A visit to the Asfordby ‘Super Pit’ coal mine under construction in 1986.
With the rapid closure of the coal mines in west Leicestershire the sinking of the Asfordby ‘Super Pit’ coal mine in the east of the county was expected to provide the affected miners with jobs well into the 21st. century. After an extended period of planning, and a public enquiry, sinking of the shafts at Asfordby started in August 1985. The site chosen was near to Asfordby Hill village, to the west of Melton Mowbray, and was next to Holwell Works iron foundry. The proposal was to extract coal from the vast seams under the vale of Belvoir from this mine right on the edge of the coal field, but geological problems and the poor economics of production led to the mine closing in 1997. The full story is explained in detail at http://www.healeyhero.co.uk/rescue/individual/Bob_Bradley/Bk-7/B7-1997-P7.html.
The photographs here were mainly taken on 23/11/86 during a visit by a party from Sileby Photographic Society to photograph the mine under construction. The main activity at the time was the sinking of the two shafts (the ‘upcast’ shaft and the ‘downcast’ shaft) using temporary headgear and electric sinking engines.
Photographs of a coal train here when the mine was operating are shown on this site in the ‘Asfordby “Super Pit” Coal Mine, 1990s’ section.
1-of-16) Asfordby ‘Super Pit’ coal mine under construction, 29/12/86. The downcast shaft headgear is on the left and the upcast shaft headgear is on the right.
2-of-16) Temporary headgear for sinking the shafts for the new Asfordby Coal Mine, under construction, 23/11/86. The upcast shaft is in the foreground, with the downcast shaft behind.
3-of-16) Temporary headgear for sinking the upcast shaft for the new Asfordby Coal Mine with the winding house with the sinking engine on the right, 23/11/86.
4-of-16) Temporary headgear for sinking the upcast shaft for the new Asfordby Coal Mine with the winding house with the sinking engine on the left, 23/11/86.
5-of-16) Part of the electric sinking winder engine for the temporary headgear used for sinking the downcast shaft for the new Asfordby Coal Mine, under construction, 23/11/86.
6-of-16) Part of the electric sinking winder engine for the temporary headgear used for sinking the upcast shaft for the new Asfordby Coal Mine, under construction, 23/11/86.
7-of-16) There were two construction shafts for sinking the upcast shaft under one of the sets of temporary headgear during construction of the new Asfordby Coal Mine. One miner is sending bell codes to the sinking engine operator while another miner can be seen who has just ascended the west sinking shaft in the kibble, 23/11/86.
The notices on the shaft say:
THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF
PERSONS IN THE SHAFT
MUST NOT EXCEED 30
NO PERSON SHALL ENTER A
KIBBLE WITHOUT PERMISSON
OF THE BANKSMAN
ASFORDBY UPCAST SHAFT
MAXIMUM UNBALANCED
LOAD PERMISSABLE ON
THE CLIVVY HOOK IS 8500KG
THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF
PERSONS CARRIED IN THE
KIBBLE IS 10
THE SHIFT TIMES ARE
8:00?? - 4:00??
4:00?? - 12???
????
SHAFTS OUTLETS ROADS
REGS 1960
51.1 NO MINERALS EQUIPMENT
OR MATERIALS SHALL BE
CARRIED THROUGH THE SHAFT
WHILST PERSONS ARE BEING
CARRIED THROUGH IT WHETHER
IN THE SAME DIRECTION OR NOT
8-of-16) The control panel with the shaft signals for controlling the east sinking engine for the temporary headgear for sinking the upcast shaft for the new Asfordby Coal Mine, under construction, 23/11/86.
9-of-16) The pit head of the upcast shaft under the temporary headgear for sinking the new Asfordby Coal Mine, under construction, 23/11/86.
10-of-16) Looking down one of the sinking shafts for the upcast shaft at Asfordby Coal Mine, under construction, 23/11/86.
11-of-16) Looking up to the top of one of the sinking shafts for the new upcast shaft at Asfordby Coal Mine, under construction, 23/11/86.
12-of-16) Temporary headgear for sinking the downcast shaft for the new Asfordby Coal Mine, under construction, 23/11/86. The building behind houses the sinking engine.
13-of-16) The electric sinking engine for the temporary headgear for sinking the downcast shaft for the new Asfordby Coal Mine, under construction, 23/11/86.
14-of-16) Foundations under construction for a ventilation shaft at the new Asfordby Coal Mine, 23/11/86
15-of-16) Asfordby ‘Super Pit’ coal mine with construction progressing, Autumn 1987.
16-of-16) Asfordby ‘Super Pit’ coal mine with construction nearing completion and the distinctive Koepe winding towers standing prominently, Winter 1988/1989.
Coal, initially from driving roadways, was taken away by train using the connection to the Old Dalby test track, with the first long-wall coal face commencing production in July 1995. However, serious geological problems and the low market price for coal caused the mine to close in 1997, and these two Koepe winding towers were demolished using controlled explosions on 29th March 1998.
This site also has a few photographs of a coal train being loaded and departing Asfordby mine.
The photographs in these railway photograph galleries are available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Attribution should include a link to www.nigeltout.com.