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UNIVERSITV OF \n-LINOIS BULLETIN
Vol. XIX
ISSUED WEEKLY
July 31, 1922
No. 49
[Entered as second-class matter December 11, 1912, at the post office at Urbana, Illinois, under
the act of August 24, 1912. Acceptance for mailing at the special rate of postage provided
for in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized July 31, 1918.]
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE
IN ILLINOIS
BY
H. H. STOEK
J. R. FLEMING
A. J. HOSKIN
LIB:
.' OF CAliFO
ILLINOIS COAL MINING INVESTIGATIONS COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT
(THIS REPORT WAS PREPARED UNDER A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE
ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS,
THE ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, AND
THE U. S. BUREAU OF MINES)
No. 132
ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, URBANA
r I MIE Engineering Experiment Station was established by act of
the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois on Decem-
ber 8, 1903. It is the purpose of the Station to conduct
investigations and make studies of importance to the engineering,
manufacturing, railway, mining, and other industrial interests of the
State.
The management of the Engineering Experiment Station is vested
in an Executive Staff composed of the Director and his Assistant, the
Heads of the several Departments in the College of Engineering, and
the Professor of Industrial Chemistry. This Staff is responsible for
the establishment of general policies governing the work of the Station,
including the approval of material for publication. All members of
the teaching staff of the College are encouraged to engage in scientific
research, either directly or in cooperation with the Research Corps
composed of full-time research assistants, research graduate assistants,
and special investigators.
The volume and number at the top of the front cover page are
merely arbitrary numbers and refer to the general publications of
the University of Illinois; either above the title or below the seal is
given the number of the Engineering Experiment Station bulletin
or circular ivhich should be used in referring to these publications.
The present bulletin is issued under a cooperative agreement
between the Engineering Experiment Station of the University of
Illinois, the State Geological Survey, and the United States Bureau
of Mines. The reports of this cooperative investigation are issued
in the form of bulletins by the Engineering Experiment Station, the
State Geological Survey and the United States Bureau of Mines.
For bulletins issued by the Engineering Experiment Station, address
Engineering Experiment Station, Urbana, Illinois; for those issued
by the State Geological Survey, address State Geological Survey,
Urbana, Illinois; and for those issued by the United States Bureau
of Mines, address the Director, United States Bureau of Mines,
Washington, D. C.
JJBfiAflY .
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
BULLETIN No. 132 JULY, 1922
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE
IN ILLINOIS
BY
H. H. STOEK
PROFESSOR OF MINING ENGINEERING
J. R. FLEMING
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE IN MINING ENGINEERING
A. J. HOSKIN
RESEARCH ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MINING ENGINEERING
ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, URBANA
TAi
CONTENTS
PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION 9
1. Scope of Present Discussion 9
2. Acknowledgments 10
II. EVOLUTION OF MINE HAULAGE . 12
3. Early Practices 12
4. Hand Tramming 15
5. Animal Haulage 15
6. Mechanical Haulage 16
Rope Haulage 16
Locomotive Haulage 17
7. Mine Haulage in Illinois 33
III. THE SHAFT BOTTOM . 37
8. General Importance 37
9. Delivering Cars to Shaft-Bottom 38
10. Storage Space for Loads and Empties .... 39
11. Handling Cars on Shaft Bottom 41
Delivery of Cars to Cager 41
Caging . 47
Removal of Empty Cars 47
12. Handling Men on Shaft Bottom 47
13. Handling Supplies, Equipment, and Refuse . . 48
14. Handling Sump Coal 49
15. Arrangement of Offices, Stables, Shops, and
Supply Rooms 49
16. Shaft-Bottom Support 53
17. Typical Shaft-Bottom Plans 56
18. Shaft-Bottom Delays 64
19. Shaft Bottoms for Skip Hoisting 66
3
788
4 CONTENTS (CONTINUED)
PAGE
IV. MAIN LINE AND GATHERING HAULAGE 70
20. General Considerations 70
21. Location of Partings . . 71
22. Procedure of Gathering 74
Gathering by Locomotives 74
Gathering by Mules 78
23. Performance of Main-Line Locomotives .... 79
24. Performance of Gathering Locomotives .... 88
25. Details of Haulage Performance in Typical Illinois
Mines 89
26. Mine Cars 97
Car Body .97
Truck 98
Wheel Base 99
Wheels 99
Bumpers and Couplings 99
Capacity of Mine Cars . 100
Number of Cars Required 100
Standardization 102
Repairs 103
27. Track Construction 103
Gauge ' 103
Rails 104
Ties .104
Switches 105
V. UNDERGROUND HAULAGE COSTS 107
28. Cost Accounting 107
29. Standardizing Cost Accounts 107
Generation and Transmission of Power . . .108
Care and Maintenance of Equipment . . . 108
Conducting Transportation 109
Maintenance of Way 109
30. Itemized Haulage Costs for Typical Large Illinois
Mines . 110
CONTENTS (CONTINUED) 5
PAGE
VI. HAULAGE ACCIDENTS . . -> . 120
31. Haulage Fatality Statistics 120
32. Haulage Accidents in Illinois 121
33. Comparative Hazards in Locomotive and Animal
Haulage . ........ . . . . . . . . 130
34. Accident Prevention Measures 132
35. Safety Eules for Underground Haulage .... 133
LIST OF FIGURES
NO. PAGE
1. Wheel Buggy in Kansas Coal Mine 13
2. First Electric Mine Locomotive in United States .21
3. First Electric Locomotive in Illinois Mines 22
4. Early Type Locomotive Used at Centralia, Illinois, in 1899 . . . 23
5. Types of Sprags . • 43
6. Center -track Pusher Locomotive .44
7. Automatic Caging Device and Use of Sprag ..... 45
8. Car Lift .46
9. Underground Stable ........ .... 51
30. Underground Supply Room . 52
11. Types of Permanent Shaft -Bottom Supports 55
12. Map of Shaft Bottom— Mine A . . . . '. . , -57
13. Map of Shaft Bottom — Mine B . . 58
14. Map of Shaft Bottom— Mine C . . . -59
15. Map of Shaft Bottom— Mine D ..'.'. .60
16. Map of Shaft Bottom — Mine E ........ . . 61
17. Map of Shaft Bottom— Mine I ...... 62
18. Map of Shaft Bottom — Mine J . . . . ...... 63
19. Graph of Shaft-Bottom Operations . 65
20. Map of Shaft Bottom for Skip Hoisting . 66
21. Vertical Cross Section — Skip-Hoisting Shaft . 68
22. Typical Plan of Mine Partings 74
23. Diagonal Connections Between Entries . . 75
24. Methods of Gathering by Locomotives . 76
25. Haulage Diagram — Mine A 90
26. Haulage Diagram — Mine D . . . . . '. -94
27. Graph of Illinois Coal Mine Fatalities ........ .123
28. Graph of Illinois Coal Mine Haulage Fatalities ... -125
29. Graph Showing Percentages of Fatalities by Occupations . . 127
LIST OF TABLES
NO. PAGE
1. Kinds of Haulage in Illinois Shipping Mines 34
2. Locomotive and Mule Haulage in 1921 35
3. Shaft-Bottom Data, Including Labor Costs 40
4. Main Line Haulage in Eight Typical Large Illinois Coal Mines . . 72-73
5. Main Line Haulage for Eighteen Mines 80-81
6. Performance of Five 15-Ton Main-Line Locomotives in a Large Illinois
Mine for One Shift 82-83
7. Gathering Haulage in Eight Typical Large Illinois Coal Mines . . 84-85
8. Gathering Haulage in Seventeen Typical Illinois Coal Mines . . . 85-87
9. Haulage — Mine A 91
10. Gathering Haulage — Mine D , . . .95
11. Main-Line Haulage — Mine D 96
12. Haulage Costs at Twelve Eepresentative Illinois Coal Mines . . 111-113
13. Haulage Costs at Five Mines of Common Ownership 114
14. Haulage Costs at Two Illinois Coal Mines 118
15. Haulage Labor Costs at Four Large Illinois Coal Mines 119
16. Coal Mine Fatalities Due to Haulage 120
17. United States Coal Mine Fatalities Due to Haulage — Classified as to
Causes 121
18. Causal Analysis of Haulage Fatalities in Illinois 122
19. Eelation between Coal Production and Haulage Fatalities in Illinois . 124
20. Haulage Fatalities in Illinois — Classified by Occupations 126
21. Eelation of Haulage Fatalities to Production 127
22. Fatalities in Coal Mining, Franklin County, Illinois 128
23. Non-Fatal Accidents for Group of Illinois Mines, for Year 1919 . . 129
24. Underground Haulage Fatalities in Bituminous Mines of Pennsylvania
and Illinois 130
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
I. INTRODUCTION
1. Scope of Present Discussion. — Very few, even of those con-
nected with the coal mining industry, appreciate fully the importance
and extent of the underground haulage problems in a modern coal
mine. The transition from mule haulage to modern electric locomotive
haulage has been so rapid that there has not been time for most of
those engaged in operating mines to study haulage practice in detail
as has been done in connection with surface railroads; for example,
in the tabulation of the ton-miles performance per locomotive per day,
and similar statistical information. When one considers that at a
large mine in Illinois 6000 or more tons of coal per day are hoisted
in 5-ton capacity cars and that 1200 or more cars per day, or 150
per hour, must therefore be gathered from different parts of the mine,
concentrated at the shaft bottom, loaded upon the cage over only two
tracks, hoisted to the surface, lowered to the shaft bottom, and again
distributed to remote parts of the mine, one realizes that here is a
condition demanding thought and study if the most effective operation
is to be secured from expensive equipment.
The coal mines of Illinois afford an unusually favorable oppor-
tunity for a study of the haulage problem, for not only are they the
largest in point of output of any coal mines in the world, but there
are few if any other coal fields of equal size where the operating con-
ditions are so uniform. Beginning with primitive methods and
equipment, the coal industry in the state has grown steadily until
Illinois ranks third in coal production in the United States. The
owners of the mines have not only kept pace with those of other
regions, but they have in many instances been pioneers in installing
improved equipment such as car lifts, self-dumping cages, and im-
provements about the shaft bottom.
An effort has been made in the present bulletin to trace briefly
the development and history of mine haulage in general and in
Illinois in particular. Mine haulage practice and costs have been
considered under the three natural phases of shaft-bottom activities,
main-line haulage, and gathering ; while particular attention is called
to Tables 4, 5, 7, and 8 which give the results of detailed studies in
10 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
a number of the large producing mines of the state, that is, those with
3000 to 6000 tons per day output. These mines were studied in
considerable detail and the results as presented in tables and graphs
show that there is a wide diversity in the results obtained in mines
of like capacity, with similar equipment, and operating under similar
natural conditions. The tables suggest that a more detailed study
of operating conditions in a number of mines of the state would pro-
duce a greater efficiency in operation even with the equipment already
installed. This applies not only to the mechanical results obtained,
as measured by performance in ton-miles etc., but also to the varia-
tions in costs for mines similarly equipped.
Approximately one-seventh of all coal mining employees are
engaged in underground haulage duties, classified under 46 different
occupations on the account books of different companies. In the
present discussion of the subject, however, haulage is assumed to
stop when the car is placed on the cage to be hoisted, thus excluding
hoisting, although in the matter of cost it is not always possible to
separate the hoisting cost from the haulage. In such cases, however,
the hoisting cost is relatively small and does not materially affect the
total haulage cost. Owing to the diverse accounting systems employed
by different companies it is difficult to obtain comparative data for
different mines, although the owners of the mines and the local super-
intendents have been most obliging in extending privileges for inves-
tigating haulage operations and in supplying information relative to
operating costs.
Every study of an industrial problem should include a con-
sideration of the accidents connected with the industry; therefore
some discussion of accidents in mine haulage, based upon the statistics
given in the Coal Reports of the Illinois Department of Mines and
Minerals, is included in this bulletin. An analysis of these statistics
has been made in the effort to show the relation between coal pro-
duction, number of employees, and the number of fatalities due to
haulage operations among various classes of mine employees.
2. Acknowledgments. — This bulletin is the outgrowth of a study
of Mine Haulage undertaken as a research problem under the direction
of the Engineering Experiment Station of the University of Illinois
by A. C. CALLEN* while Associate in Mining Engineering at the
* Now Professor of Mining Engineering, University of West Virginia.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 11
University. He prepared much of the historical material and some of
the statistics for accidents that occurred prior to 1917.
Upon the resignation of Mr. Callen the study was continued
under the Cooperative Coal Mining Agreement between the Engineer-
ing Experiment Station, University of Illinois, the United States
Bureau of Mines, and the Illinois State Geological Survey.
The field studies of haulage operation were carried on mainly by
J. R. FLEMING, who, together with A. J. HOSKIN, prepared the tables
and graphs giving the results of these field studies. Mr. Fleming also
supplemented the studies of accidents made by Mr. Callen. Final
arrangement, checking, and editing of the manuscript was done by
A. J. HOSKIN and H. H. STOEK.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the hearty cooperation of
the owners and operating officials of many of the mines in the state
in giving assistance, not only through replies to requests for informa-
tion by mail, but also in carrying on the studies in the mines and in
permitting free access to the books of the companies in order to
obtain costs of operation. They are also indebted to J. J. RUTLEDGE,
Superintendent of the Urbana Station of the United States Bureau
of Mines, and F. W. DsWoLF, Chief of the Illinois Geological Survey,
for suggestions during the progress of the investigation, and for their,
careful review of the manuscript.
12 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
II. EVOLUTION OF MINE HAULAGE
3. Early Practices. — The primitive method of transporting ma-
terial from underground mine workings was for men to carry it in
some form of container, as a tray.* Similar methods are still used in
a few places where the natural conditions of the mineral deposit make
them necessary, or where they are economically possible.! The intro-
duction of wooden sleds was an improvement over carrying. Such
sleds, or baskets, provided with runners and usually drawn by boys,
were extensively used in Great Britain in early coal mining, and are
still used in thin seams where the expense of taking down the roof
to obtain necessary head-room for cars is prohibitive.^
The introduction of wheeled vehicles was the next advance step.
By using a wheelbarrow heavier loads could be moved with much
less exertion than by carrying, especially if a plank road was used
instead of the natural mine floor. Although wheelbarrows are still
used in many ore mines, they are seldom found in coal mines.
The four-wheeled truck or car soon replaced the wheelbarrow for
general use. At first, wicker baskets or wooden tubs were loaded at
the face and carried to the haulage road, but soon cars or * ' waggons ' '
were made of such a size that they could be taken to the face. The
"buggies," still used in Kansas longwall mining for transporting the
coal from the advancing face to the road-head where it is transferred
to the regular mine cars, are illustrated in Fig. l.§ This buggy is
run along the longwall face on eight-pound steel rails. The track is
made up in eight-foot sections with a curve section for the road-head,
so that it can be easily handled.
In England the term "tub" is still used for a mine car though
very few real tubs are used. Pushing cars by hand is known as
"putting" in England and as "tramming" or "hand tramming" in
the United States.
* Agricola, "De Re Metallica." Book VI. p. 56, translated by H. Hoover.
A. Pliny (XXXIII, 21).
t Tonge, J. "Principles and Practice of Coal Mining," p. 162, London, 1906.
t Hughes, H. W. "A Text Book of Coal Mining," p. 224, London, 1904.
§ This photograph is furnished through the courtesy of C. N. Fish, general manager of
the Home Riverside Coal Mines Co., Leavenworth, Kansas.
