ANDERSON SHEARER

ANDERSON SHEARER

[@hotlips70]

Started working at the moment I was 17 I’m year old worked on the cold face from 18 years coal hand filling 10 yards a day equivalent to 18 ton of coal loaded by hand then I worked on the long wall system operating Sharers then I emigrated to Canada to run a long wall machine in the Alberta Rockies the trouble was with the long wall the thickness of the coal it was 20 foot thick we tried to take the top 8 feet of coal but with having 12 feet of gold below the long wall we could not get it to work but we tried hard I worked in mining for 47 years and today I’m 82 year old never at work

[@euankirkhope5390]

Is pretty common these days to leave many feet behind above or below the cut seam, in many cases seams are 20m tall, and only 4m is cut out, the rest may be mined using top coal caving, or just left due to unfavourable quality (ash, sulphur content etc).

[@davidparker1119]

Enjoyed that! Forty odd years since I was a fitter at Seaham colliery (the Knack). Stuck indoors with Coronavirus. Loved the comment "Nothing more than 3 ton in weight" Yale pull lifts and no height to use them. E18 didn't get me! the virus can sod off. Stay safe

[@highpitwilma]

David Parker..I thought exactly the same and laughed when he said "Nothing more than three tons weight"..that's why HE is a Commentator with a BBC voice!!..he was never doon the Three-Quarter Seam at Bates..where the top was coming away throughout the face and we were using 15 feet lang Baaaks as pit props in between the face chocks ti haad the top up..the coal height was ownly 42" high..the face was 15 feet high and rough as a bull's lug..[being polite..we caaled it a Sh....hoose..!!]..Dowty 5-legged first generation face chocks which got flattened like a blacklock under foot for 70 yards at a time...and a mean FLATTENED!...two months ti win through 70 yards of the roof fall,and replace aal the flattened chocks!!..divvent even get me started aboot the " Nucleonic Eye.."...it was ripped off the Shearer on the forst shear and went oot on the belt!! Tell Anderson Mavor that!! Cheers David!! A still enjoyed the Vid mind..35 yrs since it aal ended..it's history noo..at Bates,in Northumberland,UK ..the Dosco Roadheaders costing £30 Million pounds each ,in the 1980's,were switched off and left in the pit..still there yet!![alang with six complete face installations costing £100 million pounds each!!..the public haven't a clue what was left doon there !!]

[@bigoldgrizzly]

@@highpitwilma Saw a mate, 'Sporran Gob' [the bearded Jock], get his leg nipped off at the knee when a chain slipped while lifting a drum for one of these machines No cranes or forklifts down the pit - just pull lifts, levers, grunt and 'pitmatics'.

[@bigoldgrizzly]

@@highpitwilma 5 leg dowtys - pieces of crap. just not strong enough and always getting collared. We had to gob one or two every shear. In the end, half the face was hand timbered .... no bad thing though as that was a training face and was a great place to learn ... provided you learned quick and your marra was on the ball.

[@colintaylor8159]

Looks like you had an interesting life ,working in Alberta canada hard working miner best wishes.