Ace of Spades, The Final Task, Stobswood OCCS, Northumberland, 2003

P&H Page 757 dragline, named 'Ace of Spades' in a competition amongst local schools, was the largest dragline excavator in Western Europe. Built at Stobswood Mine at Widdrington in Northumberland during 1991, its task would be excavating shale and sandstone rock between the lower coal seams at the mine, helping produce an output of over a million tonnes of coal per annum. Ace of Spades went to work at the beginning of 1992 and operated until the end of its allotted task in July 2003, working 6 days per week, 47 weeks per year, moving a hundred tonnes of rock with each bite of its 65 cubic yard (50 cubic metre) bucket. This is a record of its last days at work in the UK in 2003.

[@alangilbertson8239]

Apologies to the sharp-eyed viewers who might have noticed my ambiguity in the caption at 4:06, where I've used the abbreviation 'm' to describe two different measures of distance. The 2.1m step refers to 2.1 metres (7 feet) and the 0.15mph walking speed refers to the imperial miles per hour. It stems from the UK's half-hearted adoption of the metric system where we buy things like timber in metric lengths, such as 2.1m, but we still measure road distances and speeds in miles per hour.

[@larx4074]

Terrific!! By the time that I got up to Stobswood, it was all over and the "Ace" had been brought out of the hole and stood up in the yard with a long row of massive dump-trucks opposite - an incredible sight - what a machine!! Many thanks for sharing.

[@craigsibley8161]

Sad days indeed 😥 From another ex sunshine miner (Ayrshire coalfields) Excellent video though 👍👍👍

[@jackking5567]

Just when you think you've seen every bit of footage there is, some more comes out! I can remember when it was laid up (an incredible sight in itself) before being dismantled and put onto a ship/ships at Port of Blyth. If anyone is wondering - a spare bucket from this machine is still there on the Stobswood site. Once you step inside the bucket you'll realise just how big the dragline is. In the later years of UK Coal I managed several visits to their Potland Burn site. I've a lot of photos and some video too of Potland Burn when working. I also bagged many visits to the Shotton site (Banks Mining) and have thousands of photos from those visits. I also have a lot of video taken there. I really really should get myself into gear, create and then post some footage of what is now a lost industry. A huge thank you for sharing this footage.

[@alangilbertson8239]

That bucket was placed directly over where the dragline worked its last coal, more or less in the same position as in the opening stills in my video.

[@bigoldgrizzly]

Spent my time scratting around underground in three foot seams but did get to spend a day in and around Big Geordie in the early seventies. Nothing prepares you for the sheer size and power of these monsters. All history now....

[@lawerencestimpson2280]

A very nice and well kept machine

[@nige7577]

That was brilliant Alan a very enjoyable watch, that’s one gigantic machine which must have been a joy to use and very clever how it moved, only a guess but it must have taken over a week to get from the bottom to the top of the mine, cheers 👍

[@alangilbertson8239]

I can't remember how long it took to get out, but it took a while. With a straight run on a prepared ramp it could do it in less than a day, but it wasn't like that in reality. The dragline had to prepare its own ramp for most of the way, digging, spreading, then a dozer used to finally grade the slope. Slow going. They were fun days. I loved it and we'll never see the like in the UK again. All gone now.

[@V8VORLICH]

Great historical film. Im sure there's still loads o coal under our land. They will regret the hoax of net zero. 😮

[@ZboeC5]

Supposedly humans pump something like 35 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere per year. This is supposedly causing global warming and the nebulous "climate change" that we are all supposed to be scared of. The problem is CO2 has been and remains to be only 0.04% of our total atmosphere. That is right now in our air we have about 450 PPM (parts per million) of CO2 and it's not really increasing at all...even though we emit so much of it. So how is it affecting our climate then? And further more how are we all here when in Earth's history it has been as high as 7,500 PPM? The Earth didn't become Venus or otherwise be destroyed. So what is really going on? Scientist aren't telling us the whole story probably because they make too much money peddling "climate change" to care.

[@jbradbury2]

Exactly..Are we better off now after getting rid of this machine?

[@zachthorn237]

I live in Preston County WV. There were 10 active underground mines until around 2000 then that went to 2 now there's none..there is still mine able coal but the bureaucracy of getting the permits and rights to the minerals is a long process..the mine I work at now started 3 years ago but the process to open it up started about 8 years ago. It's just not easy to get anymore like it once was.

[@floydwilliams3321]

Cool video ❤❤

[@lucmarchand617]

Thanks video.western canada most open coal for thermal.power are near close.the last one edmonton alberta close last night switch to natural gas.this machine move usa due take 1 to 2 years order new one yes plus are now very costly buy.thanks video😮

[@humungusfungus6861]

That's size!!!

[@ingo_8628]

As i see it now on google earth, in the UK they do a way better job in landscaping after the open pit mining has ended than in Germany. Here they leave mountains of overburden at one place and a big hole at the other.

[@alangilbertson8239]

So true. The UK was famous for the standard of its restoration, but recent events following the demise of mining and the companies that were in charge of it after privatisation in the mid-1990s have sullied that reputation. If you look at Google Earth again, take a line roughly eastwards from Stobswood site until it reaches the coast at Druridge Bay. Then take another line northwards for about 10km from Stobswood, across the main East Coast railway, past West Chevington to the village of Acklington, then north further to just east of Morwick Hall. Take another line from there eastwards to the sea at Low Hauxley. Almost everything within those lines reaching to the sea, with the exception of the various villages has been mined by opencast methods between the late 1950s until just a few years ago. All of that land was restored, mainly to productive agriculture and woodland, but also to a country park and several large nature reserves. It cost a lot of money to bring the final overburden to fill the final voids, but it all paid off. Unfortunately, it is all finished as an industry now and no-one gives due credit for the new landscaping.

[@marcosimula6574]

E gigantesca 💪👈❤👍✌️