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

4 / 4

Summary

BFI synopsis: Mining in vertical seams at Gilmerton Colliery. Miners John Ross and John May are seen at work in the vertical seams.
NCB Commentary - At Gilmerton Colliery, just outside Edinburgh, the way they win coal simply isn’t on the level. No, you’re not seeing things. All that’s happened is that the coal seam at Gilmerton rises nearly vertically instead of running along straight, and the men work in a series of chimneys, climbing up to the face through a network of props set sideways instead of up and down.
John Ross, who worksby himself inside one of the steeps as they’re called, has to drill into the coal for shotfiring before he can start hewing. Most things are done differently in this mine. There’s no gas, so Ross can use a naked flame cap lamp. The shotfirer climbs up beside him to give him the explosive and fuse.
Ross takes the cap lamp to light the fuse -- then it’s a quick climb down, and out into the gallery at the bottom of the chimney. when Ross starts cutting coal, the work goes fast for an experienced man. There are no conveyors to load -- the cut coal just drops straight down to the bottom, where it falls into a wooden scaffold. Ross’s mate, John May, brings up an empty tub along the gallery and leaves it under the scaffold. He climbs up and takes out a few loose boards. The coal drops through and into the tub. Simple. Full tubs are trundled along the narrow gallery and shoved onto a flat platform lift, running up and down in what the Scots call a dock, which serves several galleries at different levels. At the top of the dock, off they go to the ordinary cages for the rest of the journey to the surface. Mining this way, 2 men can knock out 13 tons a shift, with no machinery needed. Not a bad day’s work.

Researcher Comments

According to bfi records, this story was researched on the 15th January 1953. It was filmed on the 8th September and the 1st October 1953. Commentary recorded 1 February 1954.

Keywords

Industry and manufacture; Mining

Locations

Edinburgh; Scotland

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:

Director

Basil Somner

Production Co.

Documentary Technicians Alliance

Support services

Francis Gysin

Camera

G. Lewis

Camera

Kenneth Reeves

Sponsor

National Coal Board

Camera

Paddy Taylor

Camera

Tom Tilley

Camera

Wolfgang Suschitzky