RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted June 21, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 21, 2017 (edited) The attached link shows details of a potential new source of coal traffic. https://www.ft.com/content/b054c570-528e-11e7-bfb8-997009366969 Reading the article it appears that they are looking at starting up a new deep drift mine on the site of the old Marchon works just south of Whitehaven. Haigh Colliery was next to this site but this appears to be intending to use the old Anhydrite workings to access the coal reserves via a drift. There is mention of a 2.5Km conveyor to a rail loading site. I presume that this will use the trace of the firmer incline that served Marchon and latterly Haigh Colliery. This would put rail loading facilities at Corkickle where the trains for Marchon used to stage and I believe that there were some sort of tanker unloading facilities there as well. 6 Trains a day to Redcar which presumably go vi the coat line, then Carlisle and down to redcar with an alternative of via Carnforth and Leeds. It could be interesting. It's also interesting that the UK is still seen as a source of metallurgical coal. Didn't Durham use to produce that as well. Jamie Edited June 21, 2017 by jamie92208 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Why would they be sending it to Redcar, where the blast furnaces have been closed? Are the coke ovens still functioning? Coking coal occurs in several locations; Durham is one, South Yorkshire and South Wales are others. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted June 21, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 21, 2017 Bizarrely its for export to China for coke, passing two mothballed coke ovens in the UK as it goes.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Bizarrely its for export to China for coke, passing two mothballed coke ovens in the UK as it goes.... You couldn't make it up... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Mike Posted June 21, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 21, 2017 There has been proposals for new drift mines in the Mirehouse/Corkickle area for years but it has never come to anything. This seems to be the latest iteration: http://www.westcumbriamining.com/ (which has been around since at least 2014). They appear to have secured some funding but I doubt that has lasted long... Cheers, Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted June 21, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 21, 2017 I believe its actually a new drift using some old anhydrite workings into the former Haig colliery Will be interesting if it goes ahead as it will most definitely flooded. Haig always seemed a bit odd to me, why sink a shaft from a cliff top into seams that are below sea level Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted June 21, 2017 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 21, 2017 (edited) I believe its actually a new drift using some old anhydrite workings into the former Haig colliery Will be interesting if it goes ahead as it will most definitely flooded. Haig always seemed a bit odd to me, why sink a shaft from a cliff top into seams that are below sea level Possibly because it was the only site they could use. I don't know how deep the coal seams were but the site is level and originally had a self acting incline direct to the harbour. Any extra 2 or 300 feet of shaft made sense if it gave a flat stable site to put the mine. There was very little land below the cliffs. I was told that Marchon was founded by a refugee chemist after the war with backing from Harold Wilson. He had the process that needed anyhydrite and was shown the site at Whitehaven. He then asked about the source of Anhydrite and was told that it was underneath the proposed factory. That may or may not be completely true. I have posted some pictures of the Marchon incline in use on the thread about West Cumbria Railways. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/114184-hodbarrow-hematite-mine/page-2 Jamie Edited June 21, 2017 by jamie92208 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Mike Posted June 21, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 21, 2017 Marchon was founded at start of WW2 by two chemists with works in Whitehaven but the Solway works (and anhydrite mine) didn't open till the 50s IIRC. History here: http://www.cumbria-industries.org.uk/a-z-of-industries/chemicals/a-history-of-marchon-works-at-whitehaven/ WCM did a survey of parts of Haig last year and found some of the roadways in good condition. They don't reckon flooding will be too much of an issue. You can see a proposed map of the drift and the loading facility (it doesn't use the old incline but goes further south of Mirehouse - is that the old NCB (Low Beck?) working): http://www.westcumbriamining.com/what-is-the-plan/where-will-the-mine-be/ Cheers, Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted June 21, 2017 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted June 21, 2017 Marchon was founded at start of WW2 by two chemists with works in Whitehaven but the Solway works (and anhydrite mine) didn't open till the 50s IIRC. History here: http://www.cumbria-industries.org.uk/a-z-of-industries/chemicals/a-history-of-marchon-works-at-whitehaven/ WCM did a survey of parts of Haig last year and found some of the roadways in good condition. They don't reckon flooding will be too much of an issue. You can see a proposed map of the drift and the loading facility (it doesn't use the old incline but goes further south of Mirehouse - is that the old NCB (Low Beck?) working): http://www.westcumbriamining.com/what-is-the-plan/where-will-the-mine-be/ Cheers, Mike That link puts the oral history into place. The refugees were already in Britain at the start of WW2. It looks like they decided to have a go at manufacturing sulphuric acid and the factory was sitting on top of a deposit of Anhydrite. I will watch developments on this with interest along with the proposals for a similar mine in the Gretna area which I first saw an article about a couple of years ago. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted June 21, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 21, 2017 I remember as a child how heavily industrialised West Cumbria was, it has been hit as hard as anywhere by the decline in heavy industries and mining yet for some reason its plight has gone unnoticed outside the local area, generating none of the media interest and folklore of other areas that went through a traumatic decline of its traditional industries. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brack Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Seems strange to haul it across the country in order to put it on a ship for China when it's mined pretty much in a harbour. I know Redcar can handle pretty much any size of ship but it does seem daft. Presumably the size of ship they have in mind wouldn't fit in Workington and building a deep water loading facility is uneconomic. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted June 21, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 21, 2017 Seems strange to haul it across the country in order to put it on a ship for China when it's mined pretty much in a harbour. I know Redcar can handle pretty much any size of ship but it does seem daft. Presumably the size of ship they have in mind wouldn't fit in Workington and building a deep water loading facility is uneconomic. Don't knock it at least its a new freight flow for rail Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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