Cramlington Colliery runaway tubs accident, 1888

On 6 January 1888 a set of tubs ran away on a self-acting incline at Cramlington Colliery, Northumberland, and caught a fifteen-year-old water leader, Thomas Floyd, and a hewer, Samuel Hawke, who died nine days later.

Cause

A set of tubs ran away on a self-acting incline.

What happened

Cramlington Colliery, north of Newcastle, was then worked by the Cramlington Coal Company. On 6 January 1888 a set of tubs broke away on a self-acting incline and caught two men in its path: Thomas Floyd, a water leader of 15, who was killed, and Samuel Hawke, a hewer of 22, who died of his injuries on 15 January.

Recorded claims

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

• On 6 January 1888 a set of runaway tubs on a self-acting incline at the Cramlington Coal Company's colliery caught Thomas Floyd (15), a water leader, and Samuel Hawke (22), a hewer. ^1,2,3
• Floyd was killed; Hawke died of his injuries on 15 January 1888. ²
• The tubs ran away on a self-acting incline. ^1,2,3

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…1888 a set of tubs ran away on a self-acting incline at Cramlington Colliery, Northumberland, and caught a fifteen-year-old water leader, Thomas…”
• Hewer (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…and caught a fifteen-year-old water leader, Thomas Floyd, and a hewer, Samuel Hawke, who died nine days later.”
• Incline (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 6 January 1888 a set of tubs ran away on a self-acting incline at Cramlington Colliery, Northumberland, and caught a…”
• Tub (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 6 January 1888 a set of tubs ran away on a self-acting incline at Cramlington Colliery,…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) 1880s H (3): Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
2. (primary) Colliery Accident 1888: Cramlington, 6 January 1888 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Mining victims, 1880s, F (Floyd) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)

Record created: 1 October 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026