Ropes and cables
Seaham and Harton
The miners' strike of the mid-80s was a
turning point for the UK coal industry.
Much of the interest in the pits and
their railway systems disappeared soon
afterwards - including these gems which
I had the good fortune to visit in August
1983. The weather may have been dull, but the railway
activity certainly wasn't...
The "gem" at Seaham was the rope-worked incline connecting
Hawthorn Colliery with Seaham harbour. Originally used for the
export of coal, its use by now was solely the removal of stone
waste, which would be worked along the coast from the incline
foot and tipped. The incline consisted of two sections, each with
their own ropes - the upper from Cold Hesledon to Swines Lodge,
Geoff’s Rail Diaries
thence to the harbour.
About 12 years previously, I had visited
Seaham harbour - when the old wooden
staithes were still intact. I didn't have my
camera with me, sadly, and it being a
Sunday there was no activity. The old staithes had gone by the
time I paid this second visit, although there were still five
locomotives based there, nos. 1-5, being English Electrics from
Vulcan Foundry, D1191 - D1195, built in 1967. I believe that, by
1983, their only use was the stone waste traffic mentioned
earlier. Remarkable survivors from earlier days stood near the
incline foot - three derelict chaldron wagons. "Probably the
oldest non-preserved railway wagons in existence" my companion
suggested.
15 August 1983
We moved on to Westoe colliery, whose output
travelled by the overhead-electrified line to
Harton Low Staithe - the last remnant of the
former South Shields, Marsden and Whitburn
colliery railway. A fleet of German-built
locomotives dating from before the first world
war had been supplemented after the second by
several English Electric / Baguleys - nos. 13, 14
and 15, depicted on this page, were EE 2308 of
1957, and 2599 and 2600 of 1959. I seem to recall (it's 21 years
ago!) that we caught a glimpse of one of the old-timers - I think
AEG 1565 of 1913, but it scuttled away before we could get a
picture and didn't reappear.
Coal was worked from the pit to sidings at St Hilda's (where
there was once a pit also) by nos. 13 and 14 (the latter bearing
the confusing inscription, in chalk, "14 or 15"). At St Hilda's, no.
15 then took the wagons down the tightly-curved line to the
staithe - there were some gauging restrictions which prevented
the others from working down there, I believe, although I must
say all three locos looked pretty-well identical.
Within a year, the strike had begun. I don't think the incline at
Seaham was used afterwards (there were stories that the
wooden keys holding the rails to the chairs had been stolen for
firewood!). Westoe lasted a few more years - to become County
Durham's last pit at closure in 1993.
Links:
•
Industrial Railway Society
•
The Westoe Electrics
the full set of photos taken on the day, b&w and
colour
