Parliamentary Papers

Cause of Accident, and Remarks.

There are two levels at shaft on surface, one for shile, the other, 10 feet above, for debris; at the former there are gates at
entrance to the shaft, while at the latter a "policeman" covered the mouth. At the lower level the loaded tubs are taken
A loaded tub of debris was raised to the upper
off the cages at south side of shaft and the empty tubs put on a north side.
level, and deceased, who was at lower level, had instructions to put an empty tub on the cage as soon as it descended. He
accordingly passed to the north side with an empty tub, opened the gate and pushed it forward to the open shaft before the
the cage had reached the level, and tub and he were precipitated to the bottom, a distance of 50 fathoms.
When the descending cage left the surface, the gate which closed the opening stuck, and deceased allowed it to remain, leaving
the side unprotected; when the ascending cage came to the surface he took off the loaded tub, and in bringing forward the
empty tub he pushed it into the open side and fell into the shaft with the tub.
The "cleek" had been standing for a short time, and a signal to raise men was given from the bottom. As the cage at the
surface was loaded it was necessary in order to comply with the Special Rules that the descending cage should be empty.
and accordingly deceased after giving a signal to the engineman, stepped on to the cage to take off the empty tub, when the
cage descended and he fell into the shaft. The evidence at the "Inouiry was very conflicting, but it appeared the engine-
man was at fault.

James McCall,
38,
Leading Sinker.
John Birrell,

59,
Shaftman.

Deceased and another sinker were engaged in a sinking shaft repairing a pump, and were on a scaffold while doing so, when by some unknown cause he fell into the shaft to a scaffold 40 fathoms below and was killed.

Deceased was employed with others enlarging a shaft from the bottom upwards, and while standing on a platform consisting of two planks fixing buntens he fell a distance of 14 feet, injuring his head, and subsequently died from the injury.

The shaft was being enlarged and deceased was on a suspended platform 10 fathoms up helping to fix a bunton, when he over

balanced and fell to the bottom.

Miscellaneous.

Bowhill Coal Co.,
Ltd.

George Ross,

39, Pit-bottomer.

The shaft is 137 fathoms deep, and at 75 fathoms from the surface is a steam pump in the dip side, and for expansion a copper pipe was placed some distance above. While the men were descending to their work in the morning an unusual noise was heard in the shaft, and the oversman, thinking a joint had blown, signalled to the surface to cut off the steam, after which the men were again allowed to descend. The dip cage was loaded with seven persons, and while it was descending it came into contact with something and shortly after a piece of wood followed, and a splinter struck deceased, penetrating the skull by the eye, from the effects of which he died next day. It was afterwards discovered that the expansion pipe had burst and the force of the steam had displaced a brattice deal opposite, which the cage caught in passing. Had the oversman made an inspection of the shaft after the explosion before he allowed the men to descend he would have discovered the loose deal.

Deceased was engaged loading the deck of the cage which held four tubs, and while doing so the cage was su Idenly lifted, and he was carried up the shaft and crushed. The cage had not been signalled to ascend.

Deceased and his neighbour were engaged charging a shot hole in hard rock with gelignite; the cartridges were tied in bundles of three and inserted into the hole; one bundle was put back but the next bundle stuck owing to a twist in the hole, and when forcing it back with a pick shaft the whole charge exploded. His neighbour was badly injured.

Two shot holes were bored in the shale, charged with 1 lb. of gunpowder, and white tape fuse was used: one shot was in centre and one in bottom. Both shots missed, and after waiting 40 minutes deceased returned and withdrew the stemming of the former, re-charged the hole and fired it. Later on he was unramming the latter when the charge exploded. Deceased was found 16 feet from his working place injured on the head by being struck with flying shale from a shot. The shot was in the bottom portion of the seam, and was charged with 1 lb. of gunpowder, and it appeared deceased had been delayed after the fuse was lit and failed to reach a place of safety when the shot exploded. His lamp was found near the shot, which indicated that probably the light had been extinguished by the spitting of the fuse, and he had dropped it and put off some time searching for it.

Linlithgow.

Cause of Accident, and Remarks.

James Thomson,

45, Repairer.

Thomas Porteous,

30,
Hanger-on.
George Bremner,
32,
Overman.

Deceased and some others were repairing a steep heading which was worked as a chain brae. In order to get empty tubs to the
place where repairs were being made a weighted tub was put on one end of the chain and the empty on the other, and both
tubs were on the one line of rails causing the chain to cross, and while the chain was in motion onc link caught another,
causing a break, and tubs ran back and knocked out some timbers and the roof fell.

