CANNOCK ADVERTISER
September 1900
The Cheslyn Hay
Colliery Catastrophe
The Adjourned Inquest
On Tuesday morning, the investigation respecting the lamentable fatal accident at the Coppice
Colliery, Cheslyn Hay, was resumed at the Woodman Inn, before Mr. Archer B. Smith, Deputy Coroner for South Staffordshire and a jury of whom Mr. G. Evans was foreman.
It will be remembered that the cage accident, which occurred on Monday the third instant, at Messrs. Hawkins resulted in the death of three men -
and injuries to five other men.
The evidence at the inquest on the last. occasion was taken to enable the certificate for burial to be granted, and was adjourned to enable Mr. Lee, an expert engineer, to make an examination on behalf of the Miners’ Association, of the machinery of the engine used for raising and lowering the cage.
The chief facts elicited at the first hearing were that William Hill, the engine winder once fainted while at work, and that on another occasion while he was in charge of the cage, the cage was pulled up into the snaps. On being asked how he accounted for the accident which formed the subject of the present inquiry he said that he could not pull the lever of the engine over.
On Tuesday Mr. R. A. Willcock of Messrs Willcock and Taylor, Wolverhampton, represented families of the deceased and injured men and the Miners Association. Mr J. Craddock, Walsall, appeared for Messrs. Hawkins and Sons, the owners of the Colliery. Mr. C A. Loxton was present on behalf of the manager of the colliery (Mr. Joseph Hawkins Jun): and Mr. T. P. Haslam, Wolverhampton, guarded the interests of William Hill, the engine winder. There was also present Mr A. Stanley, (Miners Agent for the Cannock Chase District), Mr C. Edwards, Mr. J. Haslam, and Mr. B. Dean, all Miners’ Agents in the Midland District.
The first witness was an engine expert named Jonah Davies, who said; ‘I am a member of the institute of Mechanical engineers, and am the senior examiner for granting certificates of competency and reside at Ashley Hill, Compton, Wolverhampton. On the fourth inst. at the request of the owners of the Coppice Colliery, I examined their winding apparatus, which consisted of a pair of coupled horizontal winding engines with 24 inch cylinders with 4 foot 6 inch strokes, with double beat or Cornish valves with reversing motions fitted. with, a powerful foot brake. I carefully examined the valve motion and reversing link here and found the same in good working order, and after close inspection I found nothing to cause any impediment to its proper and safe action. I also examined the reversing handle, with its ‘detent’ end notch plate, which is of the usual kind with Its 3 notches for the forward and backward strokes, and. central notch. I carefully examined the steam regulator valve which had been up-jointed from the steam pipes for my inspection and I could find nothing wrong with it, and. I consider it was a good valve, and safe in action, and steam tight when closed for all practical purposes, and similar to those fitted to coupled or other winding engines. I could find no signs that anything had impeded or prevented its proper opening and closing, and it was in good safe working order. The brake and its gear were carefully examined and tried by me in action. They were all right, and the wood curbs on the periphery of the brake wheel were right and safe. I can only account for accident by the engine man, William Hill having lost his nerve and allowed the engines to overrun their usual revolutions before shutting off steam, and thus lose control of time engines. The cord indicator was of the usual construction, but it was wrecked and smashed up by the rope and coupling coming through the roof of the engine house on its release from the descending right hand cage. I have no reason to suppose that it was not in perfect order before the disaster occurred. It required 20 revolutions of the drum to run the cage from top to bottom of the shaft. The depth of the pit is about 240 yards(?). The cages were fitted with ‘Ormerods’ Patent detaching hooks. They acted perfectly. The rebounding cage smashed the drum shield, the roof timbers, and to some extent injured the valve gear of the right hand engine. Joseph Follows, enginewright, told in reply to my enquiry, that the throssle valve or baffler, was in good working order, and did not leak steam. He did not say when he assatained that fact. I could not assatain it for myself because it has been up-jointed for my examination.