FIG. 1. WHEEL BUGGY IN KANSAS COAL MINE
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 15
1 1 Cast-iron tram plates were introduced in English mines in 1767
and were in turn succeeded by wrought iron rails and steel rails. ' '*
The modern coal-mine car bears little resemblance to the early
''tubs." Samuel Dean, an English mining engineer who has written
extensively on the coal mines of the United States, attributes the
larger output per man in the United States to the larger capacity of
cars used.f
4. Hand Tramming. — Hand tramming, by which is meant the
manual pushing of cars or trucks, was among the earliest systems
of transporting mined material. ^ At present it is used mainly in
coal mines of small capacity wher.e the working face is not far from
the shaft bottom or drift opening, or in places where the height of
entry is too small for animal or mechanical haulage. In some coal
mines miners push the empty cars from a distributing parting to
the working face; in others, though less frequently, loaded cars are
pushed from the face to the parting where they are formed into
trips for animal or mechanical haulage. This system requires suitable
grades and cars of such capacity that they can be moved readily and
easily kept under control. The amount of hand tramming in unionized
mines is generally stipulated in the agreement between the miner and
the operator.
5. Animal Haulage. — Following the enactment of a law pro-
hibiting the employment of women or of children under 10 years of
age, Shetland ponies were introduced in English mines in the year
1843, as substitutes for the putters employed in conveying the coal
from the working face to the main roads. J Where coal seams were
thicker, horses were employed and in England they are still the
favorite animals for underground labor. In the United States mules
are generally preferred to horses as they are quicker and more sure-
footed. Dogs have been used in small Illinois mines for hauling
coal. In one Ohio mine they are said to have been used for over
thirty years. Overman, in his "Metallurgy" published in 1852, says
that the dog-cart was at that time in general use in coal mines of
the western United States and was a most convenient vehicle for
* Foster & Cox, "Ore and Stone Mining," p. 373.
t Trans. Inst. Min. E. Vol. 50, p. 179.
J B. L. Galloway, "Annals of Coal Mining." Vol. 2, p. 344.
16 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
handling coal underground.* Oxen have been used for coal haulage
to a very limited extent.
Mules, horses, and ponies are still widely used in the mines of
the United States. Although sometimes employed in main haulage
their chief use is in gathering cars on short hauls, that is, in taking
the loaded cars from the working face to a parting where the cars are
made into trips for transportation by mechanical means.
6. Mechanical Haulage. — The principal forms of mechanical
haulage now in use are rope haulage and locomotive haulage.
Rope H*aulage
Rope Haulage may be divided into four systems : Engine Planes,
Gravity Planes, Endless Rope, and Main and Tail Rope.
An Engine Plane is an inclined plane up which a load is drawn
by an engine or motor. Such a plane may work "in balance,"
the empty cars descending while the loads are coming up, thus par-
tially balancing the system and reducing the load on the engine;
or the system may work "unbalanced," in which case the engine
simply draws the loaded cars up the plane while the empty cars pull
the rope down again.
The earliest adoption of mechanical haulage underground was
about 1812 or 1813, when George -Stephenson so altered an under-
ground engine at Killingworth colliery, England, as to make it haul
the coal up an inclined plane to the shaft, t Chains were originally
used to haul the cars up. About the year 1841 "the haulage of coal
by ropes was greatly facilitated by the introduction of light, round
iron wire ropes, "t
A Gravity Plane is one of such inclination that the loaded cars
going down the plane pull the empty cars up, the inclination being
usually over 20 per cent. Such planes are used where the coal
must be transferred to a lower level; for example, in mountainous
regions where the mine openings are located at elevations above the
tipple, and inside mines where the coal beds are steeply inclined.
An Endless Rope haulage system has an endless rope that is
operated continuously by a haulage engine at a speed of usually two
to four miles per hour. The cars are attached lo the rope, either
* Col. Eng. Vol. 20, p. 684.
t Galloway, R. L. "Annals of Coal Mining." Vol. 2, p. 340.
$ Galloway, R. L "Annals of Coal Mining." Vol. 2, p. 344.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 17
singly or in groups, by grips or clamps which can be easily fastened
to or unfastened from the rope. 'Two tracks are required, one for the
loads and the other for the empties. The system is used mainly on
short hauls and on steep pitches such as slope openings.
In the Main and Tail Rope system a trip of loaded cars is
pulled by the main rope, a tail rope being fastened to the rear
end of the trip and dragged after it. At the destination the ropes
are uncoupled from the cars and the tail rope is fastened to the front
end of the empty trip while the main rope is fastened to the rear
end. The trip of empty cars is then pulled in by the tail rope and
the main rope dragged after the trip. The speed of operation is
usually 6 to 10 miles per 'hour. The system is used mainly on a
haulage road having undulating grades.
Rope haulage is said to have been introduced in the United
States about 1870.*
Locomotive Haulage
The different types of mine locomotives that have been used are
steam locomotives, compressed-air locomotives, gasoline locomotives,
and electrical locomotives.
The exact date of the first use of steam locomotives in connec-
tion with underground mining in the United States is not definitely
known, but according to B. B. Wilson it was prior to 1870. t
On account of the smoke and other products of combustion, such
locomotives should be restricted in their use to the return air-ways.
At one time they were extensively used in the anthracite region of
Pennsylvania and from 1883 to 1895 in the Pocahontas region of
West Virginia, but they have never been used in Illinois. There are
still a few steam locomotives used in the Pocahontas district at three
or four of the small mines where the tonnage remaining to be mined
does not warrant the expense of a change to electric haulage. J
From 1875 to 1895 may be called the experimental period of
the compressed-air locomotive. Ten or twelve were built during
this twenty-year period and were installed by operators who desired
a haulage system that would eliminate fire risk, be free from the
dangers of electric wires, and be comparatively safe in a gassy
* Mines and Minerals. Vol. 31, p. 71.
t Mines and Minerals. Vol. 31, p. 71.
t Private communication, Lincoln, J. J.
18 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
mine. In construction compressed-air locomotives differ from steam
engines mainly in having, instead of a steam boiler, a large storage
tank which can be charged with air at a pressure of from 600 to
1000 pounds per square inch, and a reducing valve set to supply air
to the cylinders at a constant pressure of 150 pounds. From 1895
to 1908 great improvements in design and manufacture were made,
and several hundred locomotives were furnished to mining companies.
In 1908 the first two-stage compressed-air locomotive was put
upon the market and, in the three years succeeding, over 100 were
built.*
According to the H. K. Porter Company of Pittsburgh, Penn-
sylvania, there were in 1921 no compressed-air locomotives operating
in the coal mines of the Mississippi Valley, but in the mines of
Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia the total number was
about 150.
There are two great advantages of compressed-air locomotives:
first, they are comparatively safe for use in gassy mines, and
second, they require neither trolley wire nor rail bonding.
On the other hand they are bulky, and their radius of operation
is limited by their air-storage capacity. However, in mines having
ample cross-section of the entries this is not serious as tanks of a
capacity sufficient for a run of several miles may be used.
The advantages of a locomotive carrying its own source of power,
such as a gasoline locomotive, are obvious. It was but natural that
an attempt should be made to use the internal-combustion engine
for mining service and, indeed, before the automobile had advanced
much beyond the experimental stage, a gasoline locomotive was tried
out for hauling coal.
Probably the first gasoline mining locomotive made in this country
was furnished in 1898 by W. F. Prouty of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
and Newark, New Jersey, to the St. Bernard Mining Co. for use in the
No. 9 mine at Earlington, Kentucky.! This locomotive was in service
for a year, but was never able to pull a full trip of loaded cars and
was finally scrapped.
It is likely that gasoline locomotives had been in use in Europe
for some years previous to this date. In 1899, in describing the
explosion-proof gasoline motors used in the coal mines of Belgium,
* Mines and Minerals. Vol. 31, p. 365.
t Coal Age. Vol. 5. p 9.
A STUDY OP COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 19
M. J. Kersten said, ' ' It is only quite lately that a locomotive working
with petroleum has been used in fiery mines, ' '* the presumption being
that they had been used for several years in non-gassy mines.
The first gasoline locomotive used in Illinois was probably the
second successful one in this country. It was built by the Sangamon
Coal Co. and put in its mine at Springfield, 1904. This crude machine
pulled a trip of seven to nine mine cars, each weighing, when loaded,
4000 pounds. A few locomotives of this type were built in Chicago
and in St. Louis about 1905 or 1906, but the St. Louis locomotives
were returned to the manufacturers as they cost more for repairs
than the value of the coal they hauled. A few gasoline mine locomo-
tives were made by Fairbanks, Morse & Co. in 1907. f
In 1909 gasoline locomotive's were introduced into the lead mines
of southeastern Missouri where the Desloges Consolidated Co., on
account of its very excellent ventilation, was able to use them with
success.^: The George D. Whitcomb Co. shipped one to the Kolb Coal
Co. of Mascoutah, Illinois, in 1909. This locomotive gave such satis-
faction that several more were ordered by this company. In 1910
it was stated § that there were three hundred of these locomotives in
use in all parts of the world. In 1915 about that number were in use
in the United States.
Although gasoline locomotives have the great advantage of flexi-
bility and cheapness of installation, their use underground has been
restricted because of the possible danger from the exhaust gases and
from the extra mechanical attention necessary to keep them in operat-
ing condition. Their use underground is steadily decreasing ; storage-
battery locomotives are replacing them to a very great extent. Gaso-
line locomotives are restricted in their use to main-line haulage and
in this to return air-ways only.
In 1914 the United States Bureau of Mines conducted an investi-
gation into the vitiation of mine air resulting from the use of gasoline
engines. According to the conclusions of the Bureau,^ the ventilating
current — in order to safely dilute the obnoxious carbon monoxide ex-
hausted from a gasoline locomotive — should be increased to the extent
* Eng. and Min. Jour. Vol. 68, p. 724.
t Illinois Coal Mining Investigations. Bui. 13, p. 179.
t Eng. and Min. Jour. Vol. 84, p. 346.
§ Mines and Minerals. Vol. 81, p 30.
U Hood and Kudlich, U. S. Bureau of Mines. Bui. 74. Gasoline Mine Locomotives in
Relation to Safety and Health, p. 7.
20 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
of from 2610 to 35 140 cubic feet per minute, this additional volume of
air depending upon the size of the engine and the thoroughness of the
carburation. These figures are based upon the dilution of the poison-
ous gas to one part in 1000 parts of air, this quality of atmosphere
being safe for men and animals to breathe for "short and infrequent
intervals" only. For continued conditions the dilution should be to
not more than one part of the engine's exhaust in 2000 parts of fresh
air. It will be seen that this feature of gasoline locomotives is a serious
objection to their use underground even upon return air-ways. In
the attempt to restrict the pollution of the mine air experiments have
been made with passing the engine exhaust through chemical solutions
but the results were unsatisfactory.
The first electric locomotive using current from a dynamo
was built by Siemens and Halske in Germany, and, at the Berlin
Trade Exhibition in 1879,* was operated upon a circular track about
1500 feet long. The introduction of electric locomotives into mining
service followed almost immediately, and in 1882 the first electric
mine locomotive was installed in the royal coal mines at Zaukerode,
Saxony, t This system of haulage was adopted by the Consolidated
Paulus and Hohenzollern Collieries at Beuthen in 1883, and at New
Stassfurt in 1884. The locomotives were all built by the Siemens
and Halske Co. On July 26, 1887, the Lykens Valley Coal Co. put
the first electric mining locomotive in this country into service at
the Short Mountain Colliery at Lykens, Pennsylvania.! This loco-
motive had a 30-horsepower motor wound for 400 volts direct
current. The conductor was a 25-pound iron rail mounted along
one side of the entry, current being taken off through four contact
wheels. The motor and running gear weighed 1500 pounds, but the
machine was weighted with scrap iron up to 7000 pounds. (See Fig. 2.)
It was built by the Union Electric Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This installation was the first of any considerable size in the world.
The Siemens and Halske locomotives weighed only two tons each and
hauled a train load of about 10 tons, while the Lykens Valley "Pio-
neer" hauled a load of 150 tons at a speed of six miles per hour
over a road about 6300 feet long. It was still in service in 1915. In
* Sprague, F. J., Elect. Ry., p. 3. . Int. Eng. Cong. 1904, p. 3.
t Electric Locomotives in German Mines. Karl Eilers, Trans. A. I. M. E. Vol. 20,
p. 356.
t Col. Engr. Vol. 8, p. 43. Also Thesis of H. H. Stock.
FIG. 2. FIRST ELECTRIC MINE LOCOMOTIVE IN UNITED STATES
FIG. 3. FIRST ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE IN ILLINOIS MINES
FIG. 4. EARLY TYPE LOCOMOTIVE USED AT CENTRALIA, ILLINOIS, IN 1899
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 25
1888 the Jeffrey Manufacturing Go. built the first electric locomotive
used in a bituminous coal mine in the United States. This installation
was in the mines of the Upson Coal Mining Co., Shawnee, Ohio.
Instead of a wire or rail as a conductor two parallel 1-inch galvanized
iron pipes were used. The rails were not bonded, as one of the pipes
was used for the return circuit.
The first electric mine locomotive installed in the State of Illinois
was placed in the No. 3 mine of the Chicago, Wilmington & Vermilion
Coal Company at Streator in 1888. This locomotive, Fig. 3, was
designed by Elmer A. Sperry of the Sperry Electric 'Mining Machine
Company of Chicago, (the predecessor of the Goodman Manufac-
turing Company), and was built by that company. This was an
experimental machine and was provided with eight driving wheels and
a motor of about 30 horsepower. The total weight of the machine
was about six tons. Referring to this first electric mine locomotive
in Illinois, C. A. Pratt, Chief Engineer of the Goodman Manufactur-
ing Company, says :* "It was in operation several months and was
then replaced by a locomotive of somewhat modified design and of
greater weight and horsepower. The locomotive which replaced it
had eight driving wheels distributed on two bogey trucks. These
wheels were about 20 inches in diameter and the locomotive was
designed to turn on a curve of 8 or 9 feet radius. The locomotive
weighed about 8 tons and was driven by one 60-horsepower motor, the
armature of which was geared to all of the eight wheels. A second
locomotive of the same description was put into the same mine some
months later and these two locomotives were operated for many years. ' '
As far as can be learned this installation at Streator was the only
really successful one for several years, though some locomotives had
been used experimentally at other mines. No further introduction
of electric haulage was made in Illinois until 1899 when the Jeffrey
Manufacturing Co. shipped an 8-ton locomotive, Fig. 4, to the Cen-
tralia Mining and Manufacturing Company of Centralia, Illinois.
The years 1899 to 1904 may be called the introductory period.
The increase in installations was slow but steady so that by the
close of this period each of the important mining districts in the
state had at least one mine in which electric locomotives were being
used with success.
Private communication.
26 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
The introduction of the electric locomotive and its successful
operation in main haulage led to attempts to extend this system to
gathering service. In early practice miners pushed their loaded cars
to the room necks whence the cars could be hauled to main partings
by trolley locomotives. When rooms were driven to the rise this
practice occasionally involved accidents from runaway cars. A loco-
motive was therefore needed to do such gathering safely, but of
a type that required no trolley extensions into the rooms. In
response to this need the cable locomotive was designed. Briefly
defined, this locomotive is one that can not only operate as a trolley
locomotive but also travel on track not equipped with trolley wire by
taking its power through a long flexible conductor or cable that it
carries mounted on a drum or reel.
Probably the first successful cable locomotive was constructed in
1900 in the shops of the Pocahontas Consolidated Collieries Co. at
Pocahontas, Virginia.* For several years previous this company had
been trying to develop a storage-battery locomotive but without suc-
cess. So, in 1900, they mounted on one of these old locomotive frames,
with the motor, a vertical cable reel, thus making a very good gather-
ing locomotive known later as the " Wampus'* on account of its
peculiar appearance. Since 1900 all electric locomotive manufacturers
have constructed gathering locomotives, the designs being generally
similar. The cable through which the locomotive receives its power
when away from the trolley wire is wound either on a reel placed
horizontally on top of the locomotive, or on a drum placed at one
end. The reel or drum is driven by an independent motor, by a
spring device, or by a chain and sprocket wheels from the axle.
Where the rooms dip rather steeply towards the face it may be
impossible or undesirable for the locomotive to go to the face for the
cars. In such instances the "crab" locomotive has been used with
success. This locomotive is equipped with a drum on which a steel
cable is wound and which is usually driven by a separate motor, thus
in reality adding to the locomotive a small hoisting engine for the
purpose of pulling cars out of steeply pitching places while the loco-
motive remains on the entry. Under some conditions a gathering
locomotive is equipped with this "crab" device in addition to the
cable attachment.
