Rapid Transit

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 21st Year

Issue

Issue No.

9

Date Released

May 1968

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1Rapid Transit
2. 2County Durham - Marian Pickering
3. 3Yorkshire - River of Coal

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 3

Summary

NoS synopsis: Britain’s coal industry depends on modern transport methods both for men and materials
NCB Commentary - Moving people - and objects - fast is in tune with the times.
It’s as true in our coal mines as anywhere else. Men are getting to their work-places quicker - and safer - than ever they did before.
And all their materials are coming to them under power ... so that they only physical effort is in setting them up and using them.
There’s nothing visionary about this. It’s happening already.
After all it’s been years since we could afford to squander men’s working time like this ...
Men are the most costly and the most valuable item in any industry - let alone the consideration of making the job more pleasant and easier, and safer.
In any case in ten years time remote control won’t demand nearly so many men in our coal-faces, and certainly they will be riding all the way in to where their work places are.
So there’ll be an end to humping materials. Thirty of forty years ago there were no locos, few main conveyors, only miles of rope haulages and 50,000 ponies - and, of course, hundreds of thousands of men too ...
Nowadays we can’t afford to waste men’s time on laborious occupations like this ...
The pit ponies of the past have been retired and there are better ways of getting the job done.
And in a modern coal face, once the powered supports are in, far less materials than ever before are needed.
Some supplies will always have to be sent into a mine, for repairing and making roadways for instance.
But to all these places materials can be transported as efficiently as the coal can be brought out.
Britain’s modern coal mining is coming to depend on modern transport methods.

Keywords

Transport; Fuels

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases
Films on Coal Catalogue   1969, p.55
The National Archives COAL 32   /13 Scripts for Mining Review, 1960-1963

Credits:

Sponsor

National Coal Board

Production Co.

National Coal Board Film Unit