Dark init down pit

[wendygs]

Originally posted by Nimrod

Went down Barnsley Main in 1963 [ on school visit ], never went down again. My dad was a miner and strongly advised against mining as a career. He died of industrial disease last year.

 

I am so sorry to hear that; it couldnt have been very pleasant for you and your family.

[Albatross]

My dad used to tell me of his days down the pit. Stories of a pick n shovel in a three foot seam and I saw the scars on his back from it. He died of emphasyma that was his legacy from the pit.

He said to me when I was leaving school you can go for any job you want but if you ever try to go down the pit I'll break your leg rather than let you.

[Mo]

Went down Westthorpe at Killamarsh in mid 70's. Not a job I would have like to have done.

[rincewind]

Originally posted by playman

been down loads of caves/mines in the peak district over the last 20 years.

 

I don't want to provoke an argument here, but I've also been down a lot of the old lead mines in the peaks, and I can imagine just what it was like on a freezing winter morning, going down the climbing shafts in a place like Knotlow for example, (just outside Monyash). The conditions were horrific and dangerous, when you see the way that the 'coffin levels' were cut, you realise how hard the work must have been.

 

I don't know if it was harder in the lead mines or the coal mines..anyone know of any old lead miners?

[ENGLANDER]

I went to NORFOLK SECONDRY SCHOOL and as we got to the school leaving age we were sent on two work experiance days one was down a pit and the other was to a rolling mill put me off work for life both were very much what we were supposed to do when we left school.We had a job placement officer visit our school called Mr Oliver who had a desk in the old youth opportunities building on West Street ,years later he had become a security guard at the DSS building I would have thought he could have got himself a better job but thats life he always said I wouldnt amount to much he was dead right.

[squeakyclean]

We have been down the old pit, which is now the National mining museum. It makes a really good day out, even I enjoyed it. I think it is free too.

[depoix]

yes indeed times sure have changed, for the worst,i started with the then NCB. in 1964 at 15, as you say the expierience of being underground is unreal. your grandad was spot on about the dark, we during our training had to turn off lights and make our way in the right direction to a point that sempt a mile away, but it wasn,t. going down on the cage was in its self an exp at around 40/50 mph,made your ears pop,not like pack house 2 mph.........could go on all day but...........thanks 4 the reply

i started in 65,at 15, orgreave colliery,where did you train ? treeton ?

 

i worked on top till i was old enough to go underground,worked on haulage and belt maintainance,ive still got my tally and my underground certificate......

[Timbuck]

When I was 14 in 1952...Shiregreen School had a trip to Handsworth Pit ..It was supposed to recruit lads who fancied working for the NCB it was very interesting but no way was I going to work down there..I can still remember when the Pit Deputy got us to put out all our lights and see what total darkness was really like..Scary stuff.

[willo]

yo! depoix,I worked at treeton in the early 70s,we also did a lot of training down orgreave. do you remember the district where it was all solid rock [did'nt need supports] & as you looked up there was a prehistoric river bed with all the fossils & such, also there was another mine shaft down there, that we were told was the oldest in existence.if memory serves! i believe orgreave pioneered man riding conveyor belts,we were well jealous as down treeton we had to walk for miles every where [officially-lol].I agree with the other post,mine workers were the best bunch of guys you could meet,in & outta work,had some right laffs & still tell some pit related stories nearly 40 years on. happy memories

[skippy]

pit anybody like to gu down a mine,,or has bin down one

 

I had 10 good years working in the coalmines here in Oz, a friend of mine took me down to have a look around, & I was hooked, 20 feet wide and 12 foot high, it took us 45 mins to get to the coal face in either a diesel or electric man car on rails, we only worked a 7 hour shift including the travelling in & out & the money was great too & every weekend off.

A lot of the miners were from Yorkshire, so it was a pleasure to go to work, unfortunately or fortunately, I injured my neck in a roof fall & wasn't allowed underground anymore, the blokes I worked with got transferred to another pit that was very gassy, they used to get a lot of blow outs & the blokes got very scared at times, another mine in this area had an explosion that killed about 14 miners, that was a gassy pit too.

I spent my first couple of years as a loco driver,hauling stuff in & out, it was job & finish every shift, I decided to work at the coalface to get some experience, so I could go to another mine that paid big money, that's when I got injured.