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Showing posts with label Coal mining. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coal mining. Show all posts

Sunday, 12 October 2014

Oaks Colliery Pithead, Barnsley - October 2014

So I persuaded Judderman to drive across to Barnsley to visit one of this years summer urbex tourist hot spots, Oaks Colliery Pithead.

Oaks Colliery, or as its often called, Barnsley Main Colliery is a Grade II listed building due to its horrific mining disaster histories, a 1847 explosion killed 74, a series of explosions in 1866 killed 388 with many others maimed and injured. Various improvements in safety sadly didn't prevent the further loss of 22 lives in 1942 and 1947.

Autumn had firmly arrived and the roads swirled with fog and we arrived to find the tourist season had obviously closed after the summer excursions ( or is that incursions?)
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Access denied !
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So, a few shots of the place and time to move on.
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We left with the fog still lingering, you can't win them all.




Monday, 21 April 2014

Selby Coalfield - April 2014

The fall of the the UK coal industry is well documented and perhaps now a little shortsighted in light of Mr Putin and his tightening his grip on the energy supply across Europe.

- With Russia having the caused the little issues of Chernobyl, Balakovo and Chlelyabinsk we obviously have nothing to worry about the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom building a cluster of nuclear power stations across the UK, ignoring any possible issues with the events currently bubbling over from the slowly creeping invasion of the Ukraine.

Anyway that aside and the impending power shortages, we, the UK used to have a massive coal industry, with the Selby setup producing over 121 million tonnes in its relatively short lifespan.

The Selby Superpit was made up of Wistow Mine, Stillingfleet Mine, Riccall Mine, North Selby Mine, Whitemoor Mine with all the coal being brought to the surface at Gascoigne Mill.

Finally closing in 2004, 2014 and we, Judderman and myself visited the two of the sites this sunny Easter Weekend,  being of modern construction, a little bland and well the pictures say it all, enjoy.

First off Wistow Mine, which sadly has very few redeeming features being of breeze block construction and pretty is featureless.
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Selby Super Pit

Back to the cars and on to North Selby Mine, more of the same, with many of the buildings again having been demolished.

Thankfully North Selby does have a few interesting little bits left, but again not the most exciting of places.

 Selby Super Pit

Selby Super Pit

Selby Super Pit

Selby Super Pit

Selby Super Pit

 Selby Super Pit


Big thanks to Judderman for his planning resulting in a very enjoyable day of pottering around the Yorkshire countryside, a beautiful part of the country with lots of hidden surprises.....

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