GOOD STEAM COAL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 158, 29 March 1919, Page 3

GOOD STEAM COAL

A DAY AMONG THE MINES WORKING AT THE FACE [By Will Lawson.] • (AIL Eights Reserved.) Wliilo the coal bins of the company at Denuiston are situated on the hilltop, whither the' railway \vagons ure taken to be filled, tho coal i'roui the Millerton and (Stockton mines is brought down to railway, level at Granity and Ngakawau respectively.' Tho ropeways from the skyline to sea-level fro long and. straight and steep. The tubs appear to be running as slowly as the tubs which carry tho Coulbrookdalu coal to the bins. But in these mines the tubs "are larger— those.of the Millerlon mine hold 17 cwt., and the Stockton tubs hold 25 cwt, They arrive in "rakes,", as the' little" trains 'are called, and after being emptied rre sent off up the hill again to the mines. It is,a good day's outing in both the physical and tho educational senses to make tho journey up tho Stockton incline, travel along tho top as for as Mangatina Creek, and from, there walk across to the, workings of the Millerton mine, and descend through tho mine, calling at Millerton on tho way down. Ngakawau, the '. starting-place for this trip, is a pleasant littlo township near the mouth of the Ngakawau River, which the railway crosses on a tall bridge. Ngakawau Gorge, through which tho river tumbles, : : s' a beautiful place, and.at a. point about four miles from the railway'bridge, a pretty stream celled Charming Creek pours' into the ituiin river. The wuterpower available seems to be considerable, and after seeing tho pouring torrent it is with a sense of surprise 'that one finds in the splendid power-house of the WestportStockton Coal ' Co. at Ngakawau, that coal is used to produce the electric power which is used throughout the, interesting workings of this company's mines. ' ' ' . . The Power-house and Bins.

It needs but a glance on entering this concrete power-house to see that the steam-driven electric plant is an up-to-date and very powerful one. An alternating current of MOO volts is sent up the steep hillside, and at the top it is transformed into a 250-volt direct current, chiefly for use on the seven miles of electric railway which operates between the mines and the top of the incline. Electric' power also works the lower of the two sections cf incline. This track runs through a tunnel twenty-eight '_ chains long—about onethird of a mile—on a grade of one in-sixty-six, and the truoks ure held bv a main cable and . a tail-rope j an electric winch does what hauling is required; the-weight of the loaded trucks materially helps in lifting .the empty ones; but the grade is not steep enough for them to provide all the power. It is proposed that ; the visitors shall ride up, tho incline—at their own risk and peril—and to get in touch with this mountain railway we go across to the r-.uge bins whore the Wagons come in from the tunnel on a top floor, shooting their coal below, to be loaded into the big railway wagons by hydraudic machinery. Tin tipples and jigs and other gear which send the little tubs. galloping and waltzing about the bins are interesting to 6ee: But there is a rake of empties ready.to go up the hill. It is a case of "AIL aboard!"

... Rough Travelling. •>- "I hOpe you'ro not nervous," 6ays' a tall, buriy miner, who is one oi the party; "the wagons go tnrough. the tunnel lite the haonuiers of hell." "Lie down in the truck. Keep your head low," is the last injunction us'the "rake" begins-'to move.' The miner lies coileu on'the floor of the truck beside .one'-who''has never been there before. The truoKs jolt and rattle along at a good speed, and the din is deafening. Twenty-eight' chains is a fair length for a tunnel, but while there is Stygian darkness and a knowledgo that the roof is 'low, there.is also no smoke. The .racket and shaking of .the old. Katzenjaminer Castle was mild compared to this, iiut in that, mild dissipation of old there was no big brawny hand' to slip over the stranger's to hold on till the noise and darkness' were, passed through. "I was just feeling your pulse," was .the quiet remark the comforter made as the truck.flashed into the sunshine and continued the journey upwards, over babbling creek and through beautiful bush. . The second incline, a gravity one, was negotiated next. And then we were at Stockton, at the summit, where the electric" line begins. This hamlet is composed wholly of miners' homes, and it is prettily situated. The electric - lino sweeps away, in an easy semi-circle, and the houses follow that formation. Many of them' have an outlook over the sea, and all are near enough to "the edge" to get a peep over without much trouble. There is a theory held by some that people are much happier who live near tho edge'. The situation is certainly less depressing in wet weather. A 20-ton electric locomotive comesrumbling down a gentle grade into Stockton, with twenty-two wagons at its' heels. With very little dolay, it leaves these at the head of the rope-way, and picks up a string of empties. It is time to step on' board, and sitting on a piece of timber thoughtfully provided as a. seat, to go careoring along tho uplands in theglorious sukny weather. "You'vo.got ideal weather to-day," a man says, "But you must try and picture this • trip in rain and wind in winter."

