliery Railway Kitson and Company 0-6-2T No.29. Location: The Great Western Society's Didcot Railway Centre, Oxfordshire.

[beebees-photography]

Visit to Beamish, The Living Museum of the North. For their opening Christmas Weekend a few weeks ago. This place never gets old. It's amazing. I highly recommend it to everyone. (3 of 3)

[trainmaniac]

Steam Engines and Gravity Power in a 1950s Colliery by Michael Alford

[theterrornaut]

Pretty random post, but recently I visited the South Wales Miners Museum after a relative booked a tour for us. It was, to say the least, extremely interesting and even enlightening. Welsh heritage is something that I’ve grown to love dearly alongside this overall beautiful country. For the colliery side, It was never something I would’ve thought I’d ever be interested in, especially to the point I currently am.

I can’t say it ‘broke my heart’ or anything somber when I heard that the experience wasn’t backed by funding from the council or Welsh Government (such as Big Pit), but it did frustrate me somewhat, knowing how intimate this tour was - even given by those who’re ex-coal miners. A large part of the experience was sharing the understanding of community that coal miners and local townsfolk had with one another, with so much more detail than I could describe (You’d have to see it for yourself). So, as much frustration that I have with the idea of no financial support from the Museum of Wales or what have you, I have so much more respect for how humble it truly is, and thats not to say it’s fuelled by pity. It is GENUINELY so impressive, so immersive and so educational.

South Wales Miners Museum | Home

Welcome to South Wales Miners Museum. Wales' first volunteer run miners' museum. Find us in the Afan Valley Forest Park north of Port Talbot

I know what I’m saying probably won’t have much of an effect, if any at all. But I just wanted to share. Cause goodness gracious. It’s truly an amazing place.

[wickershells]

[neveradullmo]

Coal Mine.