A third installment of coal related stuff from t'continent, duck - July 2012

[thompski]

Short of playing chicken with 125mph motive power, I'm not renown for sensibility. One day I agreed to attend a works do in celebration of the birth of one of my colleagues, 12 hours of alcohol fueled trolling and the haze of carcinogenic substances, this concluded with a kebab and possibly the longest taxi journey ever. My journey was simple and done many a time in my life, from the city centre to my family home on the suburban outskirts down through the ghettos and ancient industrial plants known locally as 'the highway to Chell', but on this occasion it was very very different.

I guess I should've been confused by the fact I was in a familiar Nissan and on the M1 south bound, but I'm not one to question these things, before long everything went a bit weird, but anyhow, coal mines.

Bergwerk Schnitzel und Ente

A revisit, featuring bigger headstocks and steam winders. This mine was founded in the 1870s and closed in 1989, bit strange because it was modernised in the early 80s. Demolition is allegedly imminent for the majority of the buildings on site.











Zeche Fummël

In the 1980s and 90s, Ruhrkohle AG sunk new shafts close to reserves for many mines in the area, two were sunk below a major forest in the area. This one was sunk in 1992 and the entire complex was closed in 2001. The main mine has been demolished, this one has been subjected to significant vandalism and is used for firearms training by the police.













Zeche Glaßfüt

Named after a local legend involving a man dying after getting aids infected glass in his foot whilst looking for the local take away, this mine was a personnel shaft for a larger mine in the area, closed in 2008. The headstock has been cut down and the remaining buildings have suffered at the hands of vandals and metal thieves, though there are a few nice features.









Zeche Handyhorn

Named after a brand of air horn, Zeche Handyhorn is a big ass mine in the Saar region of Germany. Some buildings have found reuse, but pretty much everything has been left here. We drove in and parked next to the washery. The main feature of this site is the 300ft headstock, built in 1992 and believed to be the largest in Europe (Clipstone? Puny). Unfortunately after a considerable ascent, we found the access doors to the top locked, supposedly they do tours up here, but having been up nearly 20 headstocks, I'm not that desperate.

















And thats it, these were my associates; James, jST and RJ in the mighty unmarked taxi - 140bhp of Sunderland engineering.



Yes duck.