WAGON WHEELS

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 7th Year

Issue

Issue No.

7

Date Released

Mar 1954

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1WAGON WHEELS
2. 2WINGED VICTORY. F.A.
3. 3GASPIPE
4. 4VERTICOAL

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 4

Summary

BFI synopsis: Wagon handling at Dalkeith Coal Preparation plant
NCB Commentary - At Dalkeith in Scotland is a big new coal washery, where ordinary rail wagons loaded with coal get a streamlined treatment. First they’re weighed - coal and all - and then tipped automatically into a 30-ton hopper. From here the coal goes on by conveyor up to the top of the washery.
Meanwhile, the wagons, after being weighed again empty, roll on by gravity to a traverser which will direct them to one of eight tracks leading to loading points underneath the washery. The washery turns out 3,000 tons of clean coal a day from 8 nearby pits.
Once on the selected track, each wagon is rolled into position automatically beneath a belt loader. Now the wagons are filled with washed and graded coal.
Once a wagon has been loaded, it rolls off again by gravity and waits for a second traverser to pick it up. This traverser rolls across with the wagon to a weighbridge, and the new weight of wagon and coal is recorded automatically. After weighing, the traverser is driven off to one of the 6 tracks leading to the marshalling yard. Each wagon goes to a particular track to make up a train according to the grade of coal it carries.
The layout at Dalkeith does away with much laborious handling of coal wagons, and is a big step forward in the speedy despatc of coal from the pit to the consumer.

Researcher Comments

According to bfi records, this story was researched by Francis Gysin on 5th May 1953. It was then filmed from the 13th to the 19th September 1953, and footage from this shoot was also used in a longer NCB production. Commentary recorded 1 February 1954.

Keywords

Transport; Mining; Engineering

Locations

Scotland

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases   Used for synopsis
Film User   Vol.8 No.95 September 1954, p436.
The National Archives COAL 32   /3 Scripts for Mining Review, 1949-1956

Credits:

Production Co.

Documentary Technicians Alliance

Support services

Francis Gysin

Camera

Kenneth Reeves

Sponsor

National Coal Board

Director

Peter Pickering

Camera

W. Donat