This takes me back! As a former resident of Seascale, then Beckermet, our family used to drive to Whitehaven for the weekly shop, and when I wasn't trainspotting at Bransty station, I used to wander along the dock lines and occasionally see the tank engines trundling along the lines. I remember the steep line up to Haig colliery, but I never saw any wagons being pulled up or down.
I went down Haig Pit on a school trip in about 1979. It's great to see this again. I was really into Victorian engineering at the time and the winding engine really grabbed my attention, that and the trip out to the coalface on the 'manrider'. This is my ancestral home, so to speak, as my mother's family were seafarers and miners at Maryport. Many thanks for posting this film.
Great to see the winding gear that my late Dad used to work on at Haig Pit. Footage only shows his work colleague Ozzie Brown on the gear. Dad had to keep everything clean and oiled - something he was very proud of. He changed the overhead wheels every 7 years as they wore out. Dad enjoyed showing folk round the winding gear. Worked there often doing 16 hour shifts, until he died in 1982 - 2 weeks before his retirement of bronchial emphysema. Many ex-miners got compensation for that, but Dad got nothing because he didn't work underground - got his from the ash dust in the old boiler fires. He had to clear out the clinker after ashing every so often.It didn't all automatically clear out. Still have his old ash rake and he did have one of their old wood benches in the garden, but it was pretty rotten, so we couldn't save it. When it became a museum for a while, they painted the name: Jimmy Brown on the oiler!! Bit of a mix up of my Dad, Jimmy Rogan and Ozzie Brown's names, but they wouldn't change it when we pointed it out!
Great video.. My dad worked at haig.. My uncle Brian was boat builder and uncle Kenneth was boat mechanic.. Ha just spread my dad's ashes who past this year.... Next to monument... 😢
1960 My memories of the Docks and Fishing in a Small boat just of the Harbor, Saturday Morning Cinema 6d behind market Hall. It seems every School had a trip down the Pit. Brought it all back.
I remember making a school trip to Haig colliery, 55 years ago where does time go, we went down into the mine and took a 'train' to the coal face. It was fascinating.
For some reason only just came across this gem of your Dad's. Wonderful. Were the trucks pulled up this incline by the steam winding engine? This collection cries out that cine films should never be thrown out. We need a national curator to ensure an ever growing archive of our past. Thanks for your efforts. By the way, love the way the original leaders are left in place, lending more authenticity.