Deceased hung three tubs on to the rope at the foot of an incline and gave the signal; when the rake had proceeded about
28 feet the rope broke and tuos ran back, fatally crushing him.

The descending tub stuck on a self-acting incline while it was moving down, and deceased went behind and "stamped " the
chain, the result being that the chain broke and the tub above ran him down.

Kinneil, Cannel and
Coking Co., Ltd.

John Sneddon,
59,
Miner.

March 2

Rosie,

Fife.

Wemyss Coal Co.,
Ltd.

Robert Herd,

55,

Repairer.

15,
Haulier.

Niddrie & Bonhar
Coal Co., Ltd.
Oakbank Oil Co.,
Ltd.

James Aitken,
25,
Drawer.
Thomas McLean,

"cuddie
Deceased worked in the first branch road off a heading, and the part of the heading above in the next place being steeper a
was in use. It was the custom for deceased to come to heading road to assist his drawer with the empty tub,
and he was sitting on the roadway as usual waiting on his drawer, when the miner in the place above came out with a
loaded tub to run it to the heading foot, and failing to attach the "cuddie" chain the tub ran down the heading; deceased
was caught by it and pushed in front for a distance of 10 yards.

Deceased and another repairer were engaged in doing some necessary repairs in a section of Chemiss coal, and he hauled the
debris in tubs to the dook haulage road by means of a horse, and was proceeding outbye with a loaded rake when he met
his accident. No one saw the accident but two workmen on their way home discovered deceased under the first tub of the
rake quite dead. From the position in which deceased was found it is supposed that the rake was running at a high speed
outbye on a gradient of 1 in 20 when the two leading tubs left the rails and up-ended, and that he was endeavouring to
crushed his head.
detach the horse's tail chain when the weight of the tuks behind caused the tub to move towards the pavement and

Deceased's duties were to put on and take off tubs at the foot of a self-acting incline 270 feet long. A full tub was standing
on the blocks at the top, and the blocks, which had not been properly set, slipped and the tub ran away, and on reaching
the bottom struck deceased causing injuries to which he succumbed an hour later.
Deceased's duties were to detach the empty tubs from the endless rope-chain attachment; he tried to attach the chain to a loaded
tub contrary to orders, when he was overtaken by another loaded tub coming up from another bench and dragged some
distance, receiving injuries which terminated fatally two hours later.

Ltd.
Bowhill Coal Co., Alexander Mathie- Deceased put a tub on to the rope at the foot of a short brae, and another drawer put a loaded tub on at the top end and
pushed away; as soon as the latter applied the brake to the wheel the axle broke and tubs ran back, and deceased was
shouted to to stand clear; he evidently mistook the shout and stepped in front of the runaway tubs.

son.
33,
Drawer.

Miner.

The workings are to the dip and very steep, and the men are taken to and from their work in carriages at stated hours. A number of the men had congregated at the 400 fathoms level at the end of the fore-shift waiting for the carriages by which to ascend to the shaft bottom. Just as the last rake of loaded tubs left many of them went to the dook road. against orders

and lined up on each side to be ready to take their places in the carriages on arrival; the rake had only gone 20 yards up
when the drawbar of the second tub broke, and eight tubs came back and crashed into the side near the level, and deceased,
who was close by, was fatally injured. The drawbar was 2 feet 7 inches long by 24 inches by inches, and made of mild
steel; the break was at the bend of the hook, and had no sign of a previous fracture.
The system of haulage is endless rope, speed 24 miles an hour. The tubs are conveyed in rakes of ten with a bogie in front, and
rope is attached by means of a gripper or "shears." The haulage road is 1,400 yards long and worked by bogie boys between
the mid bye and the shaft, a distance of 1,200 yards, and from the mid bye deceased bogied the tubs to and from the inside
or inbye lye. When the rake had not reached the mid lye, his custom was to go on with his loaded rake until he met the
incoming rake and a transference took place. On the occasion on which the accident occurred he met a bogie boy 700 yards
outbye from the mid lye, and, as usual, handed over his rake to the boy to proceed to the shaft, while he took the empty
rake toward the inside. About 15 minutes afterwards another bogie boy was proceeling inbye with an empty rake when
his bogie collided with the rear of a rake in front, and deceased shouted for help; he was found on the opposite line of rails
under the tubs, and the bogie was partly over to the empty side and free of the rope; his injuries were serious and he suc-
cumbed three days later. The accident was due to the rake having run amain and some of the tubs left the rails, and at a
lower part of the pavement than usual the bogie and tubs were thrown to the opposite side, and deceased was pitched out;
the track of a derailed truck was discovered for 150 yards. The plane is undulating and for 300 yards dips inbye 1 in 14, and
it appears deceased released the rope from the "shears" and allowed the rake to run free inbye.

