News on Screen

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 8th Year

Issue

Issue No.

4

Date Released

Dec 1954

Stories in this Issue:

• 1. POLISH VISIT
• 2. DOSCO
• 3. NEW LINE
• 4. MINK

Story

Story No. within this Issue

2 / 4

Summary

BFI Summary - Canadian coal cutter at Rawdon colliery
NCB Commentary - Every year Coal Board experts travel trousands of miles to wherever coal is mined in the search for new mining techiniques and machinery which may pay off under British conditions.
Along the sea lanes from Canada this year came a 20-ton coal cutter known as the Dosco Miner.
At Rawdon Colliery the Dosco was taken down the pit to cut her teeth on one of the rich seams of the East Midlands. Down on the experimental face the six-man operating crew soon saw that Dosco meant business.
With two 75 h.p. motors to give the drive, and a separate 30 h.p. motor to work the hydraulic lifting gear, the Dosco’s five hundred cutting teeth can saw into the coal at an astounding rate.
A water spray - five gallons a minute - helps to keep down some of the dust that’s inevitable in high speed operations.
Working on the longwall retreating method, a stable has to be prepared to receive the machine for the beginning of its cut.
The Dosco’s brought back down the face and into the stable to start her forward run. See how delicately she responde to the hands of Bob Noon at the controls.
At the 6-lever panel, and with a battery of meters to tell him what’s what, Bob Noon sumps in the cutting head and the Dosco’s away.
At 3 1/2 tons a yard, the Dosco is at present yielding 400 tons a shift in very hard coal, with a production cost well below the national average.
One Mining Review camera waited at the end of the face for the Dosco to break through.
In the world to-day it’s good to see barriers come down to help the interchange of mining experience between the nations.

Keywords

Transport; Science and technology; Mining

Locations

England; Leicestershire

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases   Used for synopsis
Film User   Vol.9 No.109, November 1955, p570.
The National Archives COAL 32   /3 Scripts for Mining Review, 1949-1956

Credits:

Production Co.

Documentary Technicians Alliance

Sponsor

National Coal Board