A day when the door would not shut
I signed on at The Mill at 09:15 hours, on Thursday, 1st of December, 1983 to take
28 HAA 's ( Empty Merry go round's)with Class 56092 , 6K96, from number 1 Down Stagings for a trip to Kinsley Drift Mine at Kinsley to load with coal under the bunker, and then take the loaded train to South Kirby Pit, which was a couple of miles down the GN Hare Park Junction.
Beside me was the driver and secondman, we all went down into the yard, to be met by the yard shunter, who handed me a signed Tops Sheet for the journey to the Drift Mine.
The shunter would have been round the train, and with the yard driver had blown up the brakes on the train, placed a red tail lamp on the last HAA on the train.
He would then watch the brakes apply on the train, then, get hold of the red pipe, and discharge the air to atmosphere.
When all the air was out of the train he would check that the last 3 HAA's had applied, he would then replace the red air pipe on the bracket at the rear of the train., and we are ready for off.
Once all this had been done, the shunter would then phone Healey Mills Box, who would then pull off the signal so the train could start its journey.
The guard could ride at the front with the driver, or in the back cab, the choice was mine to take. At this time nearly everybody smoked so I went in the back cab.
The route from The Mill was out of the yard, down to Wakefield Kirkgate,on to Calder Bridge, pass the old shed at Wakefield(56A).
Then onto Hare Park Junction onto the up road on the GN for the short ride to down to Kinsley up Loop and off the main line.
The train would then slow down and stop to let me get off the train, and then continue down the loop to get inside clear with the train.
I had then to get myself in a position of safety and stop the train with hand signals when it was in clear of the main line.
I then had to wait for sub to come off for the train to set back to the loading bunker line which was quite distance to travel
Again there were no back to back radios, mobile phones just hand signals.
The train would set back at no more that walking pace, as this could be done by the driver with the slow speed setting on the engine.
I then walked in front of the train where the diver could see me,till we got under the bunker, then the bunker operator took charge of the train by using the token signals placed at intervals down the bunker road.
These signal could stop the train, make it reverse ,set back.
At this time I would be, with the bunker operator to make sure every thing was going well.
The bunker could hold about 1000 tons of coal.
We got about 15 HAA's through the bunker, then all hell broke out.
The NCB operator said that he could not shut the bunker door, and all the coal in the bunker was dropping onto the floor , and between the trucks and going upto heaven.
At this time the engine was a fair way from the cascading bunker, so all that could done was to sit and wait for all the coal to drop out of the bunker
All we could do was get out of the way of the falling coal.
The pile of coal was reaching the open door of the bunker and started to slow down.
The spilled coal was in a pyramid of coal 20 foot high, so nowt could happen till some one dug down to the couplings and air pipes of the HAA's that were stranded under the deluge of coal.
The NCB lads picked up their shovels and set to digging between the wagons but for every shovel full taken out another 4 shovel full tha 6 came out of the bunker to replace it.
The idea was to dig down to the bagins, so that the train could be split and moved out of the way.
After an hour or so we dug out enough for the buried trucks to be uncoupled and the skid steer digger to be brought in.
After we did this the front half of the train drawn off and moved from under the bunker and within an hour we were on our way to South Kirby to be unloaded.
Once the trucks were clear, I inspected the train for any any defect trucks, but every thing was ok so we set sail from the bunker road, and out of the up loop for the short trip to South Kirkby Junction.
At this junction the MGR Train ran upto Moorthorpe Station, and ran round the MGR's in the up loop, then drew the train back down towards the GN and South Kirby Jct and into the discharge road in the pit yard and over the bunker to discharge the train.
After all the HAA's were discharged the train was reversed out of the pit yard up the hill towards Moorthorpe Station on the down road was a main to main cross over, when the sub came off we crossed over the line and joined the down GN road back to The Mill and went home.
