News on Screen

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 7th Year

Issue

Issue No.

7

Date Released

Mar 1954

Stories in this Issue:

• 1. WAGON WHEELS
• 2. WINGED VICTORY. F.A.
• 3. GASPIPE
• 4. VERTICOAL

Story

Story No. within this Issue

3 / 4

Summary

BFI synopsis: Methane drainage and ulitisation at Haig Colliery, Whitehaven. The gas is piped from the colliery to the local gasworks and mixed with town gas and used by the residents of Whitehaven
NCB Commentary - On the Cumberland coast at Whitehaven is Haig Colliery, where methane gas underground has been an explosive peril for years. Today this methane -- firedamp to the miner -- is being usefully harnessed. The gas is sucked up from the coalfaces, deep underground and under the sea, and led in pipelines to the surface. Safety precautions are taken at every stage in the handling of the gas. If this flame goes out, alarm lights glow and the whole system is shut down.
In the exhauster house pumps suck the gas up from out of the mine, and its pressure is raised so that it can be sent further on its journey. Excess gas is safely disposed of through the chimney into the atmosphere. From this temporary meter house the gas goes in two directions. One way leads into the colliery boiler house where methane is burned in the furnaces to raise steam. At Haig pit alone they save 7,500 tons of coal a year, and that’s worth saving.
The other way the methane flows leads it to the Whitehaven gasworks. Here they first measure the methane and then treat it on special retorgs. Now it ban be mixed with ordinary town gas, and no housewife will know the difference. Today the town of Whitehaven is cooking on a large proportion of methane from the colliery, and methane gas is being sent further afield through the gas grid. With over 20 collieries in the country now draining off the deadly methane, this is a scheme we may see extended in the future.

Researcher Comments

According to bfi records, this story was researched on the 28th September 1953. It was then filmed from the 26th to ehe 29th October 1953. Commentary recorded 1 February 1954.

Keywords

Science and technology; Mining; Fuels

Locations

England; Whitehaven; Cumbria

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases   Used in Synopsis
Film User   Vol.8 No.95 September 1954, p436.
The National Archives COAL 32   /3 Scripts for Mining Review, 1949-1956

Credits:

Production Co.

Documentary Technicians Alliance

Camera

Kenneth Reeves

Sponsor

National Coal Board

Director

Stanley Goulder

Support services

Stanley Goulder