Out Of The Blue Artifacts A Library of a lifetime of collecting
The South Wales Colliery, Cwmtillery Colliery.
A report from November 27th, 1869 – This colliery is nineteen miles distant from Newport and by a branch line of one mile a junction with the Monmouthshire railway is made at Abertillery. It has been carried on over five years by the South Wales Colliery Company who have greatly extended the colliery. The colliery has been in operation altogether over twenty-five years. The present output from the steam coal seams is 300 tons per day and from the level is 120 tons per day, in total 420 tons per day. There are forty-two coke ovens in operation, these utilise the small coal from the pit screens.
The Shafts.
There are three pits sunk at 33 yards apart –
The Downcast, which is also the drawing pit is sunk through the Elled, Big Vein, Three-Quarter, Rock, Bedelleg and Old Coal seams at a depth of 246 yards. It has one landing at the Three-Quarter seam at 144 yards depth, and another at the Rock seam at 193 yards depth.
The Middle Pit is sunk to the same depth, it is round and has been used as a pumping pit.
The Upcast or North Pit is oval in section, sunk to the Three-Quarter seam at 144 yards deep, it is fitted with carriages and wire rope guides for raising coal but these are intended to be removed and a chimney erected at the top of the pit.
The winding engine at the drawing pit does all the work, both in raising coal and water, it has two 26″ inch horizontal cylinders, 4 1/3′ foot, direct-acting high pressure. It raises coal from the two landings, one rope-roll 10′ foot diameter draws from the Rock seam landing, one rope-roll 7′ foot diameter draws from the Three-Quarter seam. The pit is sunk 53 yards lower through the Bedelleg and Old Coal seams but these are as yet un-worked. The water is raised at night time in tanks by the engine. One tram is raised in each carriage, carrying about 1 ton of coal each. The carriages run on two wooden guides.
The engine at the middle pit has one horizontal 20″ inch cylinder, 6′ foot stroke with cogwheels 1 to 3. This engine is used for pumping from the Three-Quarter seam but the pumps and gearing have been removed and the engine was lately applied to raising coal from the north or upcast pit, this is now suspended.
An engine at the upcast pit has one 24″ horizontal cylinder, 4 1/2′ foot stroke, cogwheels 1 to 3, 8′ foot rope-rolls for three link chains, this engine is now disused.
The incline engine raises and lowers trucks on an incline 500 yards long, between the colliery and the railway branch, this engine has two 14″ inch horizontal cylinders, 3′ foot stroke, one 7′ foot drum and chain for hauling up the incline, one 5 1/2′ foot drum and tail chain for drawing the wagons back through the siding to the bank head.
Another small engine is used for raising rubbish up to the tip.
There are five boilers to supply these engines with steam, two plain boilers and three with double tubes, the fire being placed underneath the boiler, the heat returns through one tube and back through the other to the flue.
Underground Workings.
The two principal roads are on the east and west sides of the pit. That on the east side meets a fault 80 yards from the pit, down-throw to east 11 yards. The Big Vein by this dislocation is thrown down nearly opposite the Three-Quarter seam and the road is afterwards continued in the Big Vein. The latter continues to dip east for 80 yards making a dislocation altogether of about 30 yards. At this point the strata begins to rise in the east in a variable manner.
An engine and boiler are placed close together, 80 yards distant eastward from the upcast pit, this engine has one 14″ horizontal cylinder, 3′ foot stroke one 5′ foot drum, cogwheels 1 to 3. This engine was applied for hauling up the dip of 80 yards but is now with the boiler out of use. The coal from the east district is now reached by an inclined stone drift out of the rock seam which is the lower landing and 49 yards below the Three-Quarter seam.
This stone drift to the Three-Quarter seam forms a self-acting incline, rises three inches a yard and is 180 yards long. The main road continues east in the Three-Quarter seam 500 yards or more having branch levels for stall working at intervals. At this point another stone drift is driven up to the Big Vein 50 yards in length, rising 6″ inches per yard. This also acts as a self-acting incline for the Big Vein workings. About 100 tons of coal are brought out per day from the Big Vein and Three-Quarter seams from the east side of the pit to the lower landing.
The Three Quarter Seam – West Side.
