Gascoigne Wood Mine, Selby, Yorks, August '09 ARCHIVED

[boxfrenzy]

110 square miles, 124 miles of underground roadways, the largest deep mine coal project ever undertaken in the world. Today we are at Gasgoigne Wood Mine, home of the coal washing plant and one of the drifts of the five mines that make up the Selby Complex.
This enormous shed is filled with gypsum. Look, TC is in front of it, to give some perspective.


Gascoigne Wood was an important venue in the 84/85 miners strikes. Many a battle with the police happened here, and one particular day the pickets let a herd of cows out and stood back as they stampeded towards the riot police.
From my weak knowledge of coal mining, I think there are two drifts here. We are checking out the one furthest away from where a group of container lorries come and go.


The giant conveyors that would have carried tonnes of coal every hour are silent and rusting.


The raillink is still here. At it's peak, over 50 trains a day transported coal from here. Below me a small flight of metal steps led underground, deep into the drift. Poor torches, a concern of dangerous gas and me be frightened of getting lost in 124 miles of tunnel prevented me from going down. Sorry readers.


Up on the walkways above the track, everything is coated in pigeon shit and coal dust. A small control room is above here, padlocked. Inside, lights still glow on a control panel.


Next door, a computer and printer are silent. I was unable to determine whether Snow Leopard had been installed on it. (Weak Mac "joke")


The emergency stop at the top of the big conveyor. There was no need to press it today.


Looking down the conveyor. The temptation to climb on and surf down was surprisingly small.


Inside one of the portacabins.


The coal would have come out of here on the conveyor belt and into the coal washing plant.


Wistow, Stillingfleet, Riccall, North Selby and Gascoigne Wood all closed earlier this decade with job losses of over 5000. Today, the mines at Britain's biggest coalfield are silent.
Picture I found at lunch on the internet. I don't know why there is some blank white stuff on the side of it. I think the big machine was designed to tunnel underground and dig through the coal. It is apparently still underground.