Just another day of a time when you did not dash about and rushing was some thing a river did not a railway man
The bunker at Kinsley is gone and so is South Kirby Pit
I signed on at The Mill at 09:15 hours, on Thursday, 1st of December, 1983 to take
28 HAA 's ( Empty Merry go round's)with Class 56092 , 6K96, from number 1 Down Stagings for a trip to Kinsley Drift Mine at Kinsley to load with coal under the bunker, and then take the loaded train to South Kirby Pit, which was a couple of miles down the GN Hare Park Junction.
Beside me was the driver and secondman, we all went down into the yard, to be met by the yard shunter, who handed me a signed Tops Sheet for the journey to the Drift Mine.
The shunter would have been round the train, and with the yard driver had blown up the brakes on the train, placed a red tail lamp on the last HAA on the train.
He would then watch the brakes apply on the train, then, get hold of the red pipe, and discharge the air to atmosphere.
When all the air was out of the train he would check that the last 3 HAA's had applied, he would then replace the red air pipe on the bracket at the rear of the train., and we are ready for off.
Once all this had been done, the shunter would then phone Healey Mills Box, who would then pull off the signal so the train could start its journey.
The guard could ride at the front with the driver, or in the back cab, the choice was mine to take. At this time nearly everybody smoked so I went in the back cab.
The route from The Mill was out of the yard, down to Wakefield Kirkgate,on to Calder Bridge, pass the old shed at Wakefield(56A).
Then onto Hare Park Junction onto the up road on the GN for the short ride to down to Kinsley up Loop and off the main line.
The train would then slow down and stop to let me get off the train, and then continue down the loop to get inside clear with the train.
I had then to get myself in a position of safety and stop the train with hand signals when it was in clear of the main line.
I then had to wait for sub to come off for the train to set back to the loading bunker line which was quite distance to travel
Again there were no back to back radios, mobile phones just hand signals.
The train would set back at no more that walking pace, as this could be done by the driver with the slow speed setting on the engine.
I then walked in front of the train where the diver could see me,till we got under the bunker, then the bunker operator took charge of the train by using the token signals placed at intervals down the bunker road.
These signal could stop the train, make it reverse ,set back.
At this time I would be, with the bunker operator to make sure every thing was going well.
The bunker could hold about 1000 tons of coal.
We got about 15 HAA's through the bunker, then all hell broke out.
The NCB operator said that he could not shut the bunker door, and all the coal in the bunker was dropping onto the floor , and between the trucks and going upto heaven.
At this time the engine was a fair way from the cascading bunker, so all that could done was to sit and wait for all the coal to drop out of the bunker
All we could do was get out of the way of the falling coal.
The pile of coal was reaching the open door of the bunker and started to slow down.
The spilled coal was in a pyramid of coal 20 foot high, so nowt could happen till some one dug down to the couplings and air pipes of the HAA's that were stranded under the deluge of coal.
The NCB lads picked up their shovels and set to digging between the wagons but for every shovel full taken out another 4 shovel full tha 6 came out of the bunker to replace it.
The idea was to dig down to the bagins, so that the train could be split and moved out of the way.
After an hour or so we dug out enough for the buried trucks to be uncoupled and the skid steer digger to be brought in.
After we did this the front half of the train drawn off and moved from under the bunker and within an hour we were on our way to South Kirby to be unloaded.
Once the trucks were clear, I inspected the train for any any defect trucks, but every thing was ok so we set sail from the bunker road, and out of the up loop for the short trip to South Kirkby Junction.
At this junction the MGR Train ran upto Moorthorpe Station, and ran round the MGR's in the up loop, then drew the train back down towards the GN and South Kirby Jct and into the discharge road in the pit yard and over the bunker to discharge the train.
After all the HAA's were discharged the train was reversed out of the pit yard up the hill towards Moorthorpe Station on the down road was a main to main cross over, when the sub came off we crossed over the line and joined the down GN road back to The Mill and went home.
Just another day of a time when you did not dash about and rushing was some thing a river did not a railway man
The bunker at Kinsley is gone and so is South Kirby Pit
