OPENCAST COAL PLANT & EQUIPMENT

This is an informal and now rare 1993 illustrated guide about mechanical development in coal plants. The equipment was introduced in 1942 as an emergency measure to ease a shortfall in deep mined coal supplies. The story begins with Albert Newby Braithwaite was an MP for Buckrose in Yorkshire and director of the well-established construction company, Sir Lindsay Parkinson & Co. It was his efforts that pushed for the equipment to be developed, convincing the government of the viability of this way of recovering much needed additional coal for assisting the war effort. Without the method, the coal would have been unobtainable. This book shares a history of the development through photos with accompanying details. See the rigid dump truck created by the Euclid Road Machinery Company of which the first purpose-built models were designed to replace the traditional rail car system in mines and quarries during the mid-1930s. Learn that it became normal for machines to travel short distances before legal and environmental laws in the run up to the 1960s. Discover the impressive history of Derek Crouch Ltd. including its 25th anniversary in 1969 when they were producing 1.5 million tons of coal annually and the company ran a site area of 800 hectares. The book also notes historical moments for the industry at large, such as noting on 1st May 1973 that residents of Widdrington village faced a sleepless night as a machine called 'Big Georgie' with 56ft by 10ft 'shoes' went 'walkies', crossing the A1068 road at a walking speed of 0.16mph. The reader will also understand the sustainability within the industry as trucks that are no longer economically viable to operate gained a further lease of life by conversion into water bowsers. This is an informative, imaginative explanation into the history of opencast equipment in coal plants. 7.9" x 10.8", colour and black and white images, 80pp.