If the engineman had been unable to pull or push over the lever, I should have expected to have found some d..? foot in the lever or its grae, but I found none. So far as I could judge, the engine and its gears complied with the requirements of the Coal Mines Regulations Act, and the rules there under.
Mr Willcock: You agreed in your first evidence that the baulk and. carriage eye must be ridged and firm?
Mr Davies: I examined the brake and found nothing defective, He did not agree that it rocked to and fro or that the springing of the baulk was sufficient to interfere with the ‘brake’ safe action, he had no recommendation or suggestion to make to hinder an occurrence of such an accident, except that he would advise a better indicator.
The Coroner: I consider the indicator most puzzling but of course I’m not used to . . .
Mr. Davies: I prefer a dial indicator, because they are surer than there action.
Mr Scott: But they all fail don’t they?
Mr Davies: They are all liable to fail.
By Mr Willock: Mr Davies would advise two engineman when the men were being lowered in case anything happened.
The question was at this stage raised, as to whether those questions were relative to the enquiry.
Mr Smith (Coroner) said he thought a catastrophe of the sort that had occurred was enough to make the men afraid to go to work and he was of opinion that they might go a little further than simply inquiring into the cause of death.
Mr Willcox said the Miners’ Federation had taken the matter up with that object in view.
Mr. Willcox, continuing his examination, elicited the fact that an alternative safe guard was to lower and raise the men at half speed. If it took 60 strokes to raise coal it should take 90 to raise the men. The jerking spoken of by the men might be caused by the brake.
In reply to Mr Scott, witness said, ‘The jerking was more an evidence of care than otherwise, as it was probable the brake was being used'.
By Mr Haslam: He could only account for the accident by the engineman loosing his nerve.
By Mr Loxton: In the witness’s opinion the engines had not been what so ever to do with the accident.
Question by Mr Scott as to some difficulty with what is known as ‘Chosse Weights’ Mr Davies said when he was examining the lever he noticed the balance weights on the left hand side of the reversing shaft appeared to come in contact with the floor boards. The touching of the boards had been caused by the accident and did not prevail before.
Joseph Hichens, cager, employed at the Coppice Colliery, said he resided at Hill Street Cheslyn Hay. It was his duty to receive the cage at the bottom of the pit shaft, and to superintend it going up again. Witness went down the shaft at 6.50 a.m. on the day the accident. He had not previously spoken to the engineman. Hichens was let down in the usual manner and had nothing to complain about. The accident happened at 6.45. He heard the cage coming at an unusual rate as it neared the bottom. When it reached the landing stage it came onto the rails with a terrible crash, causing two of the men, Wm Buck and Oliver Connolly to be thrown off. In a moment the cage was snatched out of the pit bottom and re-ascended a short distance, with the effect that the whole of the remaining six men were pitched out including the three who were killed. The cage again came down and landed on the top of the men, all the deceased fellows falling under it. Assistance was obtained at once, W.H. Jellyman, a miner, came and helped to get the men out. Lawson was the only one who was quite dead then they were lifted out. Stanton spoke, but he did not remember what he said, Lloyd was not dead when taken from underneath the cage, and witness was not present when death took place.
The three men were dead when taken out of the pit. Witness had worked there twenty years and never had the occasion to complain in any way in which he was let down the shaft.
By Mr Scott: He had worked in the pit. Some years ago he had worked in the pit and witness saw the engineman Hill faint on one occasion about eight years ago while he had control of the engine. Another man was with Hill and he took hold of the handle controlling the engine. It was an unusually hot morning when Hill fainted. Witness was let down by the man who was with Hill and whose name he could not remember. On that occasion Hill was deprived of the charge of the engine and put to stoke. He did not know how long he was deprived of the charge of the engine.
By Mr Craddock: This was the only case he had heard or known of Hill fainting and falling. Hill had been winding since that time. Witness had heard that the cage had been drawn into the snaps. This was since the fainting fit. He could not say who was winding at that time. When Hill fainted there was a cage full of men being let down.
