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Andy is "Putting" or taking the tub outbye to a landing,where several full tubs would be coupled up,usually a set of six,where a "Driver" with a bigger horse would pull the set outbye from the landing to the shaft bottom,to be sent to Bank in the cages.Andy is going downhill when the pic was taken,as he has a wooden "Dreg" in the rear wheels to help slow the tub from over running the horse,even though the Limbers,["Limma's"] used to control the tub ,also the "Backstrap" on the Horse's Gears,around his rear end and fastened to his Bellyband...that pushed up against the Horse's rear flanks,and when he felt the pressure,he automatically pushed back against it and set his legs ..another great pic!

Note their pants!!.."Fustons"...indestructible thick warm material,most Miners wore Fustons,it was like ...what else wud ye wear doon a black hole?...not ya Wedding Suit! See the Steel corrugated Straps,[or "Planks"] holding the roof up? They were 6' long and canny heavy! Aboot three or four years ago,me and LBJ [me wee Lab x Dog],were waaking back from owa the Bomar fields ahent wor hoose,and a got me eye on summick familiar,sticking oot the thick bushes,next ti the Farmer's fence.A howked on and pulled it oot,it was one of these steel straps,bent at right angles,wi the weight of the roof underground,and it came from the Bomar pit heaps when they levelled it oot..noo hoo it ended up where it was owa the field a divvent knaa,but a fetched it yem on me shoulder,and mind,a was knackered when a got back yem!A hae it at the bottom of me garden as a feature,next ti me fence!! Just a little reminder of when a was strong enough ti lift them with one hand up ti the roof,and put a Lazy-Man prop in ti haad it there,so ye cud knock a prop in at each end to support the roof.[When a was in me Twenties - Forties...!] The Dr Pit was a "Naked Lamp Mine",under the M n Q Act 1954, so Willie Ward was ok using a Flashgun doon the pit,but wadn't hae been allowed doon any other "Flame Safety Regs " Pit.

Aye,James,the metal canister held 5 lbs of Explosive Cartridges,what we ,[the miners] referred to as "Sticks o' Pooda"..[Powder]. That was the Legal limit that a miner was allowed to carry,under the "Mines and Quarries Act 1954"..of course,like any other Industry,rules were made to be broken! Down the Three-Quarter seam,at Bates,in the early 1970's,I used to be hurrying inbye to fire the Solid Drivage Maingate or Tailgate,or Back Drift,[1-in-4 gradient!],carrying a 50 lb Box of Polar Ajax,[33% Nitro-Glycerine..],under one arm,another 50lb Box on the other shoulder,and TWO - 10LB Packs ,one each side inside of my Overalls!! So I was carrying 120 lbs of High Explosives,with my Glennie on my belt,my Self-rescuer,also on my belt,my Caplamp and Battery,which weighed 9lbs...Heh heh...I was only in my Thirties,and strong as an Ox!! Noo,aam nearly 77 yrs aad,and a canna lift me aan shadow! Four feet of lovely clean coal here,maybe 4' -6" ,and great dry conditions,gud hard laminated Sandy Post Stone..with a wee bit of Blue on top of the Seam. A great pic of times gone by! Thanks for posting it! Bill.

In the confines of a coalface,sometimes you couldn't start with a 6-0' drill straight off,so you had to start with a 3-0' drill,then change to the 6-0' one when you had drilled right in with the shorter one.That's why he has one lying beside him.

Noo THAT!..was one hell of a job,doon the pit,the Bulls'sHead..["BULL'SHEED"],Driller was a canny weight,so with a Nine foot drill in,and drilling into solid stone...ye needed arms like Garth,[a pit saying!],that's hoo Dinper has arms like this in the pic!![He is drilling into the Coal Seam on this Pic.]A "fast" [Stuck!] drill has caused many a broken arm or shoulder,when reverse torque spun the machine out of your hands and twisted your arms etc!

One of my Neighbours at Hollymount Square,in the early 1950's was a fella called "Aad Singer Dixon" ,and he was one of the Horsekeeper's from the year Dot,they used to say..and this guy looks like him to my mind..I was only three years old when we moved there,but I grew up with the Dixons,until I got Married in 1967,but Singer had sadly Passed away by then. I remember his Grandson Brian visiting every other night,with his Parents,and through the windows at night we used to hear Old Singer shouting ,as he waved his family off for the night ..."Gudneet,see ye thi morn!"..I can hear his voice noo as a type!! The horse's Collar and Yemsicks can just be seen at the right side hanging on the hook. Great Pic! Cheers Bill.

Photo taken by Willie Ward in 1952