Coal seam names - and Stigmaria?

[Si]

rikj wrote: If I can re-activate the part of my brain that knows how to upload photos, I'll put one up of a heading in a coal mine that has gone straight through the trunk of a fossil tree. Leaving a roughly circular hole in the ceiling. Brain engaged yet, Rikj? I'd love to see the pics.Cheers,Si.

[farbank]

There were 4 coal seams worked in the Leeds area at one time or another. When I left school in 1950, I started work at Mt.Pleasant Colliery. Twixt Swillington and Garforth Bridge.( The Old George pub.) I left at 17 1/2 yrs. to join the army.( Volunteered 'cos I was exempt from Nat.Service.). I digress.Our pit was 903ft. deep, and was the upcast shaft for Flateley Beck( Swillington), Temple Newsam ( Leeds), and Allerton Bywater pit.Up to me leaving, to join up, we only worked the Beeston seam.At Flateley, they were working two other seams, Flockton and Silkstone seams. This pit was a Drift mine. It had a shaft but wasn't normally used for men. The coal from OUR pit, was hauled up this shaft. Flateley's production all came to the surface via the ' drift', in huge minecars. The colliers here all walked down/up the drift at the start and end of shift.However, on returning to civvy street, and because I liked the job, I went back to the Mt.Pleasant pit. What a change. Whilst I had been gone, our shaft had been opened on two more levels. To the Flockton And Silkstone seams. To accommodate the colliers from Flateley, who began riding at Mt.Pleasant. And the luxury of pithead baths had been introduced.My last job there, was working on the new development to the Black Bed seam. As a driver to Wilf Leigh and his brother, who were opening it up. This seam was accessed by ' drift' from our Beeston seam.It was whilst crawling around in 24ins. of height, lugging timber, that I realised the job wasn't for me after all. So I left again, and never went back.

[Leeds Hippo]

farbank wrote: There were 4 coal seams worked in the Leeds area at one time or another. When I left school in 1950, I started work at Mt.Pleasant Colliery. Twixt Swillington and Garforth Bridge.( The Old George pub.) I left at 17 1/2 yrs. to join the army.( Volunteered 'cos I was exempt from Nat.Service.). I digress.Our pit was 903ft. deep, and was the upcast shaft for Flateley Beck( Swillington), Temple Newsam ( Leeds), and Allerton Bywater pit.Up to me leaving, to join up, we only worked the Beeston seam.At Flateley, they were working two other seams, Flockton and Silkstone seams. This pit was a Drift mine. It had a shaft but wasn't normally used for men. The coal from OUR pit, was hauled up this shaft. Flateley's production all came to the surface via the ' drift', in huge minecars. The colliers here all walked down/up the drift at the start and end of shift.However, on returning to civvy street, and because I liked the job, I went back to the Mt.Pleasant pit. What a change. Whilst I had been gone, our shaft had been opened on two more levels. To the Flockton And Silkstone seams. To accommodate the colliers from Flateley, who began riding at Mt.Pleasant. And the luxury of pithead baths had been introduced.My last job there, was working on the new development to the Black Bed seam. As a driver to Wilf Leigh and his brother, who were opening it up. This seam was accessed by ' drift' from our Beeston seam.It was whilst crawling around in 24ins. of height, lugging timber, that I realised the job wasn't for me after all. So I left again, and never went back. That's very interesting farbank - great to hear from someone who actually worked the pits - all I can say that is that you must have been incredibly fit to work in those conditions - 24ins seams - blimey!

[farbank]

The 24ins. seam was only in the ' development' stage. All the seams have 2 layers of stone directly above them. Each layer between 4 & 6ins. thickness. Known as the ' black & whites'.( From their respective colouring). To make it a more viable and accommodating workplace, these layers would eventually be brought down, with the coal also. The resulting height being a more comfortable 3ft. The ' muck' would then,( mixed with the coal), pass thro' the pithead washer,( called the screens), and be sorted. The residue heading for the slag heaps.The highest seam of coal I had to work in was the Beeston, and at one stage was 8ft. thick. This was nigh impossible to work. You must imagine the size of the pit props one had to handle. We could only get 4 or 5 on a ' tram'.( A wooden sided bogey, no ends in.) So an attempt was made to place the machine cut in the centre of the seam. However this made it a floor of coal one had to walk/work on.But it was too dangerous and glassy. For both men, and me and my pony.( Gordon).By the way,don't confuse the name of the Beeston seam, with the Beeston at Leeds 11. The name is from the Beeston in Nottinghamshire, where the seam originates. As are Flockton and Silkstone in S.Yorks.

