interpret mining maps

[warringtonrhino]

I have some old maps which have solid and dash lines, and lists of minerals with thicknesses. They are all related to coal seams.
The lists of minerals are scattered across the maps but do not seem to refer to a specific point on the ground.
Does anyone know of a book etc which will help me understand what they mean.

[rikj]

Difficult to say without seeing them, but in general a solid line shows a coal seam that has been seen (i.e. in something like a railway cutting or other excavation); a dotted line infers a seam that hasn't been seen, but is most likely there given the contours of the land and the known exposures.

[mhoulden]

It might be worth comparing them to these maps from the British Geological Survey: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsUK/planning/resource.html

[grumpytramp]

I have some old maps which have solid and dash lines, and lists of minerals with thicknesses. They are all related to coal seams

I suspect that you are looking at either Geological Survey plans or early Ordnance Survey plans which often contained mining information (for example see http://maps.nls.uk/view/102344959 which if you look closely shows the position of coal seam outcrops and the depth/thickness of coal seams at various shafts)

If you can me a wee description of the type of plan that you are looking at I am sure that I will be able to help.

[warringtonrhino]

Thanks for that
The set of maps I have are similar the grumpytramp one.
I have attached part of the map and coloured some of the things that I do not fully understand.
what are the green lines dot dot dash are limestone these are dot dash dot -with circles every so often.
the red lists i know are thicknesses of various minerals, but I cannot see where they were measured.
they seem to be randomly placed.
I appreciate that these were 'work in progress' plans, so some of the information could be missing.

[grumpytramp]

OK the green highlighted lines are surface contours at 25 feet intervals [the lines formed from 'long dash - dot - long dash' is at 50 and 100 feet intervals and the lines formed from 'small dash-small dash - small dash' are at 25 and 75 feet intervals]

The geological data you have highlighted in red will relate to an adjacent shaft or borehole (marked by a dot in a circle) for example on the image you uploaded it shows at the Park Pit:

+ Depth to Coal Crow is 50 yards 4" which is made up of two leaves of coal separated by a band of clay (Upper leaf 1'5", clay 6.5", lower leaf 6")
+ Depth to Black Bed Coal is 60 yards I' 5" which is made up of a single leaf 1' 6"
+ Depth to Better Bed Coal is 103 yards 11" which is made up of a single leaf 1' 5"

Sometimes the shafts will only record the depth to the seam they had been working only

Immediately below this description you will see a second geological description adjacent to an arrow marked with 5deg. This indicates that the strata has been observed at this location and the strata is dipping 5 degrees from the horizontal to the SE. The description shows:

+ Sandstone/shale
+ Coal 0' 9" thick
+ Grey blue shale
+ Flaggy sandstone

This might have been exposed in an excavation, in a ditch, streambed, rock exposure, cliff etc.

Where the coal seam outcrop line is shown as a continuous bold line, the position of the outcrop is known either from mine records or exposure on the surface. Where it is a bold dotted line then the position of the outcrop has been estimated from available information (and can be wildly incorrect)

You will note thin continuous lines sometimes with a perpendicular dash with a measurement and normally marked with a coal seam name. These are faults recorded in those coal seams. The measurement indicates the depth in which the seam of coal is thrown by the fault.

[warringtonrhino]

Thanks for that

[The Parksider]

Thanks for that
The set of maps I have are similar the grumpytramp one.
I have attached part of the map and coloured some of the things that I do not fully understand.
what are the green lines dot dot dash are limestone these are dot dash dot -with circles every so often.
the red lists i know are thicknesses of various minerals, but I cannot see where they were measured.
they seem to be randomly placed.
I appreciate that these were 'work in progress' plans, so some of the information could be missing.

Tremendous interpretation by GT and as we can see the Leeds coalfield was very significant and reached well into North Leeds.

Once worked out attention turned to the Gipton Pit down the valley and the Harehills was built on for housing we see today.

Park Pit was not built on and a gap was left in Broughton Terrace eventually houses were built and you can see the difference in he dates/styles of the houses today.

The land at Lee Pit was used to make bricks for the development and a large clay pit was dug. Potternewton pit became home to the Rock Red Brick company a small independant whose bricks are marked RRB and the City Brick company (marked "City Leeds") took the site of the unamed pit on the map.

Once the coalmen moved out the claymen moved in. The City Brick yard remains today and the old Brick building houses one of the small business units using the site....

[dogduke]

Is there a date for this map please ?.
Taking the Beckett St.cemetery as a focal point you can pick out what
was or to become,Stoney Rock Lane,Stanley Rd,Compton Rd.,Harehills Ln,Harehills Rd,
Foundry Lane(Approach) etc.

[grumpytramp]

Is there a date for this map please ?.

First Series Ordnance Survey 1:10,560 (6" to mile) published in 1852

See here for the whole sheet http://maps.nls.uk/view/102344959

This is from a project run by National Library of Scotland's. They have already digitised a full suite of Scottish OS (and other) maps. They have a complete selection of 6" to a mile maps of England, see here for the Leeds area

http://maps.nls.uk/geo/find/#zoom=12&la ... &point=0,0

Click on the area of interest, then select the map from the RHS pop-up (for the same are there are maps published in 1894, 1909, 1933 and 1944, though be careful with the dates as the surveys were often completed some years before)

They are progressively working there way from the SE corner of England north and west with the 25" to a mile maps (which have fantastic detail)

Consider it Scotland's gift to Secret Leeds