On 6 January 1881 two boys were killed at Eppleton Colliery,

On 6 January 1881 two boys were killed at Eppleton Colliery, near Hetton-le-Hole in County Durham, when the full tubs they were riding jumped the rails and up-ended on them.

Cause

The boys rode a set of full tubs too fast into the dipping engine landing; the pony stumbled or the tubs left the rails, and the leading tubs up-ended on them.

What happened

William Scott, a driver of 14, brought a set of full tubs out to the east engine landing and, instead of leaving them for John Batey, the landing boy of 16, to draw up with a trace-pony, both boys rode the tubs. It was supposed they drove fast along the slightly dipping landing to carry the rise to the engine set when the pony stumbled or the tubs jumped the rails. Both boys were found dead, a pony's leg broken and the first two tubs up-ended with their wheels together; no one saw exactly how it happened, and everything seemed to have been in proper order.

Sources

1. (primary) Eppleton Colliery haulage accident, 6 January 1881 (from the 1881 Mines Inspector's Report, C 3241) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Durham Mining Museum: Eppleton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 22 September 2026 · Last researched: 22 September 2026