Durham Mining Museum - Newspaper Articles (original) (raw)

23rd August 1906

Serious Pit Accident At Whitehaven

On Tuesday morning a serious accident occurred at William Pit, Whitehaven. The accident was one of a rare kind, so far as serious results are concerned; for we do not recollect any previous serious injury from a similar cause. It was in connection with the use of rope haulage in the pit. There are some tramways on the haulage way, and an endless wire rope wound by steam power travels up the centre of the one tramway, taking into the pit empty sets of tubs; and returns down the centre of the other, bringing full sets of tubs to the bottom of the pit shaft. Men travelling on foot along this road go between the two lines, as both easiest and safest. Early on Tuesday morning three men had left off riding in on a set, and were walking into their places. They reached a point where there is a bend in the road.

Where the ropes have to be carried round what are called sheaves, which are pulley guides, with vertical axes and horizontal motion, to keep the ropes in position in the centre of the lines. There were four of these guides, which are said to be flanged, so that the ropes could not easily slip off. In case, through any cause, one of the ropes did get miss-slipped it is evident that it would straighten with great violence against the in-side wall of the bend. This is what happened. From some cause one of the ropes had come off the guide pulleys, and this happened just while these three men were passing. Owing to its weight and the strain of it, the rope of course would straighten with fearful force, and would strike anything on its way with the rigidity almost of solid motion. The consequence was that the poor fellows were very badly injured. They were James Colvin, a shiftman, a married man; Harrison Carlin, George-street, a hewer, married, with a family; and John Ferguson, High Queen-street, a hewer, also married and with a family. Dr. Harris, the colliery doctor, was quickly in attendance, and Colvin and Carlin were taken to the Infirmary; but Ferguson wished to be taken to his home, and was removed there accordingly. It was found that Colvin had been struck on the face by the rope, and his face was disfigured beyond recognition. His jaw worst injured — it was not certain at first whether it was not broken, but he seems to have escaped a fracture; and his right knee also was dislocated. Harrison Carlin, it was at first thought, had his right thigh fractured, and lies injured, but it is not considered certain that it is broken; and one of his arms is injured. Of these two at the Infirmary Colvin is the more seriously injured; but last Wednesday night both men were doing as well as could be expected. Ferguson, the man who preferred to be treated at home and sustained a fracture of the pelvis, and is suffering from shock. His case was considered the gravest of the three.

On Tuesday evening the news of a further accident at William Pit caused a good deal of commotion in Tangier-street, where a cluster of miners were assembled who were not at work owing to the accident in the morning. It turned out, however, that this was an accident from another cause altogether, and the injury was not serious. It was to a young man named McCourt, who was said to have been hurt by a tub, and who was taken to his home.

Newspaper transcript kindly provided by
West Cumbria Mines Research.