1994 - Page 6

Ollerton Was Closed 1994, After 69 Years

- Continued -

• There was an NUM overtime ban from Nov 1972
• Then on strike for 7 weeks
• May 1973, new electrical workshop on surface
• Household notices available July 1973
• 110s AB16 Shearer Oct 1973
• No2 steel shaft multi-spoke wheels replaced with fewer large lightweight shaped spokes
• Strike for 4 weeks
• One of first pits to do a general tidying up of surface and large areas covered in limestone chippings for maintenance free, June 1974 replacing gardened areas
• 2 Undermanagers again
• Red reflectors used for gate centre lines from Oct 1974
• Entry into Parkgate started Sep 1974, M/c loaders
• Cable handlers for shearers introduced at the face, Dec 1974
• 44s Bi-Di Shearer changed to BJD B59 Maximatic Shearer Aug

Ollerton Power house Ray Ilett 1970s

• 45s dev Dosco MkIIA first one Sep 1974
• First in the Area for the introduction of a Laser beam for direction and grade at Parkgate Intake drivage, 20th June 1975
• Booster fans for East side at bottom of 622s Paddy road
• Production bonus
• First in the Area, second in the country for Dosco side-discharge loaders, (first being Sharlston in Yorkshire) July 1975 with 16/17’ x 12’ (4.9/5.2 x 3.65m) 3 piece arches
• A again on the surveying side, first in the Area to measure the shafts using a Wild D10 Distomat machine, lying on its side inside the cage, through a hole, 15th Aug 1975, (in 30 minutes during normal working hours, i.e. snap time, plus 10 minutes)
• Electrical workshop extension on surface, 1975 and new Mechanical workshop 1976, £110,100
• Underground Powder store in Parkgate drifts for pre made up unit charges for quickness of use and were transported there in a special locked steel vehicle
• One of first with a Radiation store in pit yard, for sensors in Vertical bunker Dec 1975
• The first for a hanging Sub-station, to counteract floor lift, was a platform some 37 yards (34m) long suspended from adjustable chains clamped to the arches or girders)
• Auto-plumb at No2 shaft from inside the cage through a hole, for positional check on workings 18th Aug 1976, (again in 30 minutes i.e. snap time plus 10 minutes)
• No1 shaft winding (‘Metal Mickey’ recorder) 1975 and No2 Winder in 1976
• Top and bottom manriding conveyors 1977
• Computer control operational, Jan 1977
• Cost of Parkgate scheme £3,018,525, note quirk of the accounting system was that half of the coal produced from the headings to the first face line was taken from the colliery books and put aside against the Capital expenditure
• First for Surface water pollution prevention report, completed and used as example for rest of Area, Apr 1977 (16 copies sent to Hobart House NCB HQ in London for UK distribution)
• Blending scheme at Coal prep plant completed in 1977 at a cost of £171,200

Clayton steep-seam rubber-tyred Battery Pony locos
Ollerton pit bottom back road Battery locomotive, driver Billy Humphries

