Coal mine and Tram Road

[Andy873]

Sometime around the 1780's Dunkirk colliery (not to be confused with the one in Manchester) was opened near the village of Read to mine coal. The 1840's map shows a tram road running West from the colliery to a coal saithe, when the L&Y build the North Lancs loop line they had to accommodate this tram road by building a 130 long tunnel through the newly built embankment leading up to Martholme viaduct. Fast forward to 1909 and I find the colliery is now closed and the tram road is now only shown as an old path to the coal staithe.

The question is, was this coal mine and tram road still active when the railway line opened in 1877? The construction of the line began in 1870.

1840's map - you can see the colliery above the letter P for Padiham:

Georeferenced Maps viewer - Map images - National Library of Scotland

maps.nls.uk

1909 map:

Georeferenced Maps viewer - Map images - National Library of Scotland

maps.nls.uk

I've tried to find mine data about this colliery but I've drawn a blank and I'm hoping some of you might be able to help with this question.

 

[Gloster]

Try the Coal Mines map on the Northern Mines Research Society‘s website.

It says it was worked until January 1884.

CORRECTION. Sorry, that was Read Pit. They don’t have dates for Dunkirk Pit.

 

[Andy873]

@Gloster Thanks for trying, but you see what I mean about the lack of data on this one.

The following doesn't help with the question but gives a little background. Those maps are looking at Dunkirk "A". here there was possibly Britain's first water wheel system for coal wagon haulage. It was named Constant Mary. constant because it ran all day, and Mary after the pit's owner's wife. The water wheel turned a drum with a continuous rope, the rope going down pulled empty wagons down to the coal face some 200 feet below ground. After being filled, the wagons were attached to the rope ascending thus pulling the loaded wagons back up to ground level. Finally 5 or 6 wagons were put together and a horse would pull these along the tram road to the coal staithe.

I'm wondering about the 1845 Railways Clauses Consolidation Act, the L&Y would have to cater for the tram road route, it must have been active during the line's construction. I know later it was used for access to the land on the other side of the embankment but there's an occupation crossing not far away any way that allows for that anyway so it couldn't have been a simply under crossing - not a 130 foot tunnel.

Any more ideas please?

 

[30907]

Try the Coal Mines map on the Northern Mines Research Society‘s website.

https://maps.nls.uk/view/101101646
...is the only other relevant map online, resurveyed 1890-92, and shows the former tramroad as a track, which suggests a mid-1880s date might not be far wrong.

I doubt the tunnel would have been built if the tramway had closed by the time the embankment was built.

 

[Andy873]

the only other relevant map online, resurveyed 1890-92, and shows the former tramroad as a track, which suggests a mid-1880s date might not be far wrong.

I doubt the tunnel would have been built if the tramway had closed by the time the embankment was built.

That's a great map sheet - I missed that one - Thanks.

The mine was certainly closed by 1892 for sure, and you can clearly see the old tram road which is now drawn (as you say) as a track through the fields.

It does indeed look like the mine closed sometime in the early to mid 1880's. It must have been active up to 1877 hence the tram road tunnel through the embankment. There's no specific date to the two embankments either side of the viaduct, but I can tell you the western embankment was complete by August 1876 but continued to subside for some time! The eastern embankment (the one with the tram road tunnel) would in comparison have been easier to construct, that said, the L&Y wouldn't have been best pleased to incorporate an 130 foot tunnel just to find out it's no longer needed... then again, the railway was an obstacle that wasn't there before.

The mine itself dug the Arley coal seem, this coal was said to be some of the best coal you could get and was in high demand because of it.

I can't really find anymore details about the mine except to mention the water balance engine: Two small shafts next to each other at the second site (Dunkirk "B"), each had a platform with a water tank underneath them. One platform is at the bottom of shaft A, the other at the top of shaft B. The miners wanting to come back up would stand of shaft A's platform. shaft B's platform at the top would now be filled with water. When shaft B's platform was heavier it would descend down shaft B pulling up shaft A's platform with the men on it. Finally, shaft B's tank would be emptied of water and the process could now be reversed. Ingenious those late 18th century engineers!

Finally, what I do find strange is that a coal mine in operation for around 100 years is so poorly documented i.e. no closure date?

 

[DerekC]

It would be interesting to see what's left of the tunnel under the embankment. Google Earth clearly shows some kind of structure on the east side.

 

[Pigeon]

Finally, what I do find strange is that a coal mine in operation for around 100 years is so poorly documented i.e. no closure date?

I don't think that's strange at all, documentation of old mines is notoriously poor.

There will almost certainly be a forum similar to this somewhere about mining in Lancashire with actual ex-miners on it. They might have or be compiling their own records to make up for the shortage of information elsewhere.

 

[Morayshire]

Dunkirk Pit, Read

Link above is to a summary of a talk given back in 2013. Going by the map the pit is either next to or is the one which is the focus of this thread. Might be worthwhile seeing if the speaker is still around as they might know more?

There is also the coal authority web viewer where you can view locations of old shafts etc. Available through the BGS website.

Historical mine records and plans are often missing for older pits especially short lived workings. Recording and keeping the info for a closed pit was not high on the priority list for many locations.

 

[Andy873]

There will almost certainly be a forum similar to this somewhere about mining in Lancashire with actual ex-miners on it. They might have or be compiling their own records to make up for the shortage of information elsewhere.

That's a great idea thanks, I will check it out.

It would be interesting to see what's left of the tunnel under the embankment. Google Earth clearly shows some kind of structure on the east side.