Deceased had worked a double shift, and when he arrived at the mine bottom, after his work was over, the oversman was sitting
on the first tub of the loaded haulage rake to be raised to the surface; he asked and obtained permission to ride with him,
and while the rake was moving up the plane his head came in contact with the roof at a low part and his spine was fractured,
death ensuing 26 hours later. The mine starts from the surface dipping 1 in 3 most of the way, and the system of haulage
is by a rope on a drum, and while the loaded rake ascends the empty descends: speed about 4 miles an hour.

Daniel Costello,

Deceased's duties were to fill the tubs with coal and otherwise assist at the face; he had filled his tub, and left it at the face
and sat down a short distance away to wait on the drawer coming inbye with an empty. While waiting a burst of coal
took place off the face, which struck the loaded tub, causing it to move away, and the boy, thinking apparently to get out of
harm's way, from the falling coal, darted to the opposite side of the roadway and was struck by the tub as it passed. The
road dipped 1 in 7 from the face, and it was quite evident the tub was neither spragged nor ranced properly.

A dook haulage endless rope system had just started, and the son of deceased, by some means, was caught by the rope and drawn
towards the wheel at the inbye end, and deceased went to release his son and his leg was caught and crushed apparently by
the revolving wheel; he died from his injury on 24th September, 1906. The wheel was under water and not sufficiently
fenced.

A coal cutting machine of the disc type was in use, and the length of the "run was 120 yards on an inclination of 1 in 3. In
order that the machine should feed itself while cutting, a rope goes round a pulley fixed to a prop by a gabby and chain, one
end of the rope is attached to the machine and the other end winds round a drum on the machine. Deceased, as leading
man, was in front of the machine, and while it was cutting to the rise the gabby broke and pulley came down with terrific
force and striking his head fractured his skull. The gabby was made of best iron 1 in. diameter, and did not appear to be
defective.
A coal cutting machine of the bar type, and driven by electricity, was put into a seam 23 ins. high, and deceased had charge of
it. To turn the machine and allow the cutter to work in one direction it was being hauled along the face by its own power
with the bar parallel to the face and revolving, and by some means deceased's shirt was caught by the picks on the bar and
he was instantly disembowelled.

A recess had been cut in the coal at the dip side of the run to begin cutting, and disc of coal cutter had been placed up to the
coal; deceased, who had charge, was next the disc and gave instructions to two men assisting to push the machine forward
when the electric current was put on, as soon as the machine started and the disc struck the coal it sprang back, and the
picks caught his head inflicting terrible injuries.

The haulage rope was not taut nor was the machine properly "skidded," and what happened was only what might have been expected when the machine was to cut up hill.

* All mines are coal mines unless otherwise specified,

15, Filler.

22,
Attendant on Coal
Cutting Machine.
John Morton,

See Report, page 19.

While working at the face on the first date a splinter of coal flew from his pick into deceased's eye, but he continued to work;
again six days later the same thing happened, causing trouble on the brain from which he died three days later.

See Report, page 19.

Deceased worked at the picking table, and she appeared to have stood on the bar of a fence, and overbalancing fell on a
revolving shaft which caught her clothing, and she was wound round and crushed.

The shaft of No. 1 pit was being enlarged, and as the work progressed the pumps, pipes, &c., were removed. For the purpose of
raising the parts a steam crab was used with hawser, and at the time of accident it was arranged to draw the foot rod of
the lower ram of pump at 102 fathoms down during the breakfast hour when no one was in the shaft. Accordingly steam
was applied to the crab, when the worm and the idle gear wheels broke, and the pieces flew in all directions, some of which
struck deceased. The strain on the machine was too great, as beside the weight of the foot rod, the cross-rods, rods, &c.,
under, had, by an overlook, not been detached from the foot rod.

A haulage engine on the surface works a band rope led down the shaft and connected to machinery in a clutch house in bottom
where there are three sets of clutches for three sets of haulage systems. The engine was signalled to stop, and deceased

did so while the strain was at its greatest owing to the gearing of the three systems being in; while the engine was at a
standstill he began to clean out one of the crank pits, and, unknown to him, the strain was relieved by the clutchman
throwing one of the systems out of gear, causing the engine to move slowly, and crank came round and crushed deceased.
shaft was unfenced.
While stepping across a revolving shaft deceased's clothing was caught and she was wound round and fatally crushed; the

Deceased had removed some empty waggons into a siding and fouled the crossing, and while riding down with a second train, on the brake of one of the waggons, he was thrown off and crushed between the buffers,

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Parliamentary Papers, Band 13