Wigan Album
Mining
6 CommentsPhoto: RON HUNT
Item #: 24374
What an incredible photo, thanks for posting Ron
How did they get that up the shaft?
Slung from chains under the pit cage.
Wonder where it is now.
It went to the 1893 Chicago Trade Exhibition.
Extract from a web site
"1893 March 30th. Colliery Guardian. An enormous cob of Cannel coal weighing over twelve tons from the Abram Collieries Wigan has been shipped to Boston for exhibition at Chicago. In getting this cob of coal to the surface, many men have been employed, and it took nine months to hew it out of the seam. When raised the cob was cased in planks. The weight of the cob and case being 13 tons 11 cwt. "
I have read somewhere more about this lump of coal, the name of the ship that took it to the USA etc. I can't recall which web site this info was on.