Mines and Minerals. Vol. 30, p. 13.
A STUDY OP COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 27
The rack-rail locomotive was devised for electric haulage on
heavy grades. Its hauling capacity is not limited to the adhesion
between the wheels and rails. Instead of driving the wheels the
motor is geared to a sprocket wheel beneath the locomotive, the teeth
meshing with a rack-rail laid between the main rails. The locomotive
is therefore really geared to the track and can haul large loads on
steep grades, provided the strength of the parts and the power of the
motor are sufficient. Back-rail locomotives were first brought out
by the Morgan-Gardner Co. in 1899. They are used in mines where
the grades are prohibitive to ordinary electric haulage. In some cases
no trolley wire is used, the rack-rail acting as a conductor for the
current. In other cases a trolley wire is used on the ordinary haulage
roads, the rack-rail being used only on occasional grades.
From the time that electric haulage was first introduced in mines
it has been the desire of engineers to find some way of dispensing
with the trolley wire and the bonding of the rails ; first, from a desire
to save the outlay required by such an installation, and second, because
of the danger from contact with the wire, and from explosions caused
by sparking of trolleys and wheels in gassy mines. As regards the
latter danger the United States Bureau of Mines at the Pittsburgh
Testing Station is prepared to test locomotives in a gas chamber and,
if they can comply with requirements, to list them as permissible for
use in gaseous atmospheres. It is doubtful, however, if any trolley or
reel locomotive can meet these requirements. This condition, therefore,
led to the introduction of the storage-battery locomotive, which, while
it does not eliminate the danger from switch and motor sparks, at
least dispenses with the trolley wire.
The commercial development of the storage battery began at
about the same time as did that of the electric railway, for it was not
until 1880 that Brush and Faure, working independently, simultane-
ously produced the pasted plate for storage batteries, resulting in
lighter and cheaper cells. Naturally the storage battery was looked
to as the solution of the problem of dispensing with trolley wires or
other naked conductors. The early development of such locomotives
took place in England and in Germany, American engineers being slow
to take up the subject. In 1886 the first storage-battery locomotive
was tried in the mine of the Trafalgar Colliery Co.* Indicative of the
* Eng. and Min. Jour. Vol. 42, p. 98.
28 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
slow development of the early installations was the statement made
in 1895 that storage-battery locomotives had then reached the experi-
mental stage only.* Probably the first successful use of a storage-
battery locomotive in this country was at the mines of the Southwest
Virginia Improvement Co. in the Pocahontas region of West Virginia.!
The Baldwin-Westinghouse Co. built this locomotive in 1899 and it
proved so successful that the company ordered six more. For several
years prior to this the Pocahontas Consolidated Collieries Co. at Poca-
hontas, Virginia, had endeavored to develop a storage-battery haulage
locomotive, three machines actually having been built which were,
however, only ' * more or less effective. ' '
About 1900 the Jeffrey Manufacturing Co. shipped its first
storage-battery locomotive. During the following ten years there were
several locomotives of this type put into service but, on the whole,
development was slow. Beginning with 1911 these locomotives began
to attract a great deal of attention. Storage batteries had been im-
proved both in design and construction. The Edison alkaline battery
with a steel jar had been placed on the market and had given excellent
service. Mining men did not need to be convinced of the advantages
in the use of storage-battery locomotives, but they were extremely
dubious about the ability of a battery to stand up under the severe
conditions of mining service. In some storage-battery locomotives,
particularly of the earlier types, batteries were too small and motors
were of too low capacity for the weight of the locomotive. Whereas
in main-haulage locomotives of the trolley type motors of approxi-
mately 10 to 12 horsepower per ton of weight are used, in some storage-
battery locomotives the motor capacity has been as low as one horse-
power per ton of weight. This radical difference restricts the con-
tinuous performance of the storage-battery locomotive for heavy
work and necessitates extra care to maintain the batteries in proper
working condition. This places storage-battery locomotives at a dis-
advantage as compared with trolley and cable-reel locomotives. Re-
cently storage-battery locomotive manufacturers have shown a tend-
ency to install larger motors than formerly.
These locomotives are fitted with motors that are built to with-
stand heavy overloads. Although their normal ratings may be rel-
atively low they will stand without injury overloads of 300 to 400
* Col. Engr. Vol. 16, p. 32.
t Mines and Minerals. Vol. 30, p. 13.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 29
per cent if not too long sustained. For instance, a certain four-ton
machine is rated at 80 volts and 60 amperes when running at about
1050 revolutions per minute, this being equivalent to slightly more
than six horse power.* However, it is not unusual for this machine
on short hauls to consume 300 to 350 amperes. This practice is based
upon the following general considerations : These light-weight storage-
battery locomotives are used to do both gathering and main haulage.
During the work of gathering the duty is light, perhaps 75 to 80 per
cent of the working time being spent in hauling one car at a time to
and from rooms. When a few cars have been collected in an entry
they are hauled to a parting where a train is made up and the loco-
motive then hauls -this train to the shaft bottom. Assuming that the
average distance from parting to bottom is 2000 feet and that a speed
of four miles per hour is maintained, the run will require less than
six minutes. For such a short period these motors will easily with-
stand the overloads, which may be six or seven times the normal
ratings.
As regards electric mining locomotives in general, in earlier prac-
tice, when the hauls were short, seven and eight horsepower per ton
of locomotive weight was commonly used ; that is, from 70 to 80 horse-
power on a 10-ton locomotive traveling at a speed of six miles per
hour. As the requirements became more severe it was found that
motors of such horsepower overheated, wherefore motor capacities
were increased to a minimum of 10 horsepower per ton in general
mining practice. As the loads to be hauled by the main-haulage loco-
motives increased, manufacturers increased the motor capacities to
not less than 12 horsepower per ton for locomotives above eight tons
rating. For long hauls it is now not uncommon to use still greater
horsepower where the circumstances will permit. Under severe condi-
tions mine locomotives may be required to develop in excess of 15
horsepower per ton, and such requirements are fulfilled successfully
by applying forced ventilation to the motors.
The chief demand of mining men has been for increased locomo-
tive capacity without increase in size. In discussing compactness of
design G. M. Eaton, chief engineer of the Westinghouse Electric and
Manufacturing Company, cites an electric mining locomotive built in
1896 that had a ratio of volume (cubic feet) to horsepower of 3.88,
* This is on the basis of 55-deg. temp, rise in 4 hr., and not on the A. I. E. E. restriction
of 75 deg. in 1 hr.
30 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
•
while a more modern locomotive of the same motor capacity has a
ratio of 1.54.*
Manufacturers have experimented to secure equal distribution
of weight on the driving wheels; to prevent the slippage of one set
of the wheels, when only one motor is used, by connecting the front
and rear axles; to determine the best position of the drawbar to
assure the most advantageous line of pull; to increase the effective
drawbar-pull by increasing the weight of the locomotive; to so in-
crease the number of driving wheels as to distribute the weight and
reduce the load on each wheel; to make possible the use of tandem
locomotives or of trailers upon which is carried all excessive weight
(particularly that due to the use of the storage battery) so that the
driving wheels will carry only the weight desired for the required
pull; to introduce steel-tired wheels instead of cast-iron wheels in
order to secure greater adhesion to the rail; to decrease the friction
in the locomotive by the use of special bearings and improved methods
of lubrication ; and to mount independent motors in a storage-battery
locomotive — one for trolley current, the other for battery current.
Improvements and changes in the design of electric locomotives
have been made principally as follows :
(a) Details of construction, both electrical and mechanical, have
been modified to better adapt the locomotives to severe mine service.
(b) Compactness has been sought to permit use of locomotives
in restricted quarters.
(c) Increased capacity and endurance have been secured for the
electrical equipment.
(d) Greater flexibility of movement has been obtained through
the use of cables and storage batteries.
Among the 'modifications of details of mechanical construction
may be mentioned the change from ordinary brass bearings to ball
bearings for armatures; the use of heat-treated or hardened motor
pinions; the making of all working parts much heavier to take care
of the increased duties imposed upon them; and the making of such
working parts more accessible and more readily detachable.
Locomotive frames were originally made of cast iron. These did
very well unless collisions occurred, when repairs were difficult.
* Development of Electric Mine Locomotive. Proc. A. I. E. E., April, 1914.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 31
Later, cast steel came into use for frames and to a certain extent
is used for parts of the frames b^ some builders today, although rolled-
plate side-frames are more common. Rolled steel is more uniform
than cast steel and it is less likely to contain blow-holes. Some
builders have given special attention to the bracing of. the frame at
the corners to resist blows from collisions or derailment. One company
equips its locomotives with an auxiliary buffer and interposes springs
between it and the main locomotive frame to take up the shocks of
collision, coupling, and starting. This construction results in a saving
on car hitchings and bumpers and is of assistance in starting trips.
In the early locomotives axles were too weak, journal boxes were
too short for the weight, journal springs were not sufficiently flexible
to meet the conditions of mine track, motor suspensions were often
too rigid to allow the wheels and axles to follow the track, and brake-
riggings had springs that reduced the effectiveness of the brakes.
Many early locomotives were made with a chain drive between the
axles, but this method of driving has been abandoned by several manu-
facturers whose locomotives now have either a single motor geared
to both axles, or two motors, one for each axle. One manufacturer,
however, continues the chain drive, with good arguments for its
superiority over direct gearing.
Amongst the improvements in electrical details may be noticed
first the use of commutating poles on the motor to prevent sparking,
and second, the thorough enclosing of the electrical parts, these changes
at once reducing the danger of fire or explosion and increasing the
life of the parts.
In many instances field-windings have been changed from cotton-
covered wire to strap copper insulated between layers or turns with
sheet asbestos and the whole wrapped with oiled linen, asbestos tape,
or other fireproof insulation, baked with varnish. Formerly the fields
would deteriorate from heating; now life is indefinitely prolonged.
When necessary it is a comparatively simple matter to repair the
strap coils without the loss of any copper, whereas, with the wire-
wound fields repairs to defective or damaged insulation often required
the purchase of new copper wire or new material throughout. The
armature coils were generally wire frequently of two or more turns
per coil, but today they are largely made of bar or strap copper
of only one turn per coil. The repairing of this type of coil is very
much simpler and the copper is usually salvaged, whereas with the
32 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
old type a complete replacement of the damaged parts was generally
necessary. The material used in insulation is of much better quality
than that used heretofore, securing increased life of the coil. The
single-turn coil results in better commutation and less sparking at
the brushes than was possible with the older construction.
The improvement in locomotive controllers has been marked.
Those now used are of the straight type without any auxiliary devices.
The size and capacity of the blow-out coils have been greatly increased
and, in the best designs, strap copper with fire-proof insulation is
used.
On storage-battery locomotives it is considered best practice to
have all switches in an enclosed compartment so that they can not be
thrown when the locomotive is operated under gassj- conditions. No
attempt has been made to enclose the storage batteries themselves in
explosion-proof cases, as circuits are not broken while the batteries
are operating, and there must be ample ventilation about the batteries
to carry away the gas generated therein.
An effort has been made to standardize practice in mine haulage
through a committee of the American Mining Congress for the
Standardization of Underground Transportation Equipment. Al-
though the subjects that have been investigated by this committee —
such as track gauge, minimum track curvature for rooms, wheel-base
for mine cars, types of couplers, and overall dimensions of mine cars —
apply primarily to track and mine-car construction, any standards
adopted will affect locomotive design. The rating of mine-locomotive
motors is generally governed by the rules of the American Institute
of Electrical Engineers for railway-type motors. The rated horse-
power delivered for one hour should not heat the windings more than
75 degrees C. above the -surrounding air, Standardization Rule No. 415
being as follows :
"The nominal rating of a railway motor shall be the mechanical output at
the car or locomotive axle, measured in kilowatts, which causes a rise of tempera-
ture above the surrounding air, by thermometer, not exceeding 90 degrees C. at
any other normally accessible part after 1 hour continuous run at its rated voltage
(and frequency in the case of an alternating-current motor) on a stand with the
motor covers arranged to secure maximum ventilation without external blower.
The rise in temperature as measured by resistance, shall not exceed 100 degrees C. ' '
The Electric Power Club has the following standard rule specifi-
cally applying to mine locomotives :
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE 'IN ILLINOIS 33
"Mine locomotive motors shall be given nominal ratings which shall be the
horsepower output at the armature shaft, excluding gear and other transmis-
sion losses, which the motor will develop for one hour under normal rated condi-
tions on a stand test with covers removed and natural ventilation, without
exceeding the temperature rises guaranteed."
In order that the motor shall have good continuous operating
capacity, in proportion to its capacity on the hour rating, it is necessary
to have a liberal radiating surface in addition to the usual requirements
of ample area of conductors and commutator.
The manufacturers usually guarantee a certain starting drawbar-
pull on clean, dry rails, and also running drawbar-pull at specified
speeds.
7. Mine Haulage in Illinois. — Most of the large producing mines
in Illinois are being operated in seams of coal which are usually over
5 feet in thickness, thus permitting the use of cars that are larger
than the average used in the United States. The largest car in
use holds about 5 tons and the average about 3 tons. With the
exception of occasional heavy local grades the coal seams are nearly
level. The floor is fire clay and affords a good road-bed. These
conditions permit a systematic arrangement of haulage ways and
favorable and efficient haulage. Because of these favorable natural
conditions and because the more modern mines are all designed for
large tonnages, large capital investments have been made, with the
result that the more modern Illinois mines are exceptionally well
equipped. Cars of the capacity noted above require a good track;
therefore, in most of the mines developed during the past ten years
40-pound rails have been used on the main entries and 20-pound rails
in the rooms. In the more recent operations 45- to 60-pound rails have
been used on the main roads and 25- to 35-pound rails in the rooms.
Most of the newer mines have adopted a track gauge of 42 inches.
Statistics for 1920 showed 345 shaft mines, 12 slope mines
and 10 drift mines. The average depth of shaft was 225 ft. while
the average slope length was 772 ft. The production from the different
kinds of mines was : shaft mines, 69 004 807 tons ; slope mines,
2339167 tons; drift mines, 717006 tons. During the same year
strip mines produced 367 009 tons or a little more than one-half of
one per cent of the total production in the state.
Data from Illinois Coal Reports for the period 1899 to 1921
34
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
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A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
35
inclusive indicate a gradual reversal in prominence held by animal
and locomotive haulage. (Table 1.) In 1899, 87.1 per cent of the
tonnage in Illinois coal mines was handled by animal haulage. Loco-
motives hauled 2.5 per cent, ropes 7.9 per cent and tramming 2.5
per cent, but in 1921 it appears that both ropes and tramming were
practically obsolete and that 91.2 per cent of the coal was moved by
locomotives, and only 8.8 per cent by animals.
In the. early '90 's, several attempts were made to use electric
locomotives, some of them meeting with considerable success ; but 1899
was the first year in which an appreciable amount of coal was hauled
by electric locomotives. Statistics for the number of electric locomo-
tives in use prior to 1907 are not available, separate from the statistics
for gasoline and other types.
Pertinent data on mine haulage were collected, in 1914, by the
Illinois Coal Mining Investigation and published in Bulletin 13.
Twenty-four typical mines that used mule haulage had average con-
ditions as follows : daily coal production, 597 tons ; weight of empty
car, 1239 pounds; weight of coal per car, 2627 pounds. Similarly
in 65 typical mines having mechanical haulage, the average statistics
were: daily production, 1667 tons; weight of empty car, 1753
pounds; weight of coal per car, 4450 pounds. There were five mines
using the rack-rail type of locomotive and seven using gasoline loco-
motives. Rope haulage was used in but six mines. All other mines
were using trolley locomotives.
