Hello,
I am a newcomer to searching for information on the coal mining industry. I am really researching this from the viewpoint of the coal traffic on a railway line that I am working on. So I really need information on an area just outside the Derby/Notts field - in the North West area of Leicestershire.
Particularly elusive is information about the World War Two opencast workings just north of Ashby de la Zouch and west of New Lount deep pit.
Can you possible advise, please, of which of your many resources are likely to provide me with leads on this. Your help would be very much appreciated!
I come at this as a railwayman, with an interest in how much traffic all this generated for the adjacent railway. By my reckoning they took 49,700 tons of coal out. Most will have gone by rail, so that's 4,700 wagon loads. That sounds a lot, but over 18 moths and even assuming no weekend working (unlikely in 1942/43) it is only 13 wagonloads a day.
Best wishes
Mike Christensen
Re the Opencast sites. see above plans.
- Doles Farm OC 10 Abandoned 26 Nov 1943
- The Altons OC 133 Abandoned Feb 1946
- Workhouse OC 37 Abandoned 6 Mar 1944
Bob Bradley
As stated the sites were under the Ministry of Fuel and Power at that time, during the Second World War and for years after. Several departments in charge over the years. NCB took over from Opencast Executive later. M of F and P identification for example was NM/3/53 for Doles Farm
The OC 10 is the abandonment plan number at the Mining Records, Coal Authority, Lichfield Lane, Mansfield. The old County sheet numbers Leicestershire LS 16 NW....16-5-6-9-10 1923 edition OS for location.
19,061 tons 26/11/1943 & (and) 6/3/1944 finishing date. I generally use the symbol & for and therefore where you asked regarding the tonnages...19,061 tons Yard seam.......10,458 &. 6,590 tons.
Regarding the sites I and II. The tonnages are from the areas shown therefore the larger the acreage the larger the tonnage. This can be seen from the sizes sketched, reasonably proportional but not absolute because they are sketches from larger plans.
NM/3/173 ... OC 133 for Alton's. 11/2/1946...LS 16 SW covered by 2 plans. 16-14-1923 edit and 23-2-1929 edit.
100,540 tons total.
NM/3/57...OC 37 for Workhouse 6/3/1944...LS 16 SW. 16-9-1923. The Workhouse appears twice on different plan editions however the buildings are entirely different, maybe it had been knocked down between those dates ? The area had obviously increased between the 2 as seen.
As stated near bottom there was obviously a mistake made at the time and the seam was named Nether Lount. It was renamed Kilburn.
All the information shown on the sketches is all the information shown on the abandonment plans along with the contractors who were given the jobs. As you can see very little but I assume that you have been able to identify by the shape of fields, rail bends etc.
The information may be a little faded due to the type of pen used, however all the acres, tonnages etc were just added on as I thought you may be interested. but if you expand it by a program in your computer or as I have sent it by iPad just expand it by finger stretch and all is revealed. Trusting this explains where the information comes from.
Bob Bradley |