• Second in the Area for introduction of two Clayton steep-seam rubber-tyred Battery Pony locos for shunting and supplies distribution in Top Hard pit bottom operational March 1977 and 2 further Pony locos introduced into the new Parkgate seam July 1977
• Early retirement for men aged 62 and over in the Summer, 1,192 men before and 1,133 after
• Joy Ram packer at 66s loader gate end 1977 and 16/17 (4.9 / 5.2m) arches introduced
• Incentive scheme based on lineal advance measured by Surveyors began 1st Dec 1977
• Use of a Thermal lance to burn out part of steam Winding engine in preparation for electrification
• July 1978 Butterley bunker commissioned
• First in the Area with Robbins 23R Raise drill for pilot hole then reaming out for sinking 1,000 tonnes Vertical bunker, July 1978, bunker commissioned 4th Feb 1979 (second one in country with a Thyssen tile spiral, at a cost of £1.4m)
• Retirement age down to 61
• Surface Workshops extension and Covered area for machinery 1978-1979
• In Aug 1978 No1 DC shaft steam winding engine replaced with new GEC electric winding engine, rationalised Thyristor DC ‘D’ size drive system, Holset coupling and static compensator and using the existing winder PD mechanicals (existing automated skip plant with automatic winding and first winder to have brake lock proving
• A second Vertical bunker sunk inbye later in 1982-1983, at 650 tonnes, again with tiled spiral, at a cost of £1.4m)
• Surface Workshops extension and tonnes, operational Aug 1983, with 54” (1.37m) wide in feed conveyor
• One of first for vertical bunkerage with Radio-active depth sensors 1978 and later replaced by radar sensors 1983
• 200 tons Butterley bunker and vibro pit, Apr 1978 costing £150,000
• Packing table 1978
• Removed Keps at No2 shaft July 1979 where the 2 double deck cages could hold 2 vehicles of materials and or salvage or dirt on one deck and manriding facilities for 40 men on each cage
• At No2 DC shaft new electric winding engine to replace existing steam engine, a new GEC rationalised Thyristor DC ‘C’ size drive system with Holset coupling and using the existing winder PD mechanicals (new decking plant with manual winding) in Aug 1979
• Retirement age down to 60
• 2,000 tonnes Rapid loading bunker on the surface (£2.1m) and automatic Carol feeders for trucks, automated Haulage engine underground
• Oct 1979
• Airway cooling system at 33s
• Ripping in line at 10s airway Jan 1980
• UMM powered monorail installed 1980
• Tiles in pit bottom Vertical bunker wearing and were repaired using Belzona
• No2 Shaft survey carried out by me proved damage caused by pit bottom excavations aggravating it, also the sump was distorted
• Gravity winding by water in case of power failure 1980
• Automation of Skip winding, both underground and surface, July 1980, no banksman or onsetter
• 6,600 tonnes day record
• Buffers installed at No1 shaft sump, Aug 1980
• Brick Chimney demolished by hand
• First in the Area for Surveyor’s Accountability, 13th Jan 1981 used as a bench mark for rest of Area
• Safety Mind evening at Devonshire Suite, Sutton in Oct 1980
• First in the region for Dispatch and Receive haulage system on steep 1in5 Parkgate Return drift July 1981
• FIDO (Face Information Data On line) to surface Control Room, 1981
• Booster conveyor installed on Parkgate intake drift to assist loading, second installation in the Area
• First in the country for Tar spraying a 180,000 tonne coal heap to prevent dust blowing about to appease local residents, Sep 1981, quite a success
• Nov 1981 Risk assessment plans and Water action plans completed, first in the Area