Table 2 gives a classification of the three chief systems of under-
ground haulage in use throughout the state in the year 1921. Rope
TABLE 2
LOCOMOTIVE AND MULE HAULAGE IN 1921
System
Mines
Production
Ave. Tons
Per Mine
No. Per Cent
Tons
Per Cent
Mules only
109
§
33.2
9 976 493
12.9
91 527.5
Locomotives only
31
9.4
13 731 010
17.9
442935.8
Locomotives for main haulage, mules
and locomotives for gathering
189
57.4
53 598 971
69.3
283592.4
Totals
329
100.0
77 306 474
100.0
234974.1
36 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
haulage is not included because its use is very limited and the Coal
Keports do not now segregate it. For the mines covered, this table
shows how the haulage systems are related to production.
Statistics for the year 1921 covering 324 producing mines in 38
counties of Illinois show that electric haulage was used exclusively in
but 31 mines or 9.6 per cent ; mules performed all the haulage in 108
mines or exactly one-third; in the remaining 185 mines haulage was
* ' mixed, ' ' that is, by both locomotives and mules.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE- IN ILLINOIS 37
III. THE SHAFT BOTTOM
8. General Importance. — The term "shaft bottom" applies to
the portion of the mine that is contiguous to the bottom of the main
hoisting shaft. It includes the terminal tracks for storing the loaded
cars while waiting to be hoisted,, the storage tracks for empty cars
while waiting to be taken back to the working faces, and the necessary
motor and supply rooms, foreman's office, pump rooms, run-arounds,
shops and waiting rooms.
When it is considered that the shaft location may affect the
haulage grades for the entire mine throughout the life of the mine,
the importance of preliminary drilling to determine the contour of
the coal bed is obvious, in order that the shaft bottom may be located
as nearly as possible at the lowest point in the mine and the loaded
trips hauled down-grade as much as possible. A shaft bottom on the
loaded-car side should be either approximately level or at a grade of
1 to 1.5 per cent toward the shaft. The grades on the empty side of
the shaft vary with the method of handling the empty cars.
An adequate shaft pillar should be provided about the shaft
bottom to protect the shaft and the surface equipment from subsidence.
In too many cases, however, where the original plans called for ade-
quate shaft pillars, rooms have been started in the pillar in order to
get coal quickly. In many cases it has proved very poor economy to
mine out the coal too close to the shaft, for it should be remembered
that this coal is not lost but merely deferred in its extraction to the
time when the mine will be abandoned. Typical shaft bottom arrange-
ments are shown in Figs. 12 to 18, inclusive.
The shaft bottom is the heart of the underground workings and
is the busiest place in the mine. Here the loaded cars must be
promptly hoisted or dumped and the empties returned to the work-
ing face to avoid blocking the traffic. In some mines from 1200
to 1500 cars are handled on the shaft bottom daily during an
eight-hour shift, or an average of two to three per minute. The
efficient operation of the whole mine, therefore, depends not only on
shaft-bottom arrangement and mechanical equipment, but also on a
38 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
proper balancing of the haulage from the various divisions of the
mine to the shaft bottom which is the main terminal.
The first extensive use of self-dumping cages was in Illinois. At
present they represent the prevailing method of hoisting coal, except
in the longwall field. At a number of the older and smaller mines
and very generally in the longwall field the platform cage is still
used, the car being run off the cage at the surface to be dumped. In
a few cases, two cars are placed on the cage platform for hoisting,
either tandem or side by side. The speed of hoisting at the larger
mines gives two to four hoists per minute. Mine cars vary in
capacity from two to four tons each.
The chief items to be considered in the shaft-bottom layout are:
Arrangement of tracks to permit the locomotive to land a loaded
trip and to obtain an empty trip without delay, so as to prevent
interference of one locomotive with another.
Storage space for loads and empties.
Shaft-bottom grades.
System of handling loads and empties, including caging, if the
cars are to be hoisted.
Arrangements for safely receiving the men who have been
lowered; also adequate waiting room for men who have gathered on
the shaft bottom previous to being hoisted to the surface.
Suitable arrangements for handling equipment and supplies, such
as timber, oil, waste rock, sump coal, and broken cars.
Conveniently located mine manager's office, locomotive barns,
repair and supply shops, pump-rooms and mule stables.
The act of haulage is really completed when the car is placed on
the cage ready to be hoisted, but often haulage and hoisting data
are not kept separately. Only data upon hoisting, ventilation, and
such collateral topics as have an effect upon haulage performance are
considered in this discussion.
9. Delivering Cars to Shaft Bottom. — It is important that the
main-line locomotives be able to land the loaded trips at the bottom
and take up the empty trips for the return with the least possible
interruption. The likelihood of interference increases with an in-
crease in the number of locomotives hauling to the shaft bottom. With
two locomotives, one coming from each side of the shaft, there should
be no interference and no delay, provided there is ample storage for
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 39
empty cars. Where two or more locomotives come to the shaft bottom
over the same route, interference on the shaft bottom between the
incoming and outgoing locomotives is probable unless a definite
schedule is maintained and proper provision is made in the shaft-
bottom layout. Three different ways of preventing such interference,
described later in detail in connection with the several shaft-bottom
arrangements herein given, are as follows:
(1) Adequate length of double track in each direction from the
shaft on the main haulage road, as described under Mine A, p. 56.
(2) Separate outlets from the shaft-bottom empty-storage track
to the several sections of the mine, with grade track crossings elimi-
nated by the use of cross-over bridges, as described under Mine C,
p. 58.
(3) A trip despatcher or haulage boss on the shaft bottom who
is in touch by telephone with flagmen at the junction points, and thus
directs the incoming trips.
10. Storage Space for Loads and Empties. — Adequate storage
tracks for loaded and empty cars, and a suitable arrangement of such
tracks and their approaches should be provided, as these items very
largely determine the regularity and continuity of cars supplied to
the eager for hoisting. A shortage of railroad cars on the surface
or an accident in the shaft may cause delay in hoisting; therefore,
the shaft bottom should provide adequate storage and flexibility in
handling cars and incoming trips.
Data in Table 3 show variations in storage capacity at a number
of mines studied, and Figs. 12 to 18 show a number of different
arrangements of storage tracks. In Table 3, "Storage capacity loads"
means the number of cars that can be stored on the track from the
shaft to a point where the incoming locomotive ordinarily is cut off
from the loaded trip; and "Storage capacity empties" means the
number of cars that can be stored on the empty-car track without
interfering with the caging operations or with the passage of the
incoming locomotive. Any extension of storage space that interferes
with regular operations should not be included as regular storage
capacity.
Although the storage capacity on the shaft bottom is figured for
a certain number of cars, the varying sizes of trips and times of
40
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
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A STUDY OP COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 41
arrival often prevent the ratecl,* capacity from being- available. The
location of the connections between the main bottom tracks and the
run-around tracks, often called "the motor runs/' and the points
where the locomotives are cut loose from the trip determine the
storage capacity of the shaft bottom to a great extent. For example,
this cut-off point may be so located that when one locomotive follows
another into the bottom on the same side, the second locomotive will
be delayed until the last loaded car of the first trip has passed the
entrance to the motor run, and the first locomotive will be delayed
until the second loaded trip has cleared the junction point between
the loaded and empty tracks on the main entry, unless there is a
double track on the main haulage road.
11. Handling Cars on Shaft Bottom. — There are three distinct
operations in connection with the handling of cars on the shaft
bottom :
(1) Delivering loaded cars to the eager after the main-haulage
locomotive has been cut off.
(2) Caging.
(3) Taking empty cars from the cage to the empty storage
track.
Delivery of Cars to Cager
There are three methods by which the loaded cars after being
cut off from the locomotive may be delivered to the cage; first, by
pushing and spragging, second, by car haul, and third by a small
locomotive running on a center track.
(a) When the control of the mine car after the locomotive has
been cut off is left entirely to the spragger, the grade toward the shaft
is usually about 1.5 to 2 per cent from the locomotive cut-off point to
a point about two car lengths from the cage, and from this point on
to the shaft the grade is increased to about 3 per cent so that the
loaded car may have sufficient impetus to bump the empty car off
the cage. Too steep a grade on the shaft bottom is dangerous for the
spr aggers and switch-throwers.
If there is a slight up-grade on the approach to the shaft bottom
so that the locomotive must continue pulling until a cut-off switch is
reached, such a switch should be automatically thrown by the loco-
42 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
motive. If the speed at which the trip is cut off is excessive there is
danger of the cars getting beyond control. If the same employees
always handle the loaded trips, they become skilled in their work and
can accurately judge the distance the cars will run and the number
of sprags necessary, so that very few run-away trips occur although
this method of handling cars is extensively used. Handling by gravity
and spragging is a continuation of the method employed when the
cars were much smaller than those commonly used now. The present
tendency is to install heavier equipment both in mine cars and in
locomotives so that the problem of controlling the cars by hand under
such conditions is much more difficult than formerly.
Several types of sprags are shown in Fig. 5. The ordinary double-
cone spoke sprag a is thrust between the spokes of the moving wheels,
thus causing the wheels to slide on the rail ; the block sprag b may be
placed on the rail in front of the wheel, or it may have a flat face
cut out to fit the flange of the wheel c, d, and be placed in front of
the wheel. The block form gives much greater surface of contact than
the cone type and one block is as effective as several cone sprags.
On account of the smaller number of block sprags required, there is
also a saving in time in the application of sprags.
(b) A car haul consists of an endless chain to which are
attached at regular intervals "catches" that engage the axles of
the cars and push the latter forward toward the cage. A similar
device may be used for moving the empty cars on the opposite side of
the cage.
(c) By means of a relatively small locomotive running on a
third or center track (Fig. 6), and provided with an arm that can be
moved in and out transversely on either side of the locomotive, cars on
either track are pushed forward toward the cage. The advantages of
this system are that at all times the cars are under control, and they
may be moved in either direction as desired, the safety on the bottom
being thus increased. A car-haul can control the movement of cars
for the length of its construction only — perhaps 75 feet — whereas an
auxiliary locomotive will regulate the travel of the loads or the
empties for the entire length of the bottom with the exception of
about 50 feet on either side of the shaft. Another fact in favor of
the auxiliary locomotive is that it proves useful in replacing derailed
cars anywhere on the shaft bottom.
FIG. 5. TYPES OF SPRAGS
FIG. 6. CENTER-TRACK PUSHER LOCOMOTIVE
FIG. 7. AUTOMATIC CAGING DEVICE AND USE OF SPRAG
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 47
Caging
Cars are caged by hand or Ky an automatic caging device, the
loaded car bumping the empty car off the cage. I^ig. 7 shows an auto-
matic caging device used at most of the newer mines. A pair of dogs
nearest the shaft is opened automatically when the cage strikes the
bottom, thus permitting the loaded car to be pushed upon the cage.
At the same time a second pair of dogs, farthest away from the shaft,
is thrown across the track and stops the incoming car. As the cage
rises off the bottom, the dogs that were across the track open and the
other pair fall back over the track, thus permitting the loaded car
to be pushed forward ready to be put on the cage when it next
descends. In some instances, caging is carried on so rapidly and with
such precision that the signal to hoist is given before the car has
come to rest on the cage.
Removal of Empty Cars
Owing to unfavorable natural conditions it is often necessary to
do considerable grading in order that an empty car may run by
gravity from the cage to the empty-storage track. An arrangement
often used when the cars are caged from one side only is to have
the track leading from the cage terminate in a " kick-back" which
gives the empty cars sufficient impetus to cause them to run by gravity
to the empty-storage tracks, where they are formed into trips. By
means of a mechanical car lift (Fig. 8) the empty car may be raised 8
to 12 feet and thus, in running down a grade, be given an impetus that
will fiause it to run by gravity directly to the empty-storage tracks;
or from the car lift it may go first to a "kick-back" and thence to
the storage track.
A three-track arrangement with an auxiliary locomotive operating
on the center track, similar to that described as being used an the
loaded side of the shaft, has many advantages for handling heavy
equipment and gives a very flexible method of operation. A greater
length of shaft bottom on the empty side is necessary for this arrange-
ment but it provides increased storage space for empty cars and also
a convenient way for shifting broken cars.
12. Handling Men on Shaft Bottom. — The shaft-bottom arrange-
ments for handling men depend upon whether the hoisting shaft for
coal is used also for hoisting men, or whether an auxiliary shaft is
48 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
used for men and materials. According to the present agreement in
Illinois between the mine operators and the United Mine "Workers
of America, the men are hauled to and from the shaft bottom and
inside partings of the mine. Consequently, greater numbers of men
may be expected to congregate at one time on the bottom than was the
case when the men walked to and from their work. This condition
should be taken into account in the arrangement of the shaft bottom.
When the men are hoisted at the main hoisting shaft it is
common practice to run a man cage about nine o'clock in the morning,
one or more during the noon hour, and one during the afternoon when
the shot firers enter the mine. These are in addition to the cages
at the regular morning and afternoon lowering and hoisting times.
The activity on the shaft bottom during the working hours makes
traveling dangerous, and in a number of mines special traveling ways
are provided to the waiting rooms required by the Illinois Mine Law
so that men are kept away from moving cars.
The approach to the hoisting shaft and to the escape-way at the
air shaft should be carefully chosen and easy of access. The waiting
rooms are usually so located that, in passing to the cage, the men pass
the "checking" room and turn in the checks given them on entrance
in the morning. At one mine a waiting room has been made by placing
flooring about seven feet above the main tracks and providing seats in
the room thus made. Such an arrangement is possible of course only
when there is unusual headroom on the bottom. Such gathering places
for men offer an opportunity for the display of safety signs and
pictures. Indeed, moving pictures relating to safety might also be
shown while the men are waiting to be hoisted, though no instance
of this being done is on record.
13. Handling Supplies, Equipment, and Refuse. — The problem
of handling equipment, supplies, broken cars, etc. is most successfully
solved where there is a separate man and materials shaft, which is
usually the air shaft also. The mines provided with separate hoists
at the air shaft have this advantage also that all refuse can be hoisted
and taken to the dump pile without either interfering with the
hoisting of coal or requiring any changes of chutes in the tipple, as
is necessary when the same self-dumping cages are used both for coal
and rock.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 49
14. Handling of flump Coal. — The method generally employed
for removing the coal that falls into a sump is to have it hand shoveled
into a mine car. In addition to the inconvenience of this method
there is a certain amount of danger attached to it, due to uninten-
tional lowering of the cage upon the man in the sump or from objects
falling down the shaft. One solution of this problem is a track laid
into the sump under the cages at right angles to the cage tracks. Two
mine cars are run into this sump, one under each cage. When they
become full of coal they are withdrawn and replaced by empty cars.
Such an arrangement is possible only where a crosscut or entry on
the cage landing opens at the end of the shaft, and where the conditions
are such that suitable grading may be done in order that the cars may
be hauled from under the cage.
At the Bunsenville Mine of the U. S. Fuel Company, provision
has been made whereby cars may be run under the cage landing and
there loaded from a hopper with a drop-bottom attachment. These
cars are then pushed to an electrically operated auxiliary hoist and
hoisted a distance of 13 feet to the shaft-bottom level.
At some mines a removable box with a drop bottom or side has
been placed in the sump and fitted into the guides so that when full
of coal it can be attached below the cage and hoisted the height neces-
sary to permit the contents to be discharged through a detachable
chute into an empty car on the shaft bottom.
15. Arrangement of Offices, Stables, Shops, and Supply Rooms. —
At many mines greater attention could advantageously be given to
the provision of larger and more adequately equipped mine man-
ager 's offices on the shaft bottom, where managers and their assistants
may meet for consultation.
