STANFORD MERTHYR. COLLIERY. 339 



all the time sucked air in at the fan drift. An attempt was 

 made to cut oft the supply of air to the flames by blocking the 

 "little tunnel." This was done by putting in a temporary stop- 

 ping of. tongued and grooved boards fixed against posts, while 

 a brick stopping was being built. This reduced the force of 

 the names, but the dispelled gases made an explosive mixture 

 which blew the stopping out and killed several men, at the 

 same time blowing oif the roof of the air drift. They then 

 stopped the "little tunnel" and the air drift with cartloads of 

 earth, and finally with a brick stopping. Two inch boreholes 

 were sunk to the seat of the fire, down which water was poured. 

 The mine was re-opened on 26th June, or 238 days later, while 

 the colliery reco'nimenced work on the 6th August, 1906. When 

 at first opening up after the fire, the necessary ventilation was 

 effected by three sets of 12in. diameter galvanised iron pipes 

 connected with the fan, which acted as a return air way. The 

 desire was to prevent the access of too much air, for fear of 

 re-heating the coal. The fire coked the coal on the walls, and 

 deposited tar 011 the roof in places. The timber being burnt 

 caused the roof to cave in. 



The mine is unwatered in three lifts. At present a three- 

 throw belt driven vertical Taiigye pump, 6in. by 8in., raises 

 water from the fifth to the fourth level. A three-throw belt 

 driven vertical Gould pump, 6in. by 8in., lifts the water from 

 the fourth to the third level, while a geared horizontal Wor- 

 thington pump, 6 Jin. by 8in., mounted on a trolley, raises the 

 water from the third level to the surface. The Gould purnp 

 does very good work ; each valve has a separate cover, and 

 when a valve gets out of order it is easy to find out which it is 

 without having to undo several bolts. Moreover, it seldom 

 gets out of order. It is driven by a Westinghouse dynamo of 

 39 amp. and 240 volts. This pump has since been removed to 

 another place, and substituted by a AVorthington pump, belt 

 driven from a General Electric Company's shunt wound, con- 

 tinuous current motor of 80 amp., 240 volts, rated at 22 h.p. 

 The pump is a three-throw with 6in. diameter rams by Sin. 

 stroke. It runs at 42 r.p.m. of the crank shaft, and delivers 

 about 6700 gallons per hour, against a pressure of 2101bs. per 

 square inch. 



Evan Thomas' Cambrian lamps are used throughout the 

 mine, in which they burn kerosene. The lamp room is very 

 complete : the cleaning brushes are turned by electricity. Re- 

 volving lamp stands are placed near the window, through 

 which they are handed to the miners, so that the lamp cleaner 

 can reach whichever lamp is required. Each lamp is num- 

 bered and given to the same man every day, so if a lamp is 

 damaged it is easy to trace who is responsible for it. 



