Newliston No. 29 Mine

Overview

Young's Paraffin Light and Mineral Oil Company's shale mine under the Newliston estate near Broxburn, opened in 1884 into a rich ten- to twelve-foot Dunnet shale and served by its own branch railway. In April 1919 a fire in its upper level killed three rescue-brigade men; reopened in the 1920s, it was abandoned in 1937.

History

Young's Paraffin Light and Mineral Oil Company acquired the Uphall, Newliston and Kilpunt works in 1884 to secure the Newliston shale, 10 to 12 feet thick and rich in scale and ammonia, which it could work for 3s 6d a ton against 5s 9d at Addiewell. Opening the mine, its men struck an old river-bed of gravel and running sand, but by mid-1885 the electrically lit mine was raising 300 tons a day, with plant for 600.

The adit emerged south of the Broxburn to Newbridge road, where hutches were hauled onto a staging and tipped into railway wagons; a service pit some 250 yards north-west reached the seam by shaft. On 15 April 1919 fire broke out in the upper level and 150 men were idled; rescue brigades fought it for two days, and on 18 April three of their men were overcome by carbon monoxide despite their apparatus (see Disasters, below). The mine was sealed and damped down.

Scottish Oils reopened Newliston in 1923, installing electric haulage and sinking a new air shaft by 1925. Its Dunnet shale workings were abandoned in 1937.

Geology

The Dunnet shale, 10 to 12 feet thick and unusually rich in scale and ammonia, under the Newliston estate; an old river-bed of gravel and running sand was met in opening the mine.

Workings

An inclined adit with hutches hauled onto an elevated staging over standard-gauge wagons, and a service pit about 250 yards north-west giving a vertical shaft to the seam; a new air shaft and an electric haulage engine at the top of the slope dook were added in 1923-25. Underground links were made to the Broxburn Oil Company's Dunnet mine.

Closure

Abandoned in 1937. After the 1919 fire the mine was sealed and damped down and the men transferred to Ingliston; it was reopened in 1923.

What remains

The mine site is irregular pasture with some foundations, including brick under-building perhaps of the haulage engine house; the service-pit site has been cleared and returned to farmland.

Brick foundations and the course of the branch railway.

Redevelopment

Returned to pasture and farmland.

Disasters & major incidents

• Newliston Mine fire, 1919
  18 April 1919 · Fire · 3 fatalities
  Fire broke out in the upper level of Young's Newliston shale mine near Broxburn on Tuesday 15 April 1919. When local efforts failed, rescue brigades from Bathgate and Coatbridge fought it for two days. Early on 18 April, working round by a circuitous road to open an air course, the teams met carbon monoxide far from the fire; their masks failed, and three young rescue men died.

Recorded claims

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

• Young's acquired the Newliston works and shale in 1884; the seam was 10 to 12 feet thick. ¹
• In 1885 the mine raised about 300 tons a day, with plant for 600. ¹
• Three rescue-brigade men died of carbon monoxide fighting a fire in Newliston mine on 18 April 1919. ^2,3,4
• About 150 men were idled by the 1919 fire. ²
• The mine was being reopened in 1923, with a new air shaft reaching the seam by 1925. ¹
• Its Dunnet shale workings were abandoned in 1937. ^1,5

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Scottish Shale: Newliston No.29 mine — Scottish Shale (Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry)
2. (secondary) Scottish Mining Website: Lothians accidents 1915-1920 — Scottish Mining Website
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Newliston Mine, 1919 (Brodie) — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Newliston Mine, 1919 (Laird) — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Newliston No. 29, Dunnet, abandoned 1937 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 13 October 2026 · Last researched: 13 October 2026