Yes you can see the entrance to the tunnel on the south side. I've asked the caravan park owners about it, hopefully they will know its current state etc.

Dunkirk Pit, Read

Link above is to a summary of a talk given back in 2013. Going by the map the pit is either next to or is the one which is the focus of this thread. Might be worthwhile seeing if the speaker is still around as they might know more?

I did contact Richard (the speaker) a few days ago. He also did a site visit, the link below is an interesting read and gives more details:

Constant Mary and Dunkirk colliery

Richard was very helpful but didn't have an actual closure date for the colliery except to say the mining records seem to stop sometime around the time the branch line was built and opened (1870 - 1877).

There is also the coal authority web viewer where you can view locations of old shafts etc. Available through the BGS website.

I've just been looking on their site, Dunkirk A & B are indeed listed but can't find any other details about them?

 

[DerekC]

Yes you can see the entrance to the tunnel on the south side. I've asked the caravan park owners about it, hopefully they will know its current state etc.


I did contact Richard (the speaker) a few days ago. He also did a site visit, the link below is an interesting read and gives more details:

Constant Mary and Dunkirk colliery

Richard was very helpful but didn't have an actual closure date for the colliery except to say the mining records seem to stop sometime around the time the branch line was built and opened (1870 - 1877).

Really interesting stuff - thanks for posting the link. Wish I were nearer! The 18th Century really was a period of ingenuity in using basic technology to achieve amazing results.

 

[Andy873]

Really interesting stuff - thanks for posting the link. Wish I were nearer! The 18th Century really was a period of ingenuity in using basic technology to achieve amazing results.

Very glad you enjoyed the link.

Amazing to think that pouring water down an air shaft would cause a convection current of fresh air for the miners down below. It sounds initially counter intuitive, and I've always wondered why we just assigned this kind of technology to history.

When I started my research about the old branch line it became very clear, very quickly that it had lots of history connected with it, that and the surrounding area. It's clear that every line either gone or still extant has stories connected with it. and it leads you into all sorts of things such as this coal mine and tram road.

 

[stuving]

Amazing to think that pouring water down an air shaft would cause a convection current of fresh air for the miners down below. It sounds initially counter intuitive, and I've always wondered why we just assigned this kind of technology to history.

Natural ventilation, relying on air in the mine being warmer than on the outside, is pretty feeble and fails in hot weather. So the main "improvement" was a fire at the bottom the upcast shaft. But that has drawbacks, especially in very "gassy" mines.

This waterblast method (common in South Wales) seems to work in two ways. One sends a true "blast" or burst of water into the downcast attempting to form a plug that fills it. That pushes the water down, and even after the plug breaks up it still drags the air down with it. This works best when the shaft is small - more of a pipe.

As the water splits into drops it starts to evaporate as it falls, and a lot of it hits the walls of the shaft and evaporates there. This cools the air quite strongly, and adds to any natural convection effect. I imagine this needs a larger shaft, but then with a middling shaft size a bit of both effects might work for a small mine.

You end up needing to pump this extra water out, so it was never efficient and fell out of favour for good reasons. In a few hilly places it might be better e.g. for a drift mine that drains naturally or if the whole "pump" is outside the mine. And, of course, there's no fire to cause explsions.

 

[Andy873]

It would be interesting to see what's left of the tunnel under the embankment. Google Earth clearly shows some kind of structure on the east side.

I've spoken to the caravan park owners again, they have been very helpful and it's much appreciated by me for their help on this. The tunnel is not only intact but is actually incorporated in a nature trail walk for the guests. What a lovely thing to do.

I'm also told some of the old stone sleepers that became exposed have been gathered up, and you can see the wear on them from the horses hooves.

Natural ventilation, relying on air in the mine being warmer than on the outside, is pretty feeble and fails in hot weather. So the main "improvement" was a fire at the bottom the upcast shaft. But that has drawbacks, especially in very "gassy" mines.

This waterblast method (common in South Wales) seems to work in two ways. One sends a true "blast" or burst of water into the downcast attempting to form a plug that fills it. That pushes the water down, and even after the plug breaks up it still drags the air down with it. This works best when the shaft is small - more of a pipe.

As the water splits into drops it starts to evaporate as it falls, and a lot of it hits the walls of the shaft and evaporates there. This cools the air quite strongly, and adds to any natural convection effect. I imagine this needs a larger shaft, but then with a middling shaft size a bit of both effects might work for a small mine.

You end up needing to pump this extra water out, so it was never efficient and fell out of favour for good reasons. In a few hilly places it might be better e.g. for a drift mine that drains naturally or if the whole "pump" is outside the mine. And, of course, there's no fire to cause explsions.

Thank you, that's a detailed and fascinating insight as to how the process worked. As well as natural water ingress, adding more water in to ventilate the workings would have of course needed to be pumped back out again. Next to the water balance engine (used for the miners to access the mine) there was a Newcomen type steam engine used to pump all that water out again.

Just going back to the 1840's map, here I've zoomed to the site of Dunkirk B, you can see the engines and the extensive water system they used for the mine works.

Georeferenced Maps - Map images - National Library of Scotland

Another interesting detail is the wooden bridge that crosses the river Calder, this enabled a plateway track from nearby Altham. Before Dunkirk colliery opened circa mid 1780's coal was brought from Altham to the very same coal saithe as the tram road, more over, the tram road route from Bridge Hey wood to the coal saithe looks to have used the older plateway route.