Huoh imagination is needed to do this, but as we sail on pa9t Darlington and get further into. thj harron sandstono -country, it is not'bo hard to picture the sweep of a southerly meeting tho train and thrashing it well. Beyond Darlington and No. '2 electrio substation, there is a tunnel 20-chains long, and shortly afterwards another which resembles an underground station, where the coal from tho old mine which opens from this tunnel is, marshalled in trucks in readiness for the electrio locfamotive. The r*ke of empties is bound for tho new mine, however, and with, trolley scraping in the low wires at the curve, the train thunders on, crosses Mangafcina Creok on a bridgo that is 50 feet high, and rushes across a mile or more of bare pakihi land ero it reaches the mine. At No. li fiubstotion.wM ch is passed here, theTO is a small rata plant, about two feet high, in full bloom. All about it aro cinders, but a lump of railway iron and some stores have been placed to form a guard around it, and there it stands serene and unharmed, beside the smithy's shop, where the electric trains thunder past, a gentle touch in a strenuous picture. "Working at the Faco." The entrance to the new mine is on the levol, and- after going in for some distance, a thick seam of coal is encountered, with miners engaged in what is termed, "working at the, face," that is, at the head of a drive. Each man works independently, though there are always at least two men at place. At each end, of .his "face' 'of coal, tho miner outs perpendicular grooves diagonally, so that tho face of coal is partly cut off from the main seam. Then he uses a couple, of plugs of "jelly" or other explosive,,and the whole face crashes down and js shovelled into the wagons. At one or two, spota ; tho men are • working In what are called "wot places," and their hours of work are reduced accordingly. In these places the labour strikes one as being very strenuous. Wet through with water and perspiration, the man hews at the blaok wall before him in the light .of two tiny lamps.' But they all appeared to be doing well and were happy, to judgo by appearances. The head workings of tho Millerton mine closely adjoin the Westport-Stock-ton line. It is, necessary to return over tho track from tho new mine, as far as tho' bridge over Mangatina Creek. This tiiiie we'rido'oh tho locomotive, as the trucks are loaded, and find it much steadier,' though one has to sit very still. There-is a descending grade to tho bridge, and the driver had to judgo his brakework exactly to make a good stop. This is done with good judgment, and wo leave tho swaying trains for a walk across the sandstone hill in the wonderful weather, and come presently to another ropeway, which is at the head of (ho Westport-Stockton old mine. From there to Mangatina is not far, and the' nntry is mado pretty by low rata trees iloom- and' other shrubby trees, which nave weathered the tempests of the

heights and secured root-hold. At tho placo tho land was liko the slope of a park newly planted. But that effect does not suTvivo as far as Mangatina. Anythink more depressing and' desolate than this mining villago could not be imagined. It is in a gully, with no outlook; a stream meanders through it, ana' tho houses or huts are arranged with littlo idea of order. Thero are fow women in Mangatina. : -It is a man's settlement, and there is . a large, well-managed : boardinghouso kept by a lady'whose word is law iu her. house. This house is a boon to the settlement, and it is to bo noticed that tho men aro contended in spite of the bleak surroundings. , "A Straight Walk to the Train." Black and-'round, on what we stilt remember its , the seaward - sido of the scenery, is the upper end' of the Millerton mine. ... "From here it is a straight walk down ..to tho train. How far? Oh, a bit over two miles." And so we set off underground once more, with, a little colza lamp to light us. This mine has stopped now, lor the day; On either hand, as" we walk,.' walk, walk down an apparently endless tunnel, from which gloomy drives branch off, stand tho little tubs in their rope-way that ends at the bins at Uranity. . ' ..' . "Mind your head! • Look-out for this, mind!" ''On, on, downward, we go, on n. grade just sleep enough to'jar "the knees, until, after a long walk, we como with the light at Millerton. 'the rope-way goes straight through the town like a cable tram, and.as Millerton lias no car service tq-link it with Granity, most of its inhabitants, use tho. rope-way track as a road, though there is another cart-road which, winds . down the ..pretty hillside. Millerton is a clean, well-painted town. It has a domain "or park, right "on tho edge," with handsome it on gates facing the town. ' gut it is tiuly in an ele. vated position. Tho rope-way gets steeper as it dips down to Granity, and ero it reaches the bins it is' a trial to walk quickly. But the hardy folk of Millerton usio. 'it every day. _ Many miners walk from Granity to their work in the mines above Jlillerton. That is a strikiiig' feature of the miner's life, tho distances ho has to walk to work. Granity, the sea-level, is a nice little town, .with'good houses, and well-dressed happy-looking people. And if is an indication of the miner's character, that nearly-every-house has a garden. Tho other mining centro near Westport is. Seddonville, ■at the end of the line of railway, .on the Mokihinui. River, where coal is won in a number of places, and enterprisi.ig miners are still prospecting in likely areas.