1873 - Old Forge Coal Mines

160 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
No. 11 Buck Ridge Colliery.— May, Anderson & Co., Operators.
The colliery is situated near Shamokin, on the estates of Renshaw &
Johnson. It has been 10 years in operation. It consists of 8 water level
drift openings on the E Twin veins, which are separated by a partition
slate ;
the under seam or bench is 8 feet thick, while the coal of the upper
or No. 9 seam is 5 feet thick.
Drifts Nos. 1, 2 and 5 are open on the No. 8, and driven to the eastern
boundary line, the distance of 1,600 yards. An air-shaft from 5th drift to
the surface is opened. There were 14 men employed in robbing ouc the
coal in these drifts October 31. In No. 9 there are 5 drifts, with 2,100 yards
of gangways opened, with 20 breasts working and extending gangways,
employing 64 men. The rock strata overlying these seams is of the very
best sort, rendering mining a safe operation. All these gangways are communicated
by tunnel connections throughout, affording ample means of
egress and ingress for safe traveling, &c.
Ventilation is produced by natural means ; the air-currents circulate
freely through the mines, affording an ample supply of air for all purposes
;
no complaint being made by the miners on this head.
Engines and Power.— A. 40-horse engine runs the breaker, and a 20-horse
engine hoists the coal in the incline plane to the breaker. The surprising
length of 7f miles of track are used inside and out. 171 men and 31 boys
are employed in and about the colliery. 26 mules and 90 mine wagons are
used.
Monthly average shipments are 7,600 tons.
A double track slope is now in progress of sinking,- on the north dip of
the No. 8 seam, 700 yards east of the present openings, intending it to
penetrate 200 yards under the. present water levels, on its first lift, and
thence open the No. 9 seam by a tunnel driven north, making it one of the
most extensive, and no doubt productive collieries in the region. The
slope engine is a 40-horse power. But 8 steam boilers are in position, each
26 feet long by 34 inches in diameter. I anticipate a prosperous future
for this colliery, owing to its good government and its extensive facilities
for producing coal.
No. 12. Luke Fidler Colliery.— Mineral Railroad and Mining Company,
Owners and Operators.
This colliery is situated one mile east of Shamokin, in Northumberland
county, now the estate of the Mineral Railroad and Mining Company, but
formerly the estate of E. M. Eastwick. It consists of a slope sunk through
60 feet of rock measures, on an angle of 33° north ;
thence by a rock 'tunnel
750 yards north, cutting through coal seams Nos. 12, 11, 10, 9 and 8 of
the Mammoth Twin seams ;
all the drainage passes off by No. 12 opening.
The seams at present worked are Nos. 10, 9 and 8. In No. 10 work is
chiefly confined to robbing back pillars in its counter gangway, employing
6 men. The east gangway in No. 9 is open 650 yards, at which point the
seam is reduced to nothing. At this point a cross-cut is driven to No. 8,
and a gangway driven east 300 yards further to where a second cross-cut is
driven again into No. 9 to test the existence of the coal seam, and opened
a gangway on the west backward 40 yards, while the east gangway is open
100 yards, with a slant gangway open in each, some 20 yards in length, to
prove the seams.
A slant gangway is driven up over the first cross-cut in No. 9 seam, running
east 200 yards, when 3 breasts are working, employing 16 men. No.