[Si]

farbank wrote: The 24ins. seam was only in the ' development' stage. All the seams have 2 layers of stone directly above them. Each layer between 4 & 6ins. thickness. Known as the ' black & whites'.( From their respective colouring). To make it a more viable and accommodating workplace, these layers would eventually be brought down, with the coal also. The resulting height being a more comfortable 3ft. The ' muck' would then,( mixed with the coal), pass thro' the pithead washer,( called the screens), and be sorted. The residue heading for the slag heaps.The highest seam of coal I had to work in was the Beeston, and at one stage was 8ft. thick. This was nigh impossible to work. You must imagine the size of the pit props one had to handle. We could only get 4 or 5 on a ' tram'.( A wooden sided bogey, no ends in.) So an attempt was made to place the machine cut in the centre of the seam. However this made it a floor of coal one had to walk/work on.But it was too dangerous and glassy. For both men, and me and my pony.( Gordon).By the way,don't confuse the name of the Beeston seam, with the Beeston at Leeds 11. The name is from the Beeston in Nottinghamshire, where the seam originates. As are Flockton and Silkstone in S.Yorks. Farbank...I take my hat off to you. 3 ft seam...comfortable?!!!You are made of sterner stuff than I!!!

[Loiner in Cyprus]

If I remember correctly, the South West 3 face at Miggy in the early 60s when it had a plough as a coal getting machine was between 18 to 24 inches in height!!    

[The Parksider]

farbank wrote: The 24ins. seam was only in the ' development' stage. All the seams have 2 layers of stone directly above them. Each layer between 4 & 6ins. thickness. Known as the ' black & whites'.( From their respective colouring). To make it a more viable and accommodating workplace, these layers would eventually be brought down, with the coal also. The resulting height being a more comfortable 3ft. The ' muck' would then,( mixed with the coal), pass thro' the pithead washer,( called the screens), and be sorted. The residue heading for the slag heaps.The highest seam of coal I had to work in was the Beeston, and at one stage was 8ft. thick. This was nigh impossible to work. You must imagine the size of the pit props one had to handle. We could only get 4 or 5 on a ' tram'.( A wooden sided bogey, no ends in.) So an attempt was made to place the machine cut in the centre of the seam. However this made it a floor of coal one had to walk/work on.But it was too dangerous and glassy. For both men, and me and my pony.( Gordon).By the way,don't confuse the name of the Beeston seam, with the Beeston at Leeds 11. The name is from the Beeston in Nottinghamshire, where the seam originates. As are Flockton and Silkstone in S.Yorks. Keep it coming mate - fascinating........

[farbank]

The pit where all my reminiscing originates,( Mt.Pleasant), was eventually upon its closure, worked as opencast. But as the pithead was located on the hilltop, twixt Swillington church and the Old George pub at Garforth Bridge, and the opencast site was at the far end of Garforth, off the lane leading to Barwick.! You must check the actual distance to begin to realise, the amount of distance we had to walk,( initially), to our work stations.( Coalfaces)I say initially because, when I came back to Mt.Pleasant after the army, they had installed a ' paddy'. These were a form of open tramcar, connected to an endless rope haulage system. Just for conveying the colliers the couple or so miles, we used to walk twice a day. Mining getting soft ? Not a bit.

[book]

I worked in the flocton seam at Fryston it was a cold wet seam. We also had the Beeston seam and that very hot and dry.

[somme1916]

The highest seam of coal I had to work in was the Beeston, and at one stage was 8ft. thick. This was nigh impossible to work. You must imagine the size of the pit props one had to handle. We could only get 4 or 5 on a ' tram'.( A wooden sided bogey, no ends in.) So an attempt was made to place the machine cut in the centre of the seam. However this made it a floor of coal one had to walk/work on.But it was too dangerous and glassy. For both men, and me and my pony.( Gordon).By the way,don't confuse the name of the Beeston seam, with the Beeston at Leeds 11. The name is from the Beeston in Nottinghamshire, where the seam originates. As are Flockton and Silkstone in S.Yorks. Farbank...I take my hat off to you. 3 ft seam...comfortable?!!!You are made of sterner stuff than I!!!Not entirely sure this is correct.Refer:Nottinghamshire history website www.nottshistory.co.uk which appears to contra this stating the Beeston Coal measures lay at depths of several hundred feet and that the coal is associated with Beeston nr.Leeds.A coal measure is usually named after the place at which it outcrops i.e. appears at the surface.