Where mules are used they are generally stabled underground
near the shaft bottom. The construction of underground stables has
been specially provided for in the Illinois mine law, which specifies
a separate air split, fire-proof construction throughout, automatic
sprinklers, fire-proof doors, covered bins, and covered cars for hay and
grain. The worst accident in the history of Illinois mining, the
Cherry mine fire, was due to the careless handling of "hay. The
standard stable of one large company operating in Saline County is
shown in Fig. 9. The construction of this stable is fire-proof through-
50 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
out, consisting of steel roof support, full-height concrete walls and
concrete floors, stall partitions, feed boxes, feed bins, and harness
rooms. The stable feed bins and harness rooms are fitted with steel
doors. Separate hay and grain boxes are provided for each stall,
with one water trough for two stalls. An automatic sprinkler
system is installed directly over the feed boxes. The stall partitions
are built of concrete 42 inches high, topped with a wire screen 24
inches high. Hooks are provided at each stall for holding the harness
when not in use. A track in the center of the stable is used for
handling supplies and loading out manure. Additional space is pro-
vided for washing the mules. Drainage is provided by a tile conduit
extending under the full length of the stable. Every Saturday the
stable is thoroughly washed out with a hose and thus maintained in
a sanitary condition.
The central point for storing locomotives over night or during
idle periods should be readily accessible from the different sections
of the mine. The locomotives are left standing along the main tracks
with the trolley poles down, if no barns are provided for their
storage. Where storage-battery locomotives are used, provision is
made for charging stations and these are usually installed in a special
locomotive barn.
In connection with locomotive haulage, it is becoming more and
more common to provide on the shaft bottom a fairly complete repair
shop in which there are often one or more motor pits. Moreover, time
might be saved where gathering locomotives are used, by establishing
at central points in the inner workings auxiliary repair shops fitted
with motor pits for minor repairs. This has been done at one mine
in Saline county in connection with an underground sub-station. For
line repairs and bonding of the rails and also for certain minor repairs
to locomotives, a specially-equipped portable repair car may be main-
tained.
Usually broken cars are hoisted and taken off at the ground land-
ing to be repaired in the repair shop on the surface; but at a few
mines provision has been made for making small repairs to mine cars
underground, particularly to the running gears, couplings, draw-
bars, etc. A repair room for this purpose is sometimes located near
to and connected with the empty-storage track.
FIG. 9. UNDERGROUND STABLE
Fio. 10. UNDERGROUND SUPPLY BOOM
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 53
The following is a report of locomotive repair items for one day
at one of the larger mines in Illinois' where 7 main-line and 19 gathering
locomotives are used.
Main-Line Time Spent in
Locomotives Nature of EePairs Repair Shop
^ No. 21 Arc lights 0 Hr. 15 Min.
21 Suspension bar down 0 55
Gathering 1 10
Locomotives
No. 26 Eeel ball race 2 30
9 Eeel circuit ground 0 15
8 New trolley pole ...... 0 10
16 Eeel stud broken ..".... 0 30
23 Eeel resistance 0 52
26 Short circuit 0 21
24 Lead off resistance 0 12
7 Sand-rod broken 0 8
22 New reel armature 0 20
4 New reel armature 3 0
5 Lead blown off reel motor ... 0 32
12 New trolley pole 0 15
5 Eesistance blown up ..... 1 0
9 Hr. 47 Min.
Some companies maintain near the shaft a room well equipped
with supplies needed in connection with the operation and repair of
mining machines and locomotives. (Fig. 10.) Such a supply room,
usually in charge of a storekeeper who checks out materials by a system
similar to that generally used on the surface, aids materially in keeping
account of the repairs upon each mining machine or locomotive. Oil
and grease are sent underground in barrels and are usually stored in
an offset to the empty run-around near the oiling station. On account
of the fire risk special precautions should be taken when handling and
storing this material. Considerable sand is used daily in some of the
mines, at one mine eight tons per day being used for sanding the rails.
The usual method of handling the sand is to dry it on the surface
and then send it below in mine cars for distribution to central
points. Sometimes a pipe through a bore-hole from the surface carries
the sand to a central distribution point near the shaft bottom.
16. Shaft-Bottom Support. — In some mines where there are
favorable natural roof conditions and an ample height of coal, very
54 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
little support to the top and sides is necessary; but in most mines
a large amount of roof and side support must be used. Much greater
permanency now marks shaft-bottom construction than formerly and
in many of the more recent shaft bottoms concrete arches or steel
I-beams, with wood lagging or concrete roofing between the beams,
have been installed on the shaft bottom as part of the initial develop--
ment. Concrete sides serve the double purpose of sustaining the
roof supports and the coal ribs.
Three types of permanent construction are shown in Fig. 11.
In the first type (a and fo) structural steel is used for the posts and
the caps, with plank lagging on walls and roof. In the second type
(c and d) concrete is used for the walls, structural steel for the caps,
and the lagging is either plank or corrugated or sheet iron. In the
third type (e) concrete is used exclusively for the walls and the roof,
the roof being an arch.
Cost figures for these three general types of support have been
furnished by Allen & Garcia, Chicago, Illinois, the estimates being
based upon the average cost of the various materials in place as of
August 1, 1921, and upon sets being placed at 4-feet centers. The
constructions illustrated are calculated to withstand top pressures of
750 pounds per square foot and side pressures of 500 pounds per
square foot. Concrete is estimated as costing $30 per cubic yard;
structural steel, 8 cents per pound; iron, 10 cents per square foot;
and lumber, $65 per thousand board feet.
For a shaft bottom or double-track entry, Fig. lla, using 6-inch
H-beams for posts and 12-inch I-beams for caps, the cost was approxi-
mately $24 per lineal foot.
For a single-track entry, supported exclusively by structural
steel, Fig. 11Z>, 6-inch H-beams are used for both posts and caps. The
estimated cost per lineal foot was approximately $18.
In the second general type of construction, for both single-track,
Fig. lie, and double-track, Fig. lid, with walls 18 inches thick at
the bottom and 12 inches thick at the top, and using for the narrow
entry 6-inch I-beams for caps, and for the double-track entry 12-inch
I-beams, the cost per lineal foot in the two widths of entry was re-
spectively $25 and $30.
For the third type, Fig. lie, in which concrete is used exclusively
with walls of the same thickness as in the preceding type and the
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
55
/;?
-/o-o'
-Si
-/6-2-
~/4'2-
J
/*-<?'-
/7-^*"-
'/-^
-/6-Z
FIG. 11. TYPES OF PERMANENT SHAFT-BOTTOM SUPPORTS
56 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
arch uniformly 8 inches thick, the cost per lineal foot was approxi-
mately $31 for the dimensions given.
A coating of cement put on roof and ribs with a cement gun is
being extensively experimented with in an effort to prevent spalling
off of the coal. This cement coating should not be applied until the
roof and ribs have been thoroughly brushed or cleaned to remove all
dust and loose fragments of coal, thus ensuring a solid foundation
for the cement, which would otherwise spall.
17. Typical Shaft-Bottom Plans. — Typical shaft-bottom plans
for several Illinois mines are shown in Figs. 12 to 18, inclusive. A
characteristic feature of the bottoms in most of the newer mines in
Illinois is that the shafts are in the shaft pillars off from the lines of
main haulage and the tracks leading to and from the shafts are
approximately at a right angle to the main haulageways. This is
illustrated in Fig. 13 and is commonly known as the "A" type of shaft
bottom. If the empty tracks leading from the back of a shaft to the
main haulageway are not parallel to the incoming loaded tracks, but
at an angle of 30 deg. to 45 deg., as shown in Fig. 15, the bottom is
said to be of the ' ' V " or triangular type.
Data on the general layout, operation and cost of operation for
ten mines are given in Table 3. A detailed description of the
particular features of the plans and the methods of operation follows.
The term "bottom men" as used in this bulletin includes the men
engaged in handling the loaded cars, i.e., cagers, spraggers, switchers,
and couplers but not the oilers and sump men who work on the bottom,
but do not handle the cars. The costs are based on the 1920 wage
scale as follows: motormen, $7.50 per day with an additional allow-
ance for hauling men to and from the partings, making the wage
about $8.03 per day ; trip riders and cagers, $7.50 ; couplers, switchers,
spraggers, $7.25.
Mine A
This shaft bottom (Fig. 12) has a three-track arrangement on each
side of the shaft. The main-line locomotive, upon reaching the shaft
bottom with a trip of loaded cars, is stopped at the point a and the
locomotive cut off. A ground switch is thrown by the trip rider who
then gets back upon the locomotive, which proceeds to the empty
storage track. A six-ton auxiliary locomotive (Fig. 6), which is on
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
57
FIG. 12. MAP OF SHAFT BOTTOM — MINE A
the middle track and is provided with an extension arm, then moves
the trip under complete control to the shaft where it is caged by an
automatic eager.
On the empty-car side of the shaft another six-ton locomotive
with a movable arm collects the empty cars as they come from the
cage and places them on the empty-storage tracks. In this mine, 14
locomotives haul directly from the working face to the shaft bottom,
seven coming from the north and seven from the south side of the
mine. At the same mine, the double track extends for 2500 feet on
the main haulage entry in each direction from the shaft bottom. This
permits the locomotives to proceed on their return empty trip without
interruption from the), incoming loaded trips. This double-track
arrangement also permits the entire number of locomotives if necessary
to concentrate near the shaft bottom with loaded trips, giving in effect
a very large loaded-storage capacity which may include every car in
the mine without interfering with the empty return tracks. The
empty-car storage shown in Fig. 12 is ample for ordinary operation
of the mine and provides for the storage of about 45 cars on each side
of the shaft. Delays on the bottom at this mine are small although
an average of 1125 cars are hoisted daily, the empty cars weighing
2750 pounds and holding 4 tons of coal. The shaft-bottom force
handling cars includes 1 eager, 3 spraggers, 2 couplers and 1 car dis-
58
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
FIG. 13. MAP OF SHAFT BOTTOM — MINE B
tributor, at a total daily wage of $51 according to the 1921 wage
scale, or 1.13 cents per ton.
Mine B
On this shaft bottom (Fig. 13) two tracks lead to and from
the shaft. The main-line locomotives usually cut off from the trips
at a point a about 100 feet from the shaft and, after passing through
a switch that is automatically thrown, proceed through the motor
run cross-cut &. From the point a to the automatic cagers at the
shaft the loaded cars are controlled by spraggers. The empty cars
are run by gravity to a kick-back and thence to the empty-car storage
track where they are formed into trips ready for the locomotives
that come through the motor run b. Of the six locomotives that come
to the shaft bottom, four are of the 15-ton type and are used for
main-line haulage only, while the remaining two, which are of the
8-ton reel-and-trolley type, are used for gathering as well as for
main-line haulage.
From 1200 to 1500 cars are caged per day on this bottom.
Occasionally there is some congestion when the trips reach the bottom
in rapid succession, due to lack of empty-storage space and a single
track on the main haulage roads. This congestion could be obviated
by double-tracking the main haulage roads for a distance of 200 to
300 feet inbye from said junction with the empty-storage tracks, and
by increasing the empty-storage trackage. This could be accomplished
by cutting off the locomotive at the point c and having it go through
the cross-cut d, the loaded cars being controlled from c to the eager
by spraggers.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
59
The average daily tonnage hoisted at this mine is 5200 tons or
1245 cars, each holding 4.3 tons'.' The average hoists per hour are
155 and the bottom employees are 4 cagers, 6 spraggers and blockers,
2 couplers, and 1 car distributor and switcher. The total daily wage
according to the scale prevailing in 1921 was $95.25, giving a shaft-
bottom labor cost per ton of 1.83 cents.
Mine C
The bottom arrangement (Fig. 14) provides for a separate
haulage way to each of the four sections of the mine 1, 2, 3 and 4.
There are two tracks on each side of the shaft, and after the locomo-
tive is cut off at the point a the cars are moved to the shaft by spraggers
and automatic cagers. The main-line locomotives approach the inbye
end of the shaft bottom, Z>, by different routes, but all of them are
detached from the loaded trips at the point a and pass through the
motor runs, c, to the empty storage tracks. At two places, e, where
crossings are necessary, overhead bridges permit the loaded trips
FIG. 14. MAP OF SHAFT BOTTOM — MINE C
60
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
FIG. 15. MAP OF SHAFT BOTTOM — MINE D
to pass over the empty trips. From the junction points, /, of the
loaded and empty tracks the haulage roads inbye are single track.
The two ' ' proposed tracks ' ' parallel to the main bottom were intended
as an extra locomotive run-around for sections 2 and 3, but they have
not been needed to date.
The empties run by gravity from the cage to the empty storage
track, d, where they are coupled to the empty trips.
With this arrangement a daily output of 4500 tons or 860 cars,
each holding 5.25 tons of coal, is handled with 1 eager, 2 spraggers, 1
coupler, and 1 switcher, at a daily labor cost of $36.50 or 0.81 cents
per ton.
Mine D
The roads leading to the shaft bottom (Fig. 15) are single-track
and the locomotives are cut off along the main entry at a and, by
flying a switch, run upon the parallel side track 6. After the trip has
passed the motorman brings the locomotive up behind the trip and
pushes it to the automatic eager if this be necessary, or the trip may
have sufficient momentum to run to the eager and may have to be
controlled by sprags. The locomotive backs to the junction joint in
the empty-storage track, c, and there picks up the empty trip. A
mechanical car-lift and kick-back sends the empties by gravity to the
empty-storage track, d.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
61
Two locomotives operate in each of the east and west sections
of the mine. Movements of trips to and from the shaft bottom are
controlled by telephone communication from the several partings to
the haulage boss who knows that the road is clear before giving the
right-of-way ; thus only one locomotive from each section is permitted
on the shaft bottom at one time.
Five thousand tons or 1440 cars per day are handled on this
bottom by 8 men, 3 cagers, 2 spraggers, 2 couplers, and 1 switcher,
at a total labor cost per day of $58.75 or 1.18 cents per ton.
Mine E
This shaft bottom is that shown in Fig. 16. The locomotives
are detached from the loaded trips on the main entries, the loaded
cars proceeding by gravity to the shaft under control of sprags.
Caging is done by hand. The empty cars are elevated by a mechanical
car-lift and run by gravity from a kick-back switch to the empty-
storage track. The daily output is 1600 cars or a total of 3800 tons.
The shaft-bottom force includes 3 cagers, 3 spraggers, 2 couplers, and
3 switchers at a total daily labor cost of $82.50, or 2.17 cents per ton.
Mine F
The shaft-bottom arrangement is similar in general to Mine A,
but the loads are pushed by ten-ton locomotives operating on the
FIG. 16. MAP OF SHAFT BOTTOM— MINE E
62
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
I LJ<LJ£_J< >i— it x >i M >L_||~I
LJ C3 CD CD CZDEDaCZ] U
FIG. 17. MAP OF SHAFT BOTTOM — MINE I
middle of three tracks instead of by a six-ton locomotive as in Mine A.
Only two locomotives come to the bottom, one from each side of the
mine, and a combined main and gathering system is used; whereas
in Mine A the locomotive hauls directly from the working face to the
bottom, the trains consisting of from 10 to 20 cars. The empty cars
are elevated by an electrically operated drag-line and then run by
gravity to the empty-storage track.
With the present arrangement, and hoisting per day 800 cars
that hold 4.5 tons each, the labor force is 1 eager, 3 spr aggers, 2
couplers, and 1 switcher. The total labor cost is $51.00 per day, or
1.42 cents per ton.
Mine G
The shaft bottom is triangular in shape, similar to that shown in
Fig. 15. There are two tracks on the shaft bottom and cars are con-
trolled by spraggers after the locomotive is cut off. On the main
east approach there is a slight up-grade, and a small electric drag-line
is employed to pull the loads a short distance upon the main track.
An automatic eager is used and the empty cars run from the cage
to the empty-storage track by gravity. The location of the motor
run is similar to that in Mine B and the empty-storage tracks extend
beyond the shaft, as in Mine C.
For an output of 2600 tons per day, or 800 cars of 3.3 tons
capacity, the labor force is 2 cagers, 3 spraggers, 1 coupler, and 1
switcher, at a labor cost of $51.25 per day or 1.97 cents per ton.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
63
Mine H
This shaft bottom is similar to Fig. 13. The daily output of
3400 tons is handled in cars holding 3.25 tons each, by 1 eager, 2
spraggers, 2 couplers and 1 switcher, at a total shaft bottom labor
cost of $43.75, or 1.29 cents per ton.
