Markham Colliery shaft accident, 1973

A descending cage carrying miners at Markham Colliery's No.3 shaft failed to slow before reaching the pit bottom on 30 July 1973, after a fatigue-cracked brake rod fractured; 18 men were killed and 11 seriously injured.

Cause

A 2-inch diameter steel brake rod (En8 carbon steel) in the winding engine's braking system fractured when a slowly growing fatigue crack reached a critical size. Strain-gauge testing after the accident showed the rod had been subject to unexpected bending stresses during normal operation, not just the tensile stress it was designed for; although its safety factor for tensile stress alone was 6.1, the added alternating bending loads made failure effectively inevitable over time. Worn bearing pads, caused by poor lubrication, also contributed.

Contributing factors

The rod's fracture surface showed multiple secondary cracks around the main break, consistent with a slow-developing fatigue failure rather than a sudden overload.

What happened

The winding engine operator noticed sparks under the brake cylinder as the cage descended and began to decelerate; when he increased regenerative braking and pulled the brake lever there was no response, and pressing the emergency stop had no effect either. The cage, full of miners, plunged into the wooden landing at the shaft bottom.

Investigation & inquiry

A six-day inquiry was held at Chesterfield Town Hall in October 1973. It found metal fatigue failure in the brake rod, compounded by unforeseen bending stresses the rod's design had not accounted for, to be the cause.

Changes to practice & legislation

A National Committee for Safety of Manriding in Shafts was established, holding its first meeting on 3 December 1973 and producing multiple safety reports; the National Coal Board subsequently examined and modified braking systems across all its mine winders nationally.

Memorials & commemoration

Commemorated, alongside the colliery's 1937 and 1938 disasters, by the 'Walking Together' memorial trail of 106 steel figures, sited near the former No.3 shaft where this accident happened (see the mine's own record).

Recorded claims

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

• A steel brake rod fractured after a slowly growing fatigue crack reached critical size, its failure hastened by unexpected bending stresses beyond what its tensile-stress design had accounted for, plus worn bearing pads from poor lubrication. ¹
• 18 miners were killed (13 instantly, 5 of their injuries) and 11 seriously injured when the cage plunged into the shaft-bottom landing. ¹
• A National Committee for Safety of Manriding in Shafts was established in the disaster's aftermath, and the National Coal Board examined and modified braking systems across all its mine winders nationally. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “A descending cage carrying miners at Markham Colliery's No.3 shaft failed to slow…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A descending cage carrying miners at Markham Colliery's No.3 shaft failed to slow before reaching the pit bottom on 30…”
• National Coal Board (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s changes to practice: “…on 3 December 1973 and producing multiple safety reports; the National Coal Board subsequently examined and modified braking systems across all its…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “A descending cage carrying miners at Markham Colliery's No.3 shaft failed to slow before reaching the pit bottom on 30 July 1973, after…”
• Winding Engine (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “A 2-inch diameter steel brake rod (En8 carbon steel) in the winding engine's braking system fractured when a slowly growing fatigue crack…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Markham Colliery disaster — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) 1973 - Official Report into the Disaster — The Story Mine
3. (secondary) Markham Colliery Shaft Accident - Chesterfield - 1973 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 27 August 2026 · Last researched: 27 August 2026