IRON
AND
COAL
AND
COAL
This water is dealt with by six steam operated pumps which were placed near to the bottom of the winding shaft, the steam being taken down the shaft in pipes from the surface boilers. However, as coal pillars were removed, it was anticipated that more water would result which would require an increase in pumping capacity.
To the north was a small triangle of un-worked coal which lay against the barrier that divided the Fochriw Taking from the Bedlinog Taking and headings were being driven apace to open this out in order to replace, as far as was possible, the production lost from the west and east districts.
It was reported that the condition of the workings, roadways and ventilating roads was quite satisfactory, However, in order to ventilate the workings to the north it would probably be required to sink an air shaft from the Upper Four Feet seam to the Rhas Las Seam at a cost of about £400.
This was an opening driven out on the seam to the surface on the opposite side of the valley to the winding shaft. Two single flue Cornish and one double flue Lancashire boiler were installed which were fed by cold water in addition to a live steam injector.
Since the water was of very poor quality, it was proposed to lay a range of 4 inch cast iron pipes some 250 yards in length which would supply a better quality of water for several months in the year, at a cost of £70.
There were two surface steam worked hauling engines, one 14 inch and one 20 inch, which undertake the main haulage underground back to the Nantwen Shaft bottom. Both were in good order.
There was also a 120 kW generator which consisted of a compound condensing engine driven directly to the crank shaft of a Siemens generator. This supplied electricity for the pumps in th Nantwen Dips and the power for the ventilating fan which ventilated the west side of the colliery. All equipment was in good working order but the level was entirely dependant upon it and it was working to near full capacity.
Consideration was given to duplicating the electrical plant and adding another Lancashire boiler at a total cost of £2,250. However, the immediate recommendation was for the purchase of a spare armature at a cost of £200.
There was also an old electrical installation of 50 h.p. Which was used principally for pumping water to the Bedlinog colliery pond in the dry season.
A recommendation was made to install a closed feed water heater to the exhaust of the two hauling engines to heat the boiler feed water at a cost of £200. This would give a saving in coal consumption of about 600 tons per annum which, at 5/- per ton would amount to £150 per annum.
The ventilation of the colliery was adequate and was supplied on the west side of the pit by means of an electrically driven fan and on the east side of the pit by means of exhaust steam in the pumping shaft.
The underground workings were in good order and an estimated 1,679,646 tons gross of unworked coal was available which, at 500 tons per day would give a colliery life of 11.2 years.