500 Tonnes Roadway Bunker Scroll

• Second in the country for 500 tonnes Horizontal Strata Bunker, where coal was scraped off a conveyor onto the roadway floor then loaded back out using a shearer with a large scroll onto a scraper conveyor, Dec 1981
• Bennett catch gear installation at No1 headgear, Dec 1981 costing £28,000
• The first installation in the country of the Markham Roadway Ripping shield Jan 1982 (loosely based on the one used by Marc Isambard Brunel in the soft clays under the River Thames) guided by laser beam for centre and grade, over a period of 21 weeks 3 weeks was needed for building and installing the machine, time was lost adjusting various things such as ploughs, anchor chains etc and 4m advance was achieved in the first week and similarly for the second week. The average advance for the next 7 weeks varied from 7m to 16m however the first week on contract 24m was achieved but the shield went off line and the next 2 or 3 weeks were spent getting it back on line. Various types of filling foam were tried to fill the cavities. Bretby type for 18m, aerostem, a mixture of hardstop and sodium bicarbonate for 5m and aerostem for 7m but all failed. The project was abandoned on 28th May 1982 after achieving 214.7m
• The first colliery in the country to have Computers in the Planned Maintenance department, April 1982
• The second in the country for a Computer in the Stores department, Mar 1982
• First for Noise level surveys, 1982, again used as an example for the rest of the Area.
• Aerial Photography of tips were arranged as an aid to surveying May 1982 and plans and volumes produced only requiring check fixing from existing survey bases
• Installation of Chilled water system for heat control at 33s loader gate, July 1982
• Double drum crusher for 2s stage loader to break up large lumps, Sep 1982
• Chilled water system for heat control at 1s Following Intake, Sep 1982
• Lingard box ventilation system installed at headings
• Becorit circular crane for inbye vertical bunker in Parkgate, Dec 1982
• NUM overtime ban
• Water action figures, first time, 8th March
• Risk Assessment plans for underground workings
• Thyssens Titan E169, July 1983 and Titan E134 heading machines and full-arch setting 18/19ft x 12ft (5.5/5.8 x 3.65m), June 1983
• Free steered diesel Eimco load-haul dump, July 1983 in pit bottom drivages
• Fire Certificate plans for the colliery, passed by HMI, second in the Area, July 1983
• Capped No1 shaft Balance rope with resin for first time instead of traditional white metal, July 1983
• Jubilee side tip wagons and locos for tipping and spread by bulldozer at No2 tip and No4 defunct and replaced with DJB D35C 35 tonnes capacity dump trucks, TS 14 Scrapers and overspill hopper operational Aug 1983
• Radar monitoring for depth recording at Parkgate 650 tonnes inbye vertical bunker, Aug 1983
• Crusher at 33s stage loader to break up big lumps
• The first to use ‘health monitoring’ of machinery at 9s retreat face, Oct 1983
• NUM overtime ban and partial strike Nov 1983
• Flying pickets from Yorkshire but the colliery continued to produce coal, albeit at a reduced rate
• The first in the Area for underground Geophysical in-seam detection of faults, July 1984, taking more than one shift, but by July 1985 able to achieve a full face test at 33s in a record 3 hours
• Rotating probability fines screen at coal prep plant, June 1984
• Pressurised 3rd drift
• Repairs to No2 shaft by ATT bulge
• Parkgate booster fans remote controlled from the surface Control room, Dec 1984
• Articulated weighbridge at the Landsale for large long wheel based lorries, July 1985
• New surface fan drift 1985
• 15mph high-speed manriding at No3 Parkgate drift
• Booster conveyor drive at 1in6 Parkgate drift
• First capping done with resin instead of traditional white metal at No1 shaft 1st Dec 1985
• In Feb 1986, a curved creeper was installed in the pit bottom

Ollerton 16s Airway Paddy

• A Dosco side discharge heading machine converted to a Stower blower at 16s loader gate packhole first in the Area, Sep 1986
• Power house automated, Dec 1986
• Second for installation of a 48” (1.22m) wide booster conveyor, 2 more followed
• No2 pit top traverser for materials at low landing 1987
• Introduction of coal turning during pit Holiday periods with volunteers
• Staggered Holiday periods
• 4/4/1991 record 6,405m cut in one day
• Installation of a 48" (1.22m) largest wide steel cord conveyor belt in 4th drift, at 1in5 grade, with 2 x 1,000hp drives, 1991 (total for both drifts £14.8m)
• Fluorescent blue lights fitted at high noise zones that only light up when the machinery is operating another first, this time invented by Joe Ottewell the Safety Engineer
• New swipe 'Compass' system for timekeeping 14th Dec 1992
• In Feb 1993 coal preparation plant awarded British Standards Institute (BS 5750) accreditation - award that guaranteed quality products to customers
• Over 30 acres of tip restoration i.e. grass, and tree planting.
• Properly constructed platforms at gate ends allowed outbye manriding on conveyors at the end of the shift, (of course manriding had been practiced illegally on all conveyors at some time or other, like at all pits).
• The shaft performance at No1 had been increased by the introduction of lightweight 10 tonnes skips at 47 draws to the hour, winding 20 hours a day at 500 tonnes per hour with a yield of 75% in the 1980s giving an output of 10,000 tonnes.
• There was a manriding deck within the skip for 20 men.
• Coal industry's first 3 dimensional Seismic survey was pioneered at Ollerton where 2,000 shot holes drilled in surface fields covering 1.5 square kilometres area to map the Parkgate seam at 850 yards (777m) deep.
• The seismic survey took almost 6 months to complete in early 1992.
• The Bretby based TSRE team used the new system that revealed faults, wash outs, swilleys, seam gradient and steep ground and altered some of the information previously plotted using the 2 D seismic surveys done in the 1970s that were based on single lines whereas the new system sampled the ground every 6m in a grid pattern.
• Another first in the country was when cables were hung down the shaft in single point suspension...no cleats to fasten it to the shaft walling, only a strengthened structure at the top of the shaft. Several cables were successfully hung in both shafts.

These achievements all assisted in making Ollerton one of the countrys most efficient and profitable mines.