British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

Automations

Series

Series Name
Mining Review 12th Year

Issue

Issue No.
12
Date Released
Aug 1959
Stories in this Issue:
  1. 1Children’s day
  2. 2Testing time
  3. 3Automations
  4. 4First course

Story

Story No. within this Issue
3 / 4
Summary
NoS synopsis: A new type of conveyor belt using wire ropes as an alternative to rollers going through its paces.
NCB Commentary - In several collieries now they’re using an improved method of running conveyors. In the conventional system, the belt itself is under tension and it passes from idler to idler, unsupported in between. In the new system it is held up throughout its length by wire ropes - and there is no tension on the belt itself - it just rests on the ropes and carries the coal. Previously, long runs had to be split up into sections. At the end of each the coal was transferred from one conveyor to another resulting in a certain amount of breakage. Now distances of between 2 & 3,000 yards can be covered in one go.
The belt travels smoothly without the rise and the fall and the coal movement generally associated with the idler type of conveyor. This and the lack of tension, it’s claimed, result in much longer belt life - and new belts are a considerable item in every colliery’s budget.
And talking of innovations, a few Northumberland miners were discussing this very subject over a drink in the local when in walked the very newest of them all, the super, automatic, mechanical miner.
New to the game and only just invented, introductions had to be made all round. Conversation, unfortunately, was limited.
Like most miners, his eyes lit up at the thought of a glass of beer - but to drink it, its owner and maker - garage proprietor Mr. Main, had to come out into the open and admit that it was all a gag anyway.
Researcher Comments
Commentary recorded 29th June 1959
Keywords
Mining; Engineering; Inventions and discoveries
Written sources
British Film Institute Databases
Film User   Vol.14 No.160 February 1960, p82.
The National Archives COAL 32   /12 Scripts for Mining Review, 1956-1960
Credits:
Production Co.
Documentary Technicians Alliance
Sponsor
National Coal Board

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