Mine I
This shaft bottom, Fig. 17, differs from the A or V type commonly
used in Illinois, as the hoisting shaft is in line with the main entries
that extend east and west from it. Coal is hauled to the shaft bottom
from both directions, but caging is done from the west side of the
shaft only. The locomotives are detached from the loaded trips from
the west at one of two points a and obtain their empty trips at ft. The
loaded trips from the east are pulled past the shaft on track c and
backed in on the loaded tracks at a. The locomotives that are hauling
to the east side go along c to the entrance to the empty storage, d,
to obtain their empty trips.
The repair shops are conveniently located on the west side of
FIG. 18. MAP OF SHAFT BOTTOM — MINE J
64 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
the shaft, and the motor barn in which is the charging station for
the storage-battery locomotives, on the east side of the shaft. A switch
is provided near the shaft for sidetracking cars for oiling.
For an output of 4000 tons per day, or 1330 cars each holding
3 tons, the labor force is 1 eager, 3 spraggers, 1 switcher, and 1 coupler,
and the total cost per day $43.75 or 1.09 cents per ton.
Mine J
Fig. 18 is a sketch of a shaft bottom somewhat similar to that
in Mine E. Here, however, the entries are parallel. The empty cars
can be hauled out along either of the main entries to the north or to
the south. The daily production averages 3200 tons and is hoisted
at the rate of 134 cars per hour with a shaft -bottom force of 1 eager,
4 spraggers, 1 coupler and 1 switcher, at a daily labor cost of $51.00
or 1.59 cents per ton.
18. Shaft-Bottom Delays. — At one mine a detailed study of
delays on the bottom was made for one day, and the results are plotted
in Fig. 19. Starting at 7:00 A.M., as shown by the diagram, there
were 78 loaded cars on the bottom ready to be hoisted. There were
also 8 empties. The loads were hoisted by 7:40 but the first trip
did not reach the bottom until 7:57, thus causing a delay of 17
minutes. The diagram also shows delays in hoisting extending from
8:20 to 8:30; 8:50 to 9:00; 11:11 to 11:15, due to no cars being
received on the bottom. Eight times during the forenoon — at 8:05,
8 :09, 8 :35, 9 :07, 9 :15, 9 :31, 9 :40 and 9 :56— the diagram shows that
the incoming trips reached the bottom just as the last car was hoisted,
thus probably causing a slight slowing up in the hoisting. The
number of cars in each trip is shown by vertical components of the
graph. For instance, at 7:57 the first trip of 12 cars was landed at
the locomotive cut-off point. As shown by the number in the circle,
the locomotive was standing still one minute before proceeding through
the motor run. Letters N and 8 indicate the side of the mine from
which the trips arrived. Occasionally trips arrived simultaneously
from both sides of the mine, as at 11:19 A.M.
On the day when this time study was carried out 61 trips came to
the shaft bottom. The 24 trips with a total of 357 cars from the N
side were delayed 1 hour 19 minutes, and the 37 trips with 878 cars
from the 8 side were delayed 3 hours 24 minutes; that is, the loco-
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
65
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oo 2 1
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66 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
FIG. 20. MAP OF SHAFT BOTTOM FOR SKIP HOISTING
motives waited a total of 4 hours 43 minutes before proceeding from
the cut-off point to the empty-storage track.
19. Shaft Bottoms for Skip Hoisting. — Prior to 1917 there were
in Illinois only three installations at which skip hoists were used. Two
of these were at small-capacity mines and the end-gate type of car
was used ; the third mine had an average daily production of between
three and four thousand tons and a bottom-dump car was used.
Since 1918 there have been opened several large shaft mines in
which skips, rotary dumps, and solid-end cars are installed. The
capacity of these skips is between 10 and 12 tons.* At one of the
mines noted, a trial record of 1000 tons in one hour was obtained in
1920. The rotary dump permits the use of the solid-end car, thus
giving a more rigid construction, one of the greatest sources of trouble
in mine-car construction being the loose end-gate; it also simplifies
track layout as the car may be run in either direction. Thus, at one
mine the track layout is such that the position of a car on alternate
* A detailed discussion of skip hoisting will be found in an article by Allen and Garcia
in the Trans. Am. Inst. Min. & Met. Engr. for 1921. reprinted in "Coal Age," March 17 and
24, 1921.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 67
trips from the shaft bottom to the face is reversed, which could not
be the case with the ordinary self -dumping cage layout.
The average shaft bottom arrangements for several mines at which
skips are used are shown in Fig. 20. As all these mines are still in
the development stage, costs per ton for handling coal on the bottom
are not yet available.
The locomotives coming to the shaft bottom are detached from
their trips at points a, passing thence into the empty-return entries,
while the loaded cars move toward the main shaft under control of a
pusher locomotive or shunter traveling on the auxiliary track c. All
loads pass the hoisting shaft over a single track and through a rotary
dump. The empties return from & through the return entries to be
picked up by the locomotives and hauled back to the workings through
entries d. Double trackage in 6 permits a continuous influx of empty
cars without interruptions due to outgoing empty trips. The auxiliary
or air shaft is conveniently located on the main haulage entry for
cage hoisting when necessary. Fig. 21 shows in vertical cross-section
a typical skip-hoisting equipment, including rotary dumps, storage
hopper, and automatic measuring hopper.
The shaft bottom at one skip mine includes a rotary car-dumper
and skip hoist for a capacity of 7000 to 8000 tons daily. The mine
is divided into four sections, northeast, northwest, southeast, and
southwest. On the west side of the shaft the locomotives cut off, pass
through a run-around, obtain their empty trips in the back entry, and
then proceed westward along the back entry to the main west haulage
roads. From the east side of the mine the loaded trips are pulled past
the shaft along the back entries to the west main shaft approach. The
locomotives are detached at the same point as are those from the
west, then pass through the run-around to the back entry where they
obtain their empty trips and proceed directly to the northeast or
southeast portions of the mine. Loaded cars are handled singly by
a mechanical car-haul to the weigh scale. A special track is provided
for switching broken cars. All material is handled at the auxiliary
hoist shaft located to the west of the main shaft. The installation is
made complete by a motor-generator room and necessary repair and
supply shops near the auxiliary hoist shaft.
At another mine the shaft-bottom arrangement includes a skip
hoist for the coal and an auxiliary air-and-materials shaft provided
with cages. The main-line haulage locomotives cut off in the main
68
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
ra/seJtt t/)f sk//? asce/yds.
FIG. 21. VERTICAL CROSS SECTION — SKIP-HOISTING SHAFT
entry and go through the empty run-around to the empty-storage
track back of the shaft. A pusher locomotive pushes the loaded trip
toward the shaft as described in connection with Mine A, page 56.
The empty side of the shaft beyond the skip-pit is provided with
two tracks so that the empty cars can continue to pass to the storage
tracks, even though the locomotive may be pulling out an empty trip.
The auxiliary shaft is so located that cars may be conveniently sent
from the main haulage to the cages or returned from the cages to the
main haulage.
The arrangement at still another skip mine provides for the loaded
cars to be detached along the main haulage road at a point where the
locomotive enters the cross-cut leading to the empty run-around, and
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 69
the loaded trip continues to the clump by gravity, assisted by three car-
hauls. These hauls are electrically driven and operated by one
dump-man located near the shaft. On the empty-storage side the
locomotive is coupled to the end of the trip and, after the cars have
passed through the car-dump, pulls it toward a switch, then pushes
it through one of the cross-cuts at the right or left to the empty
tracks where the main-line locomotives receive their trips. Instead
of using car-hauls on the loaded side of the shaft and a locomotive
on the empty side, the same arrangement of tracks can be used and
the loads carried by gravity to the dump, while the locomotive may
pass through the run-around and take the empty trip from the tracks
back of the shaft. An arrangement of tracks at the auxiliary shaft
is such that the coal may be caged from either side of the shaft and
the empty cars returned to the same side from which they were caged.
70 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
IV. MAIN-LINE AND GATHERING HAULAGE
20. General Considerations. — Main-line haulage means that por-
tion of the haulage system between the shaft bottom and the gathering
partings where the cars are collected from the rooms and made into
trips.
The questions to be considered in connection with the main haul-
age are, therefore, supply of ample power, condition and grade of
track, kind and condition of equipment (such as locomotives and
cars), speed of travel, suitable' and properly-spaced turnouts or pass
partings when single track is used, maintenance of a schedule of
trips that will cause a minimum of delay at the terminal point and
at the pass partings, and prevention of accidents.
The data for the mines studied show that the time spent by the
locomotives on the main line is generally less than that consumed
in making up trips on the partings, delivering loaded trips on the
bottom, and picking up empty trips on the bottom for return to the
parting, providing the main-line haulage distance is not more than
one mile. The workings from which each locomotive receives the
cars should be concentrated so that the locomotive does not have to go
to widely separated gathering partings. There should also be an
adequate reserve of empty cars on the shaft bottom so that the in-
coming locomotives are not required to wait for their return trips.
Satisfactory performance on the main haulage is not so much a
factor of speed of running as it is of continuous and regular operation.
If the haulage system is properly laid out and operated, a high speed
of haulage is unnecessary. A slow, uniform speed gives increased
safety to employees, both to those engaged in haulage and to- others
who may be compelled to use the haulage roads. A conservative speed
results also in less spillage of coal- along the track, less raising of
dust, and less cost for repairs to equipment. Usually a maximum
speed of six to eight miles per hour can be adopted with increased
safety. Only occasionally need the trips be run at higher speeds, as
when making up time lost through unusual or irregular causes.
The trolley type of locomotive is generally used for main-line
haulage and is fairly well standardized for the conditions that exist
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 71
in Illinois mines. The locomotives vary from 6 to 20 tons in weight,
many of the recent installations being of the 15-ton type. In the larger
mines as the length of main-line haul increases the size of the locomo-
tive used for this duty also increases; because generally the greater
the capacity per locomotive the smaller number required for a given
tonnage, provided the haulage layout is properly designed and there
are ample side-tracks. During a shift of eight hours and under suit-
able operating conditions, a 15-ton locomotive should easily haul on the
main line from 1500 to 2000 tons of coal a distance of one mile, but
as shown in Table 4 this is being done in very few of the mines
studied.
Generally the main-line haulage and gathering are kept separate.
At a few mines, however, the locomotives used on the main haulage
also gather from the faces and thus run directly from the faces to
the shaft bottom with comparatively small trips of cars.
21. Location of Partings. — In connection with the gathering of
the cars from the rooms, the location of the partings with respect to
the room entries materially affects the efficiency of both gathering and
main haulage.
It is important that the work of gathering be concentrated so as to
reduce the number of partings, the number of cars required, and the
distance that either mules or locomotives must travel in unproductive
work. The partings should be so advanced that they will always be
within a certain standard distance of the working face. This distance
varies widely in different mines, but for mule haulage it is generally
about 800 to 1200 feet and for locomotives 800 to 2000 feet. In some
mines the partings are placed centrally with respect to four panels,
the cars being back-hauled from two panels to the parting. The dis-
advantage of back-hauling from the older panels, in which there may
be only a few rooms working, may be more than compensated for by
the advantages given to newly developed territory from which the
bulk of the hauling is done. Thus each time a parting is moved,
whether it be after intervals of two, three or more years, the point
should be selected to insure the greatest return for the expense in-
volved; that is, it should be as close as possible to the "center of
production" of the tonnage to be produced during a given installation
period. Partings are made either by widening a single track entry so
that a double track may be installed or by driving an extra passage in
72
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
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A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
73
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ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
FIG. 22. TYPICAL PLAN OF MINE PARTINGS
the pillar as shown in Fig. 22, which shows also a diagonal arrange-
ment at the entry crossings. Fig. 23 shows the diagonal connection
between entries at a prominent mine.
22. Procedure of Gathering. — The methods of distributing cars
to and gathering them from the rooms vary with the method of work-
ing, the agreement between operators and miners, the track arrange-
ment, and the weight of the car. In Illinois, although each miner is
assigned a definite room, two men usually load together in one room
while an adjoining room is being undercut, so that on any day, even
if the entire working force of miners is busy, coal will be loaded in
only half the total number of rooms. Unless the car is too heavy or
the grade conditions unfavorable, the miners usually push the empty
car to the face but the loaded car is always taken from the face by
a locomotive or a mule.
Gathering by Locomotive
The procedure in gathering by locomotive usually conforms to
one of the three methods, illustrated in Fig. 24 for a panel of 14 rooms
on each entry :
1. The empties are left at the room necks but the locomotive
goes to the room face for each loaded car. There are two variations
of this general method, (a) and (b).
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
75
(a) The locomotive pushes the empty trip into a given panel,
and distributes the empty cars 'to and gathers the loaded cars from
seven rooms, as numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13, assumed to be working
on a given day. Assuming that the miners from rooms 1 and 2 are
loading in room 1, an empty car is detached from the inbye end of
the trip and delivered into the switch for room 2 which has been or
is being cut by the machine men. Proceeding inbye, cars are switched
into rooms 4, 6, 8, etc. to room 14. The locomotive takes the loaded
car from face of room 13 as far as the switch for room 11, where it
is detached from the locomotive. At this time the condition is as
shown in Fig. 24a. The locomotive next takes the loaded car from
room 11. This car is coupled to the. car from room 13 and the loco-
motive proceeds outbye, similarly taking the loaded cars from rooms
9, 7, etc. When the loaded car has been taken from room 1, the trip
contains seven cars which are then hauled to the parting. The miners
then push the empty cars to the working faces.
(b) The locomotive collects the loaded cars as in (a) and takes
the loaded trip to the parting; then, returning with an empty trip,
leaves the empty cars in the necks of the rooms that are being worked,
FIG. 23. DIAGONAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN ENTRIES
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
W//////AY//////AV//////^^^^
E/npty Car •• L ceded Car ^
FIG. 24. METHODS OF GATHERING BY LOCOMOTIVES
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 77
as rooms 1, 3, 5, etc. After leaving the last empty car in room 13
the locomotive goes through the last open cross-cut to the parallel
entry, as shown in Fig. 24&_, and collects the loaded cars on its way out ;
or if this is not practicable it proceeds without any cars to another
entry to make up a loaded trip.
2. Cars are taken to and from the working face by the locomotive
by either of two systems, (c) or (d).
(c) An empty car is cut off at each of the rooms 1, 3, 5, to 13
as the locomotive proceeds along the entry. When the empty trip
has thus been distributed and room 13 is reached, the empty car is
pushed into the face of room 13 and coupled to the loaded car which
is then pulled out and pushed along the entry to a point just inbye
of the switch into 13, and there blocked and uncoupled from the
empty car. The locomotive then returns into room 13 with the empty
car which is pushed to the working face and there left. The locomotive
returns to the loaded car at the mouth of room 13 and takes it to
the switch just inbye of room 11, where the locomotive is uncoupled.
The empty that has been left at the mouth of room 11 is then pushed
up to the face and coupled to the loaded car. This procedure is
repeated at each of rooms 9, 7, etc. After an empty car has thus
been placed at the face of each room the trip of 7 loaded cars is taken
to the parting. Fig. 24c shows the condition along the entry after
the locomotive has gathered two loaded cars from rooms 13 and 11 and
is pulling the loaded car out of room 9.
(d) The loaded cars are taken successively from the faces of
rooms 13, 11, 9, to 1, and the loaded trip of 7 cars is hauled out to
the parting. Returning, the locomotive pushes the empty trip past
the switch of room, 1, where it is blocked. Then the car next to the
locomotive is uncoupled from the empty trip and is pushed by the
locomotive to the room face. Similarly, the locomotive pushes an
empty up to the face of each of rooms 3, 5, to 13. Fig. 24d shows the
locomotive pushing an empty car into room 3. The locomotive then
proceeds to the parallel entry through a cross-cut at the face ; other-
wise it backs along the same entry to the main entry and thence to
another gathering section. If track is maintained in both of the
room entries A and B it saves time of the locomotive to connect these
entries with a track through the last cross-cut. This method requires
the loaders to wait while the locomotive go.es to the parting with
a loaded trip and returns with an empty trip.
