South Yorkshire Times, March 26, 1949

£90,000 Mine Winder

Coming to Barnburgh Main For £23,000

Photo shows the £90,000 coal winder, originally built for Russia, and purchased by the NCB under ERP for £23,000, which is to be installed at Barnburgh Main Colliery.

A new mine winder weighing 500 tons and which cost £90,000 to build in America, has been purchased by the National Coal Board for installation at Barnburgh Alain Colliery.

Erection of the new winder, which was due to arrive in the “Dwight L. Moody,” at Liverpool, from America on Wednesday, will necessitate the construction of a new engine house and extensions to the present headgear. It is expected to be in use in about a year’s time. The winder will  replace the present No. 6 shaft winding engine, which has been in use at the colliery for some 23 years.

Clutch Drum

Barnburgh Colliery was chosen by N.C.B. officials after an inspection of many collieries. The engine incorporates a `clutch drum which will enable winding to take place from different depths in the shaft.

Previously this has not been possible with the equipment at present in use at the colliery, but when the new winder is installed winding from all seams will be possible. The winder will also enable development of a new seam, recently opened at the colliery, to proceed rapidly.

Transportation of the equipment from ship to colliery, which is being undertaken by British Railways, is expected to take some three weeks.

The cargo is contained in 116 great packing cases and includes two large drums each consisting of two castings, each weighing 40 tons and measuring 21ft 6ins.. by 13ft. which cannot be moved by rail. Arrangements have been made to take them by road. In certain parts of the journey special traffic arrangements may have to be made while the giant load passes through. Cost of transporting the equipment from the United States to the colliery is approximately £10,000.

Heaviest single component in the cargo is the drum shaft which weighs 55 tons and is 41ft. 6ins long. This will go by rail on a special bogey.

Power supply required by the winder is 6,000 volts, and the electrical equipment which provides the 3,500 h.p. for operating the winder consists of two driving motors each of 1,750 h.p., two D.C. generators each of 1,250 km. and a main. generator-driving motor of 3.500 h.p

Was For Russia

The winder is one of a number built during the war for supply to Russia, but as Russia did not take them they were declared redundant and offered for disposal by the War Assets Administration in the United States. Three of the winders were completed, and others were in an advanced stage of construction.

Although the cost of the winder, purchased under the European Recovery Programme, was £90,000 it has been purchased from the disposal authority for £23,000.

Had it not been possible to obtain the equipment from stock, a delay of between two and three years would have been entailed while the equipment was being manufactured.