Down the Main Coal
by Ronald Beal

I started at Dean and Chapter pit when I was 15 years old. The first job that I did was to work on bank on the screens. This was sorting out the coal and the stone as it was moved on a belt conveyor – this is an endless moving belt. I worked on the screens for two years before I was allowed to go down the mine to work.

When I went down the mine to work, I started in a landing and I use to work with a pony. My job was to pull tubs along to make a set to go inbye for the miners to fill with coal. When the tubs were filled with coal and sent back outbye into the landing I had to pull the tubs with the pony out to the shaft to be drawn up the shaft in the cage to the surface. Empty tubs were sent back down from the surface in the cage, which I had to pull back into the landing with the pony. Depending upon the height of the landing you worked in, you were given a pony large enough to do your job.

I did this job for about two years after which I had to train inbye to learn to be a putter to produce coal and was able to earn a bit more money for myself. Being able to work with the pony I soon learnt to be a putter to produce coal.

The ponies that I worked with were small Shetland ponies up to 15 hands high. Some of the ponies were black, brown, light chestnut and grey in colour. Some of the ponies were good workers and some not so good.

I worked with two ponies on alternative weeks both were grey in colour. One was called Ross and the other Bugler. Both were good workers, but I favoured Ross of the two I worked with.