- Harworth Colliery
Harworth Colliery is a mothballed coal mine in the
Bassetlaw area of northNottinghamshire . It has recently been abandoned due to troubles at the seam.UK Coal , who own and maintain the mine, are waiting for a contract to make it worth investing money to open up a new seam.Bassetlaw has at the moment no working pits; the nearest isMaltby Main Colliery inSouth Yorkshire .The mothballing of the pit brings an end to 86 years of mining in Bassetlaw.
History
Work began on sinking the shaft in 1913, when the
Northern Union Mining Company was set up. This was with an investment in German equipment and men, but with the start of theFirst World War (1914-1918) the German workers were interned and the companies assets impounded by the Government, construction was halted. Later in 1917 the pit was bought by Messrs. Barber, Walker & Co. for £80,100, becoming full owners in 1921 after the war repayments scheme. The sinking of the shafts was started with preliminary works in 1919, but the first real sinking started in 1921. Water problems were encountered but this was overcome with the solidification of the ground with liquid cementgrout . On the29 October 1923 the shaft sinkers eventually reached theBarnsley coal seam at convert|848|m|ft although there were problems with underground faults. The second shaft also reached the Barnsley seam on15 November 1923 .In 1924 the colliery was connected with a 4.2km railway line to connect with the LNER-owned
East coast main line . The ECML became very congested and a connection theSouth Yorkshire Joint Railway was considered, also linking the newFirbeck Colliery (sinking started in 1923) nearCarlton in Lindrick . A triangle junction would lead to another triangle junction nearSturrup with lines going to Harworth and another going throughOldcotes andLangold to reach Firbeck. Forcasts for Harworth was 5000 tons per day, this would have meant more congestion, the opportunity was taken by the new owners on the SYJR (LNER and theLMS to build the line to connect both collieries. This was completed in 1928.There were also several
Coke ovens at Harworth, and likeMaltby Main Colliery it was decided to modernise the pit in the 1950s. Rebuilding with the concrete winding shafts began in the late 1950s. These structures are the ones that are seen today.Uses of the coal
The coal early on was from the Barnsley seam, the top layer being good for steaming and the lower parts for house and coking (mix). Harworth coal was in great demand from railway companies like the
LNER . A3 PacificThe Flying Scotsman one of the most famous steam engines in the world (now owned by theNational Railway Museum ) was burning Harworth coalFact|date=August 2008 when it covered the 392 miles from London to Edinburgh in a record seven hours and 27 minutes in 1932. With the decline of steam power in the late 1960s and coal being used less for gas and heating the coal began to be used for producing power. Power stations like Drax and Cottam used Harworth coal, this being transported by the SYJR. Other lower seams included the Parkgate seam.Recent history
In more recent history, Harworth successfully reached the one-million-tonnes-in-a-year figure in 1993.
The pit's closure was considered in November 2002 when owners UK Coal warned the 400 workers the pit was in trouble unless yearly losses of £8 million could be reversed. Three years later, to save the pit, the only possible solution for the 450 workers was to invest £50 million to access a new seam. If that was to happen the pit would have up to 25 more years worth of coal.
Profits at UK Coal increased nearly fourfold in one year as the company benefited from property sales, higher coal prices and smoother mining operations.
UK Coal, which operates four deep collieries and several surface mines, reported that pre-tax profits had jumped by 292% to £69 million in the year 2007.On
21 April 2008 , UK Coal said it was to consider plans to reopen Harworth colliery, and also investing £100m to extend the lives of theThoresby Colliery in Nottinghamshire andKellingley Colliery in Yorkshire. [http://www.ukbusinesspark.co.uk/ukcoalaa.htm]References
* [http://www.ukcoal.com UK Coal]
* [http://www.lner.info LNER Info]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/4696171.stm BBC News article]
* [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article3775192.ece The Times online business report]
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