LONG HAUL

Series

Series Name: Mining Review 6th Year

Issue

Issue No.

Date Released

Dec 1952

Stories in this Issue:

Story

Story No. within this Issue

3 / 4

Summary

BFI synopsis: a cable-operated conveyor at Frances Colliery, East Fife.
NCB Commentary - At Frances Colliery, in East Fife, manager Livingstone and Mr. Finnie, the agent, are pleased with their new main conveyor. It’s pulling 800 tons of coal a day up a drift nearly half a mile long, and it’s doing the work of three old conveyors of the conventional type. What’s so special about this one?
Well, it’s a belt conveyor, but it’s driven by ropes. The belt rests of metal shoes carried on wire ropes, moving at 300 feet a minute. As the shoes turn over with the empty belt, they drop from one rope to another, carrying the full loaded belt back.
Here’s an ordinary roller-type conveyor which feeds coal onto the new belt. It may soon be out of date. The new conveyor hasn’t any rollers to bear into the belt and wear it out quickly. The fire risk is reduced. The new belt doesn’t need so much power to drive it, and it can be much longer than the old type. Power for power, the rope driven conveyor can carry coal eight times as far, without spilling it or knocking it about. And that means better coal for the consumer.
The driving motor is on the surface. It’s a 150 HP electric motor, and it drives the ropes through a differential gearbox - just like in a car’s back axle. That means that the two ropes will run at the same speed and adjust temselves automatically to the load.
The belt has been running for over six months now, and mining engineers are taking a good deal of interest in what may well be the onveyor of the future.

Researcher Comments

Commentary recorded 3 November 1952.

Keywords

Mining; Engineering

Locations