Mexborough & Swinton Times – Saturday 08 January 1921

Barnburgh Mishap.

Goldthorpe Boy Killed by Runaway Tubs.

An inquest was held at Mexborough on Monday, on John Smith (16), pony-driver, Straight Lane, Goldthorpe, who died on Friday, in the Montagu Hospital, as the result of injuries received In Barnburgh Colliery that morning.

Mr. T. L. Soar (manager), Mr. T. Williams (representing the Y.M.A.), and Mr. R. H. Young (Inspector of Mines attended, and the enquiry was conducted by Mr. Frank Allen.

Eno Thorpe, 32. Leslie Road, Goldthorpe, miner said he was working at Barnburgh Colliery on the night shift of Thursday—Friday last. About 4 a.m. on Friday morning they were lowering a run of four full tubs down a gradient of about one in twenty. Apparently, one of the lockers broke, and the tubs were carried across the flag-sheet, about 40 yards away. Witness and other main followed them, and they heard a screen, but saw no light.

Witness ran to the tubs and so deceased, over whom, legs the tubs had done. The last tub and the last but one were derailed. There were only three lockers in the tub and he picked the fourth up in the road, but it was not broken. He did not think it was one they had used for these tubs. Once the tubs were started they could not be stopped until they reached a certain place. The deceased had a lamp between his legs, but witness could not say whether it was lighted or not.

Mr. T. L. Soar (the manager), suggested that the gradient was only one in forty. He said that a stop block was not used in the bank.

James Rawlinson, 21, Green Lane, Barnburgh, deputy, said there was no fixed stop block for the stall, but a loose block which could be used on either road. He agreed with the method for locking the tubs, by which the first tub was free, and thought that the tubs would not start if five lockers were used on the four tube. On certain occasions a stop block was used. He agreed that it would be safer for a stop block to be provided, and for a stallman to see that the block was set before the tubs were started.

By Mr. T. Williams: A locker broke on this occasion, and previously lockers had fallen out. The Coroner suggested that at the place where the accident happened, it would be a matter of little inconvenience and great benefit if a stop block were used permanently, and one stall man instructed to go ahead to see that it was properly set before the tubs were released down the incline. He made it clear that he was not censuring anybody, but was trying to find some way by which a recurrence of such an accident could be prevented.

Mr Soar and Mr. Williams agreed that the idea was practicable.

The jury returned a verdict of “accidental death.”