Carfin Colliery chokedamp accident, 1879

Around midnight on 22 September 1879 chokedamp from the old Jerviston waste flooded the Splint coal workings of No. 1 Pit, Carfin. Three brushers stayed on to finish their work after the fireman warned them; one escaped in the dark, and Dougan and John Strain were suffocated.

Cause

Chokedamp from the old Jerviston waste, which the ventilating current swept past before reaching the faces, and a delay in withdrawing the men when it came on.

What happened

No. 1 was a very old pit, opened 35 years before, with about three acres of Splint coal left to work, bounded on the south by the Jerviston waste. Chokedamp had come out of the waste before, and the men had always got out with their lights still burning. On the evening of the 22nd the night fireman, John Campbell, took five brushers down and set Strain, Sweeney and Dougan to put in buildings at the low slant road. About midnight he felt the damp coming, and he went in to tell Strain to come out at once; Strain said they would come when they had stopped out the building. Campbell left without them. The three worked on for ten minutes; Strain, dressed first, set off alone, and Dougan and Sweeney, hurrying, lost their lights. About a hundred yards on Dougan began to succumb and could go no further; Sweeney left him and got out.

Rescue & recovery

Campbell and the others could not get more than 20 yards back in. It was about 4 a.m. before Campbell sent for the oversman, Allen, who arrived about 5, could get little further, and turned the water pumped by the engine down the pit to strengthen the air current. Within an hour Dougan's body was recovered, and before 8 the workings were clear and Strain's body was found about 200 yards towards the face, where he had turned right instead of left on reaching the main road.

Investigation & inquiry

The inspector of mines called it a very simple accident: if Campbell had made the men come out at once all might have been saved. He also held that the ventilation was not in terms of the First General Rule, since the air should not have passed the men after sweeping the edge of the waste, though putting that right would have been costly; he was told the workings were to be abandoned.

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 inspector's report gives the dead as Neil Dougan, 55, and John Strain, 40. (disputed) ¹
• The Durham Mining Museum list gives them as Cornelius Dougan, 55, and John Strain, 54. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Around midnight on 22-23 September 1879 two brushers, Dougan and John Strain, were suffocated by chokedamp in the Splint coal workings of No. 1 Pit, Carfin Colliery. ^1,2
• The workings were bounded for 140 yards by the old Jerviston waste, which gave off chokedamp, especially on a sudden fall of the barometer. ¹
• The night fireman told the men to come out when the damp came on, but they stayed to finish a building, and in the dark one died near the screens and the other took a wrong turning. ¹
• The inspector's report gives the dead as Neil Dougan, 55, and John Strain, 40. (disputed) ¹
• The Durham Mining Museum list gives them as Cornelius Dougan, 55, and John Strain, 54. (disputed) ²
• The colliery belonged to William Dixon Ltd. ¹

Related terminology

Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.

• Chokedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “Around midnight on 22 September 1879 chokedamp from the old Jerviston waste flooded the Splint coal workings of No.…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…Pit, Carfin. Three brushers stayed on to finish their work after the fireman warned them; one escaped in the dark, and Dougan and John Strain…”
• Old Workings (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “Around midnight on 22 September 1879 chokedamp from the old Jerviston waste flooded the Splint coal workings of No. 1 Pit, Carfin. Three…”
• Ripping (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…waste flooded the Splint coal workings of No. 1 Pit, Carfin. Three brushers stayed on to finish their work after the fireman warned them; one…”
• Slant (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…and set Strain, Sweeney and Dougan to put in buildings at the low slant road. About midnight he felt the damp coming, and he went in to tell…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Fatal accidents in Scottish mines, 1879 — Scottish Mining Website
2. (primary) Carfin Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 21 October 2026 · Last researched: 21 October 2026