MineArchiveFforchaman Colliery runaway drams
Two boys of fifteen were walking out of Fforchaman behind a train of loaded wagons on the night of Tuesday 20 October 1885 when one of the coupling chains gave way. The train ran wild and struck them, killing both on the spot.
| Date | 20 October 1885 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Fforchaman Colliery |
| Region | Rhondda Cynon Taf |
| Type | Haulage / Transport |
| Fatalities | 2 (Two boys of fifteen: Gwilym Williams and a second boy named as John Jones or John Thomas.) |
| Context | During active mining |
Location
Plotted at Fforchaman Colliery. Recorded location. The large pin is the mine; the small round markers are the nearest mines on record. Click one for its page. View on full map
Cause
A coupling chain on a train of loaded wagons gave way, letting the train run back onto the boys walking behind it.
What happened
The Liverpool Mercury of 22 October 1885 reported the accident of the Tuesday night: two boys aged fifteen were on their way out of the pit, walking in the rear of a train of loaded wagons, when one of the coupling chains gave way, causing the train to run wild and dash into them. They were killed on the spot. The paper added that the mother of one of them had lost her husband in a similar manner a few years before.
The South Wales Daily News put it at about five on the Tuesday evening, after the boys had finished work, and named them as Gwilym Williams, 15, of Aberaman, and John Thomas of Cardiff Road, Aberaman, an orphan taken from the workhouse some years before by the people he lived with. The Weekly Mail told it differently: on the Monday a journey of twenty laden trams was going up an incline when the rope broke, and the trams were thrown off the road by the manhook, crushing John Jones, 15, of Cardiff Road, and Gwilym Williams, 15, of David Street, Aberaman, who were walking home beside the line.
What's uncertain
Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.
- Both accounts name Gwilym Williams, 15. Welsh Coal Mines gives the second boy as John Jones, 15, and so does the Northern Mine Research Society's own list of fatalities at the pit, which records Gwilym Williams crushed by trams and John Jones run over by trams on the same day. The Liverpool Mercury report the society quotes calls him John Thomas. (disputed) 1,2
- At about five on the Tuesday evening two boys walking out behind a journey of loaded trams were killed when a coupling chain gave way; one, John Thomas, was an orphan. (disputed) 3
- On the Monday the rope of a journey of twenty laden trams going up an incline broke, and the trams were thrown off the road by the manhook onto John Jones and Gwilym Williams. (disputed) 4
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Both accounts name Gwilym Williams, 15. Welsh Coal Mines gives the second boy as John Jones, 15, and so does the Northern Mine Research Society's own list of fatalities at the pit, which records Gwilym Williams crushed by trams and John Jones run over by trams on the same day. The Liverpool Mercury report the society quotes calls him John Thomas. (disputed) 1,2
- The Liverpool Mercury reported that the mother of the boy Williams had lost her husband in a similar manner a few years earlier. 2
- At about five on the Tuesday evening two boys walking out behind a journey of loaded trams were killed when a coupling chain gave way; one, John Thomas, was an orphan. (disputed) 3
- On the Monday the rope of a journey of twenty laden trams going up an incline broke, and the trams were thrown off the road by the manhook onto John Jones and Gwilym Williams. (disputed) 4
- Gwilym Williams, 15, of Aberaman, was one of the two boys killed. 3,4
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Incline (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s narrative: “…on the Monday a journey of twenty laden trams was going up an incline when the rope broke, and the trams were thrown off the road by the…” - Journey (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s narrative: “…he lived with. The Weekly Mail told it differently: on the Monday a journey of twenty laden trams was going up an incline when the rope broke,…” - Tub (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…Mail told it differently: on the Monday a journey of twenty laden trams was going up an incline when the rope broke, and the trams were…”
Photographs & further reading
This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.
The society's page on the colliery, quoting the Liverpool Mercury's report of the accident and listing both boys among the pit's fatalities. Reached through the Internet Archive because the live site redirects deep links to its home page.
View sourceThe colliery history, giving the date of the accident and naming both boys and their ages.
View sourceSources
- (secondary) Fforchaman Colliery, Cwmaman — Welsh Coal Mines
- (secondary) Fforchaman Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society, via the Internet Archive
- (primary) Two boys killed at Fforchaman Colliery, 21 October 1885 — South Wales Daily News (Welsh Newspapers Online, National Library of Wales)
- (primary) Shocking colliery accident at Cwmaman, 24 October 1885 — Weekly Mail (Welsh Newspapers Online, National Library of Wales)
Record created: 11 September 2026 · Last researched: 3 November 2026