MineArchiveBalbardie Colliery runaway carriage, 1866
On the night of Saturday 12 May 1866 two girls who had brought supper to their relatives at No. 1 pit, Balbardie Colliery, near Bathgate, persuaded the men to let them ride down the dook to see the workings. The rope of the carriage had run slack; when it tightened it broke, and the carriage ran away down the incline and overturned. Ann Baxter died almost at once and Catherine Leech soon after; her uncle was gravely injured.
| Date | 1866 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Balbardie Colliery |
| Region | West Lothian |
| Type | Haulage / Transport |
| Fatalities | 2 (2: Ann Baxter, killed almost at once, and Catherine Leech (Leitch in the Edinburgh report), who died of a fractured skull; about sixteen each in the Glasgow report, eighteen and seventeen in the Edinburgh one. The first Edinburgh report gave one or two dead.) |
| Injuries | Their uncle, Alexander Leech, four ribs broken and a severe cut to the right foot; little hope was held for his recovery. |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
More than 30 feet of rope was wound off the drum before the carriage moved; when it ran, the rope broke under the sudden check, and the carriage fell some 50 fathoms down the dook and overturned.
Contributing factors
The girls rode against the rules: the proprietor, Robert Stewart of Murdiston, had special rules posted at the works forbidding strangers to go down the pits, and an order prohibited anyone from riding on a boggie in the pit.
What happened
About eight in the evening the two girls went to the pit with the suppers of Alexander Leech and two of the Leech girl's brothers, who were extending the dook, an incline of 1 in 3 about 200 yards long from the pit bottom. At the bottom they asked to go down to see the workings; the men objected but gave way. The girls and their uncle got into the carriage, or boggie, and the signal was sent to the engineman at the pithead.
The brothers ran down the incline and found Alexander Leech insensible under the overturned boggie, Baxter dead or dying beside him, and the Leech girl twenty yards further down with a fractured skull and collar bone. Only nine months earlier she had lost her right arm working at a brickwork.
Rescue & recovery
Dr Longmuir, surgeon of the works, went down the pit at once; Baxter had been brought up the dook already dead.
What's uncertain
Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.
- The girls were each about sixteen. (disputed) 1
- Baxter was eighteen and Leitch seventeen. (disputed) 3
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- On the night of Saturday 12 May 1866 two girls, Ann Baxter and Catherine Leech, were killed when the carriage carrying them down the dook of No. 1 pit, Balbardie Colliery, near Bathgate, ran away and overturned. 1,2
- Slack rope had been run off the drum before the carriage moved; when it went, the check as the rope tightened broke it, and the carriage ran down the incline and overturned. 1,3,2
- The girls had brought the suppers of an uncle and two brothers of the Leech girl, and insisted on going down to see the workings although the men objected. 1,2
- Their uncle, Alexander Leech, who rode with them, was gravely injured, with four ribs broken. 1,3
- Rules at the works prohibited strangers from going down the pits and anyone from riding on a boggie. 1,3
- The girls were each about sixteen. (disputed) 1
- Baxter was eighteen and Leitch seventeen. (disputed) 3
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Colliery (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s summary: “…who had brought supper to their relatives at No. 1 pit, Balbardie Colliery, near Bathgate, persuaded the men to let them ride down the dook to…” - Dook (contextual relationship)
Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Colliery, near Bathgate, persuaded the men to let them ride down the dook to see the workings. The rope of the carriage had run slack; when it…” - Fathom (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s cause: “…the rope broke under the sudden check, and the carriage fell some 50 fathoms down the dook and overturned.” - Incline (contextual relationship)
Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…when it tightened it broke, and the carriage ran away down the incline and overturned. Ann Baxter died almost at once and Catherine Leech…” - Pithead (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s narrative: “…carriage, or boggie, and the signal was sent to the engineman at the pithead. The brothers ran down the incline and found Alexander Leech…”
Sources
- (secondary) Accidents 1855-1870 — Scottish Mining Website
- (primary) Welsh Newspapers: Monmouthshire Merlin, 19 May 1866, 'Melancholy accident' (from the Scotsman) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
- (secondary) Scottish Shale: Balbardie No.1 pit — Scottish Shale (Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry)
Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026