THE TOWER

Series

Series Name: Mining Review 9th Year

Issue

Issue No.

Date Released

Nov 1955

Stories in this Issue:

Story

Story No. within this Issue

3 / 3

Summary

BFI synopsis: the giant boring tower at Seafield Colliery on the Firth of Forth.
NCB Commentary - On the coast of the Firth of Forth a great new colliery begins to take shape. A few miles away stands one of the boldest tools ever to be used in laying out a pit that will extend under the sea.
This giant boring tower measuring 185 ft. from base to apex has a big part to play in the establishment of Seafield as a living colliery.
The tower is no engineering toy. Between its decks is living accomodation for the 25 men who’ll spend months in probing the seabed to establish exactly where the cital coal measures lie. Developed from the seaforts of the war, the tower is capable of being floated out to sea, sunk in position while drilling takes place and then re-floated and towed away to the site where it will next have to operate. Ride up on to the 86 ft. wide deck, 130 ft. in the air. Among the litter of construction are the tools which will bite into the seabed, probing down a tubular casing.
Floating out tower this size is a navigational test piece. On huge pontoons the 750 ton tower rides easy on the waters. The naval architect in charge casts a final eye over the details and orders admiralty tugs to take up the tow.
Rearing high towards the grey clouds the tower begins to move out, dwarfing the dockyard houses as she passes. A final salute from steel to steel and the tower’s maiden voyage is under way. Hours later and miles away the job begins of lowering the tower so that she stands on the seabed. Night falls before she is finally secure.
Now the tower can begin to live and her crew start the tasks they have been sent out to do. The drilling rig is the same as oil-men use. Drills and rods grind their way into the seabed, while at regular intervals samples are withdrawn to establidh the strats of the rocks below. Here a core is being extracted. This is limestone, which is above and below the coal-measures in this region. Each core is labelled and kept. Already on the deck is the first sample of the coal which is the promise of the new Seafield Colliery.
The volunteer crew who live on board work ship’s watches round the clock and take their time off when they can.
The daily boat brings them mail and supplies and returns those of the crew who have been on their three-weekly shore leave. Meanwhile the growing towers of Seafield gaze out to the sea-tower until her essential job is done.

Researcher Comments

Commentary recorded on 26 November 1955.

Keywords

Mining

Locations