On this side of the pit the main dip or slope is driven west 800 yards, the dip is variable, in some parts is nearly flat in others 3″ to 4″ inches per yard, the undulation has been filled up so as to give sufficient fall for the empty drams to run down with a rope. The hauling engine for this dip has two 14″ inch cylinders, 20″ stroke, cog wheels 1 to 5 and one 5 1/2′ foot drum. The steam is brought down the upcast in pipes and the exhaust pipes are taken to the bottom of the upcast. The engine is placed 60 yards from the upcast pit (by the present route) to which it formerly delivered coals. At present the engine delivers to the down-cast or drawing pit at the upper landing. It draws the laden drams 700 yards up the plane and then drops them back to the pit, a distance of 80 yards, the empty sets being worked vice versa.
About 500 yards down the dip, another dip branches off to the south, this is also adapted to engine power for 300 yards and will be further extended. About 200 tons are raised daily up the main dip from the Big Vein and Three-Quarter seams in about equal proportions. Below the south-branch dip 100 yards of barren ground were passed through, the Three-Quarter coal being nipped out, though following on down the coal puts in again of good quality. The roof is much stronger on the lower side of the barren ground. The water is drawn from the extremities of the two dips in tanks up to the top of the engine plane, there is but a moderate influx of water. Near the bottom of the engine plane a heading, branching north is being extended and the coal being got on each side of it by the long wall system. The rise of the seam is to the north and rises considerably to the east also.
The Three-Quarter seam – 3′ foot 9″ inches (good coal – sent to the bank): 1′ foot 4″ inches (engine coal not raised):
Gate roads are made 10 yards apart from the centers and are driven 50 yards or more on each side of the heading. In some parts of the Three-Quarter seam the long wall faces extend from 200 to 300 yards in a line. The material for filling up is obtained by cutting the engine coals and fire clay in the roads as they are extended and by re-cutting bottom in the roads generally where pucking is going on.
The Big Vein Seam.
This is found 13 yards above the Three-Quarter seam and is reached by a rise stone drift from the latter. The coal is being got by longwall on each side of the heading, the gate roads are driven east to west 10 yards apart from their centers.
The Big Vein Seam – 2′ foot 1″ inches (engine coal) 4′ foot 4″ inches (good coal – sent to the bank): 1′ foot 4″ (not raised in stalls):
The holing is made in No5 bed and No4 forms the roof, the coal above is inferior quality and remains. The lower coals 10 and 12 are said to be good in quality but are not sent to bank, slips do not readily occur in this seam and the coal being hard, powder is used to break it down. The Big Vein produces coal of large size and it is remarkable where the Three-Quarter coal – 13 yards below has been worked first, the gas is found to be drained from the Big Vein and the coal and the coal produced from it is said to be of larger size than if the Three-Quarter coal was entire under it. This is contrary to what might have been expected under these circumstances, even when the workings are closely stowed up. The colliers work with candles throughout this colliery.
The Elled Seam.
The Elled coal seam is found six yards above the Big Vein, it is uncertain in its thickness, good in quality as house or steam coal. When right it is 3′ foot 6″ inches thick it is got on the longwall system and as the big vein is usually worked under it first, the Elled is said not to be greatly, if at all, deteriorated by crushing and the settling down of the strata. This coal has been got by a rise stone drift from the Big Vein on the east side of the pit, which forms a self-acting incline. The engine draws eight drams each journey up the west incline – the trams are open-bodied and carry about one ton of coal. The wheels have been lately changed on all from tram to flanged wheels. The engine plane has been re-laid with single headrails, replacing the tram plates. This alteration has proved most satisfactory and will be carried out wherever the roads have become settled but the tram plates but the tram plates are still retained in the headings and gate-roads.
Ventilation.
There are two furnaces in operation for the ventilation of the entire mine – are 8′ foot wide 80 yards from the upcast. The new furnace is 9′ foot wide at the bottom of the upcast. The distribution of air is 35,000 cubic feet to the east side workings, total 63,000 cubic feet. The consumption of coal is five tons in 24 hours, equal to 8,076 cubic feet per pound of coal used.
Red Ash Seam.
Is worked by level going east about 800 yards. Section is strong roof rock. The coal is worked on the longwall principle, the gate roads are 14′ feet apart, driven eastwards on the back, others nearly south on the end. The small coal is stowed underground, the large only brought out. No gas emitted and candles are used. The seam rises to the east. Ventilated by a flue at the mouth. This coal is sold for house and smiths’ purposes at the railway depots.