78 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
3. The empty cars are taken to a room cross-cut switch near
the face by a locomotive or mules. In this way the distance that
a car is pushed by the miner is decreased. The method is therefore
intermediate between methods 1 and 2 in the amount of hand-pushing
of the cars, and is particularly applicable also when the cross-cut is
worked more as a separate room or place than as an ordinary narrow
cross-cut. The empty cars are placed in order just "inside the room
necks, from room 1 to room 13, as the locomotive proceeds toward the
face of the entry. At room 13 an empty is pushed up into the room and
placed on the cross-cut switch. The loaded car is then taken from the
face to a point on the entry just inbye the switch to room 11. The
empty in the neck of room 11 is then pushed to the room cross-cut
switch and the loaded car at the face of room 11 is brought to the entry
and coupled to the car from room 13, as shown in Fig. 24e.
If a room cross-cut is being driven wide so that it is practically a
room, and its loaded car is in the cross-cut, the empty will be left
just beyond the cross-cut switch along the room track while the
locomotive goes into the cross-cut for the loaded car. If the loaded car
is at the face of the room the empty is placed on the cross-cut switch
and the loaded car then taken from the face of the room.
With this method track need be maintained in one room only,
while two or more rooms on each side are served by spur tracks
through the last open cross-cuts. In this practice the locomotive
enters room 1 with two empty cars which are switched at the face and
the loads are then taken out by the locomotive. Extra switchlaying is
required each time the room is advanced a cross-cut length, but this
outlay is compensated for by the saving of both time and upkeep in
room haulage and equipment. Moreover, there is some advantage in
a shorter travel of the mining machine in these rooms which, being
kept off the entry haulage roads to a greater extent, interferes less with
haulage.
Gathering by Mules
For hauling cars in rooms and for short entry hauls mules are
effectively used, hence the parting should be kept as close to the
working face as practicable. The procedure is very similar to that
followed in gathering by locomotives except that smaller trips are
necessary. Usually from two to three cars only are hauled to the
parting while, at times, on account of adverse grades, a mule can pull
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 70
only one loaded car. When the driver delivers the empty cars to
the room faces he does so on the return trip after the loads have
been taken to the parting.
In some mines the loaded cars are taken from the room faces to
the entry by mules and there made into trips by the gathering locomo-
tive and taken to the parting. While the locomotive is returning
with the empty cars the same driver and mule are employed in gather-
ing a similar trip of cars from the rooms in the adjoining entry.
In delivering the empty cars the locomotive pulls the cars into the
room entry where the trip rider cuts off one car from the rear of the
trip at each working room. If a track has been laid through the last
open cross-cut between two panel entries, the locomotive, after deliver-
ing all of the empties in one entry, can pass through the cross-cut to
the adjoining entry, gather the cars in that entry into a trip, and take
them to the parting.
23. Performance of Main-Line Locomotives. — In order to secure
comparative data in regard to performance at different mines operating
under different methods of main-line and gathering haulage, a study
was made of the number of cars,, the weight of coal, and the distances
hauled, both in gathering and on main haulage; thus data were
obtained for ton-miles per day per locomotive, which is the measure
of performance used for comparing the operation of locomotives on
standard surface roads.
Table 4 gives a summary of performance data for main-line loco-
motives at the mines listed as B to I, inclusively, under the shaft
bottom discussion, pages 58 to 63. The mines covered by Table 4 are
all large producers and have modern equipment. This table shows a
considerable variation in the daily performance at different mines
such as the average number of cars hauled per trip, the average number
of cars hauled per day, and tonnage or cars per day per parting,
but the real basis for comparison is the average ton-miles of coal
hauled per locomotive and the average locomotive-miles per day. The
detailed study of several of these mines shows a similar variation in
the work performed by different locomotives in the same mine, sug-
gesting that at many mines a re-adjustment of locomotive schedule
might be made with advantage. With the exception of Mines B and E
in each mine of this group the main-line locomotives average over 1000
80
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
tons of coal per day delivered to the shaft bottom. At Mine H two
locomotives average 1585 tons per day with an average hanl of
3440 feet. The total ton-mileage per locomotive varies between 290
and 3386; the two greatest averages, 2479 and 2209, being made at
the two mines having the longest average hauls of 6217 and 6087 feet
respectively. Of the two mines that lead in production one shows
TABLE 5
MAIN LINE HAULAGE FOR EIGHTEEN MINES
Group, of Mines Producing between 1500 and 3000 Tons Daily
Mines
Ave.
Daily
Tonnage
No.
Years
in
Oper.
Mine Car
Loco.
No.
Part-
ings
Ave.
Dist.
Haul,
feet
Empty
Wt.
tons
Coal
Wt.
tons
No.
Wt.
1
2200
15
1.25
3.20
3
12-ton
5
3500
2
2000
14
1.00
3.05
2
14-ton
8
4000
3
2.500
9
1.50
4.25
2
12-ton
10
4025
4
1800
12
1.45
3.25
2
13-ton
7
27(K)
5
2250
15
1.43
2.25
3
10-ton
10
4400
6
2200
17
1.00
2.40
2
10-ton
7
.-,(101)
7
1800
17
0.75
2.00
2
10-ton
6
5000
8
2500
22
0.70
3.00
3
10-ton
7
3750
9
1700
15
*
2.75
2
12-ton
4
2700
10
2500
4
1.06
2.90
3
10-ton
8
1950
11
1770
20
*
2.20
3
12-ton
5
5280
12
2200
20
•
2.25
3
12-ton
5
6600
13
1500
15
*
2.00
2
13-ton
5
6000
14
2000
15
*
2.50
3
15-ton
6
7000
15
3000
20
1.50
3.00
4
13-ton
11
6000
16
1700
31
1.50
3.00
3
13-ton
7
4500
17
1800
15
1.15
2.70
3
10-ton
6
5100
18
1600
16
1.10
3.00
3
10-ton
6
3500
Ave.
2100
16
1.18
2.78
3
12-ton
6
4500
*Empty car weight not available. Total ton-miles per loco, approximately 1.81 times ton-miles coal.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
81
the greatest average daily mileage per locomotive while the other
shows the least. It is interesting to note that Mine B, having the
greatest production, puts the least average duty in total ton-miles
per day upon its locomotives, but at the same time puts both extremes
of such duty upon them. This mine has also the fewest ton-miles of
coal per locomotive per day.
TABLE 5 (CONTINUED)
MAIN -LINE HAULAGE FOR EIGHTEEN MINES
Group of Mines Producing between 1500 and 3000 Tons Daily
Mines
Ave.
Cars
per
Trip
Ave.
Trips
per
Day
Ave.
Cars
per
Loco,
per
Day
Ave.
Tons
Coal
per
Loco.
Ave.
Ton-
Miles
Coal
per
Loco.
Ave.
Ton-
Miles
per
Loco.
Ave.
Loco.
Miles
per
Day
1
15
16
240
700
465
750
20
2
18
24
430
1300
1000
1670
36
3
20
15
300
1250
950
1620
23
4
20
15
300
900
460
690
15
5
20
17
340
750
600
1350
28
6
23
20
460
1100
1000
1830
38
7
22
20
440
900
850
1500
38
8
18
16
280
840
600
900
23
9
18
16
280
850
440
*
16
10
12
24
280
840
310
510
18
11
16
17
270
600
600
*
34
12
20
Ifi
320
700
900
*
40
13
16
20
320
650
740
*
45
14
17
16
270
670
900
*
42
15
15
16
250
750
850
1700
36
16
12
16
190
570
490
980
27
17
22
10
220
600
580
1080
20
18
10
18
180
540
360
620
24
Ave.
17
17
300
800
670
1320
29
*Ernpty car weight not available. Total ton-miles per loco, approximately 1.81 times ton-miles coal.
82
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
TABLE 6
PERFORMANCE OF FIVE 15-ToN MAIN-LINE LOCOMOTIVES IN A LARGE ILLINOIS MINE
For One Shift
Locomotive
(a
l)
a
»)
(c
)
No Trips
14
13
15
Ave No Cars per Empty Trip ....
18
18
18
Ave No Cars per Loaded Trip
19
18
18
Total Loads
3
75
3
42
2
92
Total Tons Coal
11
33
1
97
12
03
Ave Distance Hauled
48
50
37
00
49
50
Ton-Miles Coal
10
40
^
00
11
30
.
Locomotive Miles
26
18
28
Analysis of Time
Min.
Per Cent
Min.
Per Cent
Min.
Per Cent
Running Time on Main Line
197
43
197
43
198
44
Loaded
102
94
105
Empty
95
103
93
Switching Time
102
22
87
19
92
20
Motor Run
24
22
28
Empty Run Around
27
20
23
Inside Parting
51
45
41
Total Running Time
299
65
284
62
290
64
Total Delavs . .
161
35
177
163
Delays at Shaft Bottom
Blocked by Loads
87
79
52
Waits for Empties
15
19
21
Delays, Inside Partings
Waits for Loads
59
36
90
Repairs
43
Total Operating Time
460
100
461
100
453
100
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
83
TABLE 6 (CONTINUED)
PERFORMANCE OF FIVE 15-ToN MAIN-LINE LOCOMOTIVES IN A LARGE ILLINOIS MINE
For One Shift
Locomotive
(c
I)
A^
re.
(e
)*
No. Trips
14
14
14
Ave. No. Cars per Empty Trip
23
19
16
Ave. No. Cars per Loaded Trip
23
19
15
Total Loads
I
43
2
88
I
JOS
Total Tons Coal
14
13
1]
86
J
557
Ave. Distance Hauled
47
50
4£
62
11
500
Ton-Miles Coal
12
70
1C
35
340
Locomotive Miles
25
24
8
Analysis of Time
Min.
Per Cent
Min.
Per Cent
Min.
Per Cent
Running Time on Main Line
189
44
195
43
118
26
Loaded
98
100
68
Empty
91
95
50
Switching Time
92
21
93
21
55
12
Motor Run
34
27
Empty Run Around
24
24
46
Inside Parting
34
43
9
Total Running Time
281
65
288
64
173
38
Total Delays
150
163
278
Delays at Shaft Bottom
Blocked by Loads
90
77
Waits for Empties
23
20
201
Delays, Inside Partings
Waits for Loads
37
56
77
Repairs . .
10
Total Operating Time
431
100
451
100
451
100
* Locomotive (e) does relay duty.
84
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
II
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A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
85
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86
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
TABLE 8
GATHERING HAULAGE IN SEVENTEEN TYPICAL ILLINOIS COAL MINES
Mine
No.
Avc.
Daily
Ton-
nage
No. Men
No.
Ma-
chines
No.
Mules
Locomotives
No.
Part-
ings
in
Entries
in
Rooms
No.
Wt.
Kind
1
2200
32
178
21 0
11
6-ton
Reel
5
2
2600
26
154
17
0
13
6-ton
Reel
8
3 . 2500
76
170
22
0
14
6-ton
Reel
10
4
1800
58
130
17
0
8
6-ton
Reel
7
5
2250
66
217
15
25 .
10
6
2200
40
164
17
5
8
5-ton
St. Bat.
7
7
1800
40
164
17
2
8
6-ton
St. Bat.
6
8
2500
50
190
18
17.
1
3
6-ton
6-ton
St. Bat.
Reel
7
9
1700
30
113
11
12
4
10
2500
.Vl
349
••
0
14
5-ton
St. Bat.
8
11
1770
49
132
18
24
••
»•
12
2200
41
177
22
28
1
5
1
14
2000
300
••
12
4
5- ton
St. Bat.
8 •
15
3000
23
252
11
0
12
5-ton
St. H:,t.
6
16
1700
16
200
2
2
6
5-ton
St. Bat.
7
17
1800
46
125
20
4
2
5
St. Bat.
Reel
6
18
1600
20
6
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
87
TABLE 8 (CONTINUED)
GATHERING HAULAGE IN SEVENTEEN TYPICAL ILLINOIS COAL MINES
Mine
No.
Ave.
Dist,
Haul,
feet
Ave.
Car
Trips
.\ve.
Trips
per
Day
Ave.
Cars
per
Loco,
or
Mule
Ave.
Tons
Coal
per
Loco,
or
Mule
Ave.
Wt.
Tons
Coal
per
Car
Ave.
Ton-
Mi.
Coal
per
Loco,
or
Muls
Ave.
Ton-
Mi,
per
Loco,
or
Mule
Ave.
Loco,
or
Mule-
Mi,
per
Day
1
L. 1500
6—
11
63
200
3.20
56.8
102.0
6.24
2
L. 1100
8 +
8
67
200
3.05
41.7
69.8
3.34
3
L. 1650
5
8
40
170
4.25
53.1
90.6
5.00
4
L. 850
7
10
70
225
3.25
36.2
68.8
3.22
5
M. 800
11A
27
40
90
2.25
13.6
30.9
8.18
6
L. 1000
M. 500
6 +
3
14
15
85
45
200
110
2.40
2.40
37.9
10.4
70.8
18.9
5.30
2.84
7
L. 1000
M. 500
7 +
3
14
16
100
48
200
100
2.00
2.00
37.9
9.5
66.4
16.3
5.30
3.03
8
L. 900
M. 900
7
1-2
10
25
70
32
200
100
3.00
3.00
34.1
17.0
52.5
24.6
3.41
8.53
9
M. 1000
3
17
50
140
2.75
26.5
49.7
6.44
10
L. 1200
6 +
10
62
180
2.90
40.8
70.4
4.54
11
M. 1000
1
32
32
70
2.20
13.2
24.8
12.11
12
M. 800
M. 650
1
1
35
40
35
40
40
75
2.25
2.25
6.1
9.2
11.4
17.2
10.60
9.85
14
L. 1200
M. 800
7—
2
12
20
80 •
40
200
100
2.50
2.50
45.4
15.1
82.2
28.3
5.45
6.06
15
L. 1100
6—
14
83
250
3.00
52.1
103.9
5.83
16
L. 1000
M. 700
6—
1
15
24
87
24
260
70
3.00
3.00
49.2
9.3
98.7
18.8
5.68
6.36
17
L. 1800
M. 1300
7 +
1
11
32
80
32
210
85
2.70
2.70
71.5
20.9
136.3
39.0
7.50
15.75
18
M. 900
1
27
27
80
3.00
13.6
23.7
9.20
Ave.
Per-
form-
ance
109 Loco
1227
11.05
71—
204.9
3.04
46.94
84.98
5.21
54 Reel-trolley Loco.
1341
••
9.30
61
197.0
3.39
49.26
86.80
5.10
55 St. Bat. Loco. . . .
1115
12.76
80 +
212.4
2.70
44.67
83.20
5.30
152 Mules
869
27.36
36
82.5
2.18
13.60
25.30
9.05
88 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
Somewhat 'similar data arc given in Table 5 for 18 mines having
a variation in production from .1500 to 3000 tons per day. Most of
these mines, being older than those listed in Table 4 and therefore
having mine cars that are generally of less capacity, have lower ton-
mileages.
Table 6 has been prepared from data taken in one of the
largest coal mines of Illinois to show the average daily performance
of the main-line locomotives. These data cover one full shift of eight
hours. The average distance traveled by a locomotive per round trip
was 1.72 miles. Each locomotive was on duty approximately 94 per
cent of its full shift, and an analysis of its actual operating time is
given. Thus locomotive (a) was on duty 460 minutes or during
96 per cent of its 8-hour shift, but of this time it actually operated only
299 minutes or 65 per cent of the 460 minutes. Four kinds of delays
consumed 161 minutes of this locomotive's time and the average delay
per locomotive per shift was practically 2.72 hours.
