LINK-UP

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 9th Year

Issue

Issue No.

11

Date Released

Jul 1956

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1STORM WARNING
2. 2LINK-UP
3. 3AREA PROFILE: ABERDARE

Story

Story No. within this Issue

2 / 3

Summary

BFI synopsis: new level tunnels under the mountains at Hafodyrynys colliery
NCB Commentary - In the narrow valley between Crumlin and Pontypool stands Hafodyrynys mine. Here big plans are taking shape.
Rail traffic up and down the valley is interrupted so that work can go ahead of spanning the gorge with a new prefabricated concrete bridge.
Surveyors and engineers make final checks before the last span can be hoisted into place.
The bridge will connect the two mountain sides - and the reserves of coal that lie deep inside them.
Into the centre of the valley coal from new workings on both sides will flow onto the finished bridge and into huge bunkers. Then it will be conveyed into a new preparation plant sited up the valley.
A party of privileged visitors - local children - goes on a tour of inspection through the new mine entry.
Hafodyrynys new mine kicks off with a level 1,000 yard road driving deep into the mountain side, to reach out into the coal now worked by the existing pit and by neighbouring Glyntillery. A similar road is going in on the other side of the valley.
Deep under the mountain is a cross-roads where small tubs from the existing workings of Hafodyrynys intersect the new main road.
Here an electric locomotive hauls out rock from the working faces. Today it’s rock - in 4 years’ time it’ll be coal streaming out along this road on a trunk conveyor running parallel with the locomotive tracks.
Coming out into daylight, the coal will run onto the completed bridge, to join the output from Tirpentwys across the valley.
Now the slow lift of the last span is under way. Months from now, the bridge on which men have planned and worked will be the channel connecting two rich sources of hidden coal.
Up the road, work swings into high gear on the new coal preparation plant which will ship 845,000 tons a year out of this narrow valley.
For the men of Hafodyrynys, who will take over the new mine, it’s roll on 1960.

Researcher Comments

Commentary recorded 4th June 1956.

Keywords

Buildings and structures; Children; Railways; Transport; Mining; Fuels; Energy resources; Town and country planning

Locations

Wales

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases   Used for synopsis
Film User   Vol.11 No.123 January 1957, p30.
The National Archives COAL 32   /12 Scripts for Mining Review, 1956-1960

Credits:

Production Co.

Documentary Technicians Alliance

Sponsor

National Coal Board