Image ID: 14623

Dinnington Colliery

Dinnington Colliery
Dinnington, South Yorkshire
England

This is the view northwards from Church Lane road bridge. The timber cooling-tower is just to the right, and in front of, the screens and Washery (which are for cleaning and sorting coal). On the extreme right of the photograph, and continuing off further right, are the coke ovens. Behind the latter, and also out of view, is the spoil-tip. Into the 1960's spoil was discharged at the top of the cone-shaped tip by rectangular buckets attached to a continuous aerial ropeway. In the right foreground and left background are parts of the mine's internal railway. The long rake of loaded mineral-waggons curving away into the distance is stood on a track whiich leads through the buildings' in the background, to sidings on the north-east edge of the site. British Railways had running powers over this track and would sometimes haul trains of 'empties' (i.e. empty waggons) into the heart of the mine here. During the 1950's the Departure Sidings, where the loaded waggons waited to leave, were situated immediately behind this photograph viewpoint. Sometimes, however, steam locomotive's would 'set-back' (i.e. slowly reverse) onto loaded waggons as shown here in the foreground. Until the period 1958 - 1962 the pit's shunting locomotive was a steam tank-engine (at the time it looked like a pannier-tank, although its appearance was similar to the 1950's saddle-tank designs of Andrew Barclay & Co., of Kilmarnock).This was a handsome engine, apple-green with vermillion wheels and coupling rods. Besides shunting into the Departure Sidings it also worked the pit's internal lines. The National Coal Board had a fleet of waggons exclusively for its own use around the mine. They were of timber-plank construction and painted black (the few, larger capacity waggons sometimes sported peeling brown-paint and bare timber). On the side of the black waggons, in small, white letters, were the legends 'DINNINGTON' and 'FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY'. Each waggon may also have carried a 3-figure number? These were used to transport what looked like slurry (away from the Washery?). At this time some of the waggons were occasionally loaded with wood pit-props. The early-1960's saw the arrival of a smaller saddle-tank steam locomotive. This only briefly replaced the above engine, quickly becomoing redundant with the appearance of an industrial diesel-shunter. The pit's one-road engine-shed (i.e. with room for only one locomotive) was situated to the left of the curving line in the distance. Pit-ponies worked here until 1956 - 1959. During the annual 'shut-down' (fortnight's holiday) they were grazed in the pasture adjacent east of the pit-baths. Latterly the group consisted of 2 or 3 piebald animals. The last steam locomotives to work to Dinnington Colliery were Kirkby-in-Ashfield based '8F' heavy-freight engines'. One or two hauled trains of empties to the pit each day, returning south with loaded waggons. These visits ceased soon after summer-1966, being replaced on these journeys directly to mid-Nottinghamshire by Sulzer Type 2 and, occasionally, 'Peak' class diesel-electric locomotives. Underground the mine was dry, very hot and, in the opinion of visitors from other collieries, well ventilated.

Date: 1950 - 1960

Organisation Reference: NCCN001029

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