24. Performance of Gathering Locomotives. — Table 7 covers the
data on gathering haulage for the same mines as, and in a manner
similar to, Table 4 for main haulage. Table 8 similarly covers seven-
teen of the mines in Table 5. Owing to the constantly changing dis-
tances that cars are hauled in gathering from the same territory, it
was impossible in the time available to obtain accurate data for each
car moved during the period when the study was made in each mine,
but a distance from a central point in the panel to the parting
was assumed as the average travel for the cars gathered from the
given panel, and the average weight of coal per car was also assumed
for the mine during the given period. While these assumptions may
not give exact results for any given day, they probably represent the
average operating conditions of any given mine and are of value in
comparing the performance of locomotives in different mines and in
different sections of the same mine.
Gathering is performed by locomotives exclusively in five of the
selected eight large Illinois coal mines, by mules exclusively in one of
these mines, and by both locomotives and mules in two mines. These
eight mines utilize for gathering haulage 108 locomotives and 25 mules.
Improvements in reel and crab locomotives permit their use in
even the most difficult working places.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 89
The average distance covered by main-line haulage in these eight
typical mines is 4555 feet, while the average distance traveled in
gathering in these same mines is but 1141 feet, or approximately one-
fourth the main haulage travel. The sizes of trips in the two stages
of haulage are as 7 cars in gathering to 19 cars in main haulage. In
main-line haulage a locomotive averages 31.3 miles per day, whereas
in gathering it averages but 4.8 miles. In total ton-mileage per
locomotive the figures for the two classes of haulage are as 111 in
gathering to 1985 in main haulage, or about as 1 to 18.
As the activities of coal mining continually alter underground
workings, the tables must be accepted as statistically accurate for a
relatively short period only, and only for the dates upon which the
data were secured. The method of diagramming and listing the data
for each of the mines is illustrated by giving the diagrams and tables
for Mine A, having one-stage haulage, and for Mine D, having two-
stage haulage.
25. Details of Haulage Performance in Typical Illinois Mines. —
The detailed methods of representing the workings diagrammatically
and of tabulating the haulage data used in compiling Tables 4 and 7
are given for two mines only — in Table 9 for Mine A, and in Tables
10 and 11 for Mine D. In Mine A, cars are hauled directly from the
rooms to the shaft bottom by one set of locomotives, while in Mine D
there is a distinction as to gathering and main-line haulage.
The following data regarding the handling of cars from the
face to the shaft bottom will supplement the shaft-bottom data given
in connection with Table 3.
Mine A
The daily production is 4500 tons. Each mine car weighs 2780
pounds empty, and holds four tons of coal, and there are 474 cars
in the mine. Approximately equal amounts of coal reach the shaft
bottom from the north and south sections of the mine, and the cars
are brought directly from the working face to the shaft bottom by the
same locomotives that gather the coal and operate on the main line.
All empties are similarly hauled from the shaft bottom directly to
the workings. It is believed that the system of gathering directly to
the shaft 'bottom involves fewer delays.
Although the shaft was sunk at the approximate center of the
original property the later development of the mine has been such that
90
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
Shaft B-
5&6W.S.
3X4, £.
t&e. EN.
4 Loco.
/008T
2 E.S.
{TA/sj>ortio(>_
<0
3*4 ES.
2 Loco.
64 27
/Loco.
389 T
Loco.
/66T.
Loco
740
ff
A// hav/age d/r&cf fr-o/r? ^
faces to s/?aff boffo/n.
FIG. 25. HAULAGE DIAGRAM — MINE A
at present the shaft is near one side of the operating portion of the
mine thus giving a rate of advance for the haulage roads about double
that for a centrally located shaft. Fig. 25 is a diagrammatic sketch
of the haulage roads in Mine A.
The main-haulage road is double track for 2500 feet in each
direction from the shaft, north and south, so that there is no inter-
ference of incoming and outgoing trips. Adequate pass-partings also
permit trips to pass conveniently in the cross-entries. Switch throwers
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
91
TABLE 9
HAULAGE — 'MiNE A
Territories
Locomotives
Approx.
Dist.
Hauled
No.
Cars
per
Day
Tons
Coal
per
Day
Ton-
Miles
Coal
per
Loco.
Total
Ton-
Miles
per
Loco.
Daily
Mile-
age
per
Loco.
No. of Men in
No.
Kind
Entries
iRooms
3 and 4, ES....
2
Reel
and
Trol-
ley
6230
60
242.98
387.20
690.85
19.39
6
52
7000
21
83.30
6300
79
316.20
5 and 6, ES . . . .
2
Reel
and
Trol-
ley
5550
78
313.90
403.74
720.36
21.88
.
10
48
6600
33
123.45
5640
75
302.60
Main S, & 5
undG, WS...
3
Reel
and
Trol-
ley
6700
25
95.30
307.21
548.13
15.51
18
55
5000
74
300.10
5300
74
298.85
7300
40
156.60
2 ES
1
Reel
and
Trol-
ley
8230
49
195.00
409.05
729.83
24.61
4
15
7800
18
71.15
17 & 18S.-2ES
1
Reel
and
Trol-
ley
7000
123
492.80
653.33
1165.68
37.12
0
38
1 and 2, EN ...
,
Reel
and
Trol-
ley
6900
77
310.35
769.95
1373.75
41.84
0
28
6825
61
243.05
0
28
7500
9
35.35
4 ! 0
3 and 4, EN ...
«
Reel
and
Trol-
ley
7075
88
366.80
353.85
631.34
20.57
0 25
7760
41
166.50
0
13
7900 17
67.30
10
0
7375 85
340.65
0
27
8150
17
66.55
8
0
Averages . .
6707
410.80
732.95
22.50
92 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
are stationed at main junction points and extra flagmen are placed
as required. The locomotives in this mine are combined trolley and
storage-battery locomotives, and, while the greater part of the haulage
is done by using current from a trolley wire, current from the bat-
teries enables the locomotives to reach the working faces. This system
is here held preferable to the use of reel locomotives in that it
reduces delay in changing from trolley service and lessens the peak
loads on the power circuit. Each locomotive averages daily seven
trips of from 6 to 14 cars each. The grades in the room are nearly
level and about 95 per cent of the empty cars are left by the locomotives
at the room necks, but the loaded cars are gathered from the faces by
the locomotives. The average haul of a locomotive is 6707 feet.
Mine A has the same daily production as Mine C in which the
haulage is divided into two stages. For Mine A the average total
ton-miles per locomotive is 733. In Mine C the average total ton-miles
per locomotive per day in gathering is 119 and in main haulage is
1624, and the general average for all locomotives is 420. Similarly,
the respective total of ton-miles for gathering haulage and main haul-
age in Mine D (which has a daily production of 5000 tons) are 144
and 2047, and the average for all locomotives, 544. The average
data for the eight large mines in Tables 4 and 7 are respectively 111
and 1985 with a general average for all gathering and main locomo-
tives of 497. These statistics would indicate that the duties imposed
upon a locomotive in a single-haulage-system mine are heavier than
those imposed on a locomotive in a double-haulage-system mine. This
may be explained by the fact that the weight and capacity of all
locomotives in the two-stage-haulage mines will average less than in
mines having single-stage haulage.
Mine D
The daily production is 5000 tons. The mine cars weigh 2400
pounds empty and hold 3.50 tons of coal. The mine is developed
uniformly, two-fifths of the production coming from the eastern sec-
tion and three-fifths from the western. Two main-line locomotives
operate in each section, each locomotive serving from three to five
partings and averaging 26 trips of 15 cars each per shift of eight
hours. The average length of main haul is nearly one mile. The
system of train despatching minimizes the time lost on the partings,
as the haulage-boss at the shaft bottom keeps in telephonic communica-
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 93
tion with a man stationed at each, parting and, whenever a trip is
reported as made up there, sends a locomotive to that point.
Tables 10 and 11 give the data obtained by a detailed study of
Mine D; and Fig. 26 is a skeleton diagram of the haulage system at
the time the observations were made. All main-line haulage is done
by four trolley locomotives.
Table 10 gives the territories covered in gathering by fifteen loco-
motives and five mules. Two of the partings are served by both loco-
motives and mules. One point brought out by this tabulation is that
although mules do not handle as great tonnage per day as the
locomotives, they travel considerably farther. The mules in this
mine average 8.5 miles of travel daily whereas the locomotives average
but 4.4 miles.
Mine B
One-third of the production comes from the north side and
two-thirds from the south side of the mine. Four 15-ton main-line
locomotives haul an average trip of 15 to 16 cars over an average
distance of 4630 feet, making slightly more than two round trips per
hour. One 15-ton relay locomotive operates between two main partings
and forms part of the main haulage system. Two other locomotives
not only haul to the shaft bottom an average of six trips of eight
cars each per day, but also gather the cars from the working faces.
The grade on the main haulage road is generally in favor of the
loaded cars and in some instances the grade is so steep that the
loaded trips must be limited in size so that they can be safely handled
by the locomotives.
The empty cars are taken to the working faces and the loaded cars
obtained there by the gathering locomotives. In some of the rooms
4.5 per cent grades are encountered, thus taxing the gathering loco-
motives. The average capacity of the gathering partings is thirty
cars, while the average main-line trip is 17 cars. Hence a supply of
empties can be left on the gathering partings between main-line trips
and the gathering locomotives need not wait for the return of the
main-line trip before returning to the room faces.
Mine C
The mine is divided into four separate, nearly equal sections
served by three main-line trolley locomotives, one hauling from each
of two sections and one handling the tonnage of the other two sections.
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
ft
sS
I!
$> ^
5|
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A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
95
96
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
TABLE 11
MAIN-LINE HAULAGE — MINE D
Partings
Locomotives
Ap-
prox.
Dist.
Haul'd
Feet
Cars
per
Trip
Trips
per
Day
Care
per
Day
Tons
per
Day
Ton-
Miles
Coal
Total
Ton-
Miles
Mile-
age
per
Loco.
No.
Wt.
Kind
1st N. E
(A) 1
15-ton
Trolley
4400
14
14
200
700
1157
1943
51 . 6
3d S. E
5700
10
8
80
290
7E, 3dS. E
5300
14
7
90
310
5th N. E.
(B) 1
15- ton
Trolley
4800
14
8
100
350
1186
1996
48.7
9th N. E
5200
15
12
175
615
7th S. E
5400
15
7
100
350
1st S. W
(C) 1
12-ton
Trolley
4500
23
8
180
620
1081
1837
37.7
OW, 1st S. W
4500
16
7
100
350
3d N W
4000
14
8
100
350
7 W, 5th S. W. . . .
(D) 1
1 5- ton
Trolley
5700
15
4
50
180
1381
2411
56.7
5W, 5th S. W
5500
16
3
45
155
1 W, 9th S.^W. . .
5900
16
4
60
225
Main W
6900
14
3
40
140
7th N. W
5500
15
12
180
620
Letters in parentheses refer to territories indicated on the diagram of this mine, Fig. 20.
Grades are uniformly level. Each of the four sections of the mine has
a separate current of air and a minimum number of self-closing, double
doors. No trappers are employed.
Mine E
The two main sections of the mine furnish nearly equal produc-
tion and two main-line locomotives operate in each section. In the
northeast section the round trip averages over 3 miles.
Mine F
The east and west sections are laid out symmetrically and have
about equal productions. One main-line locomotive operates in each
section.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 97
Mine G
The mine has two sections, easfr and west, which produce about
equal amounts. There is one main-line locomotive for each section.
Mine H
There are two partings in the east workings and three partings
in the west workings, each set of partings being served by one main-
line locomotive.
Mine I
The eight partings in this mine are so grouped into pairs that
all main haulage is performed by four trolley locomotives. An average
of 500 tons of coal goes to the shaft bottom daily from each parting.
Gathering in this mine is mixed, but not in the sense that both locomo-
tives and mules are used in the same territories. Instead, 3 mules are
used exclusively in gathering to one parting, while 14 locomotives
handle the remaining seven-eighths of the mine. The mules haul but
one car per trip.
26. Mine Cars. — In Illinois as in other coal-mining states many
kinds of cars are in use even in mines of a single district, worked in
the same seam, and with all conditions essentially common. When a
particular type of pit-car is once adopted it is a difficult and expensive
process to modify that type. It may thus happen that two neighbor-
ing mines, perhaps of common ownership, may be equipped with unlike
cars and that in consequence the haulage and hoisting arrangements
are so dissimilar that any interchange of cars for convenience or
emergency is impossible. The regularity of the pitch, the thickness
and the depth of the seam, the nature of the roof, the type of haulage
system to be used, and the extent of the mining property all have
weight in determining the design of mine cars.
Car Body
Formerly all coal-mine cars were constructed with wooden bodies,
steel and iron being used in the wheels and axle and for stiffening the
body. Indeed there are still some operators who, with strong argu-
ments therefor, retain those wooden cars — and there are some mines
which have both wooden and steel cars in service. General practice,
however, is restricting usage to either type of car exclusively in any
one mine, and the all-steel car is coming more generally into use and
98 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
has now wholly superseded the wooden car in many mines. There
are several reasons for this change.
One desideratum in the design and construction of a serviceable
car is the utmost stiffness and strength in the trucks or running
gear. The axles should always be in true alignment, and, since these
members are held in their relative positions by their attachment to
the floor of the car, stiffness in the car floor is of great importance.
Without this rigidity there is a tendency for the car-wheels to climb
the rails, frequently with derailment. The greatest stiffness is afforded
by steel floors, and the all-steel car is much stiffer in this respect than
is the car with a steel bottom but with wooden sides and ends.
Wreckage of mine cars occurs often at derailments. Experience
proves that the all-steel car is the more resistant to injury or deforma-
tion, hence is less likely to be injured in such accidents and causes less
delay to haulage. On the other hand, repair work on the steel car is
frequently the more difficult and expensive.
There is no fixed ratio between the relative weights of the two
general types of cars. Much depends upon the design, which in turn
depends upon the methods used in dumping the loaded cars. A car
used with rotary dumpers may be lighter in weight than one of equal
capacity used with automatic-dumping cages. A steel car will be
slightly less in width than an equivalent wooden car, this affording
more clearance along the sides. The superior rigidity of the steel car
causes it to travel more smoothly. Consequently there is less spillage
of coal along the roads and loads may therefore be topped higher than
is practicable with wooden cars. A steel car ordinarily has a longer
life than a wooden car, but this feature is considerably offset by its
greater initial cost. The expense of construction and upkeep may be
less for steel cars than for wooden cars when the figures are distributed
to cost per ton of coal ultimately handled per car.
I
Truck
A car truck comprises two axles with their bearings. Strength
and minimum weight are prime factors in the design of the ideal truck,
but frequently an axle is too small to withstand its imposed duty.
Recently the outside- journal bearing, similar to that used on
railway cars, has been successfully used 011 heavy steel coal cars for
slope or drift mines. These journals possess merit for such service;
yet the spragging of such cars is difficult and hand brakes become
A STUDY OP COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 99
necessary, thus rendering the cars poorly adapted to service in self-
dumping cages.
Wheel-Base
The length of wheel-base in Illinois is ordinarily between 16
and 30 inches, the maximum being 42 inches. A 24-inch wheel-base
is general for a car 7 to 8 feet long, and a 30-inch wheel-base for a
car 10 feet long ; while, when short turn-outs are necessary, a shorter
wheel-base is used. An advantage of the short wheel-base is the
greater ease with which a car may be re-railed, owing to a more
easily balanced load. The increase of a couple of inches between
axles may add many pounds to the weight lifted by the miner in
re-railing a car. A long wheel-base is generally conducive to easy
running and minimum derailments from cars climbing the rail.
Wheels
The car wheel should have as great a diameter as possible con-
sidering the distance between roof and rail and the capacity of the
car. The greater the diameter of the wheel the less is the power re-
quired to move the car, but the net load carried may be less. The
diameters used in Illinois vary from 14 to 20 inches. The tread of
the wheel, to provide the best service, should be of chilled steel while
the angle between the flange and the tread is approximately 100
degrees. Both plain and roller bearings are used extensively. Wheels
are now often self-oiling regardless of the type of bearing, and the
cost of lubrication is a feature that cannot be lightly ignored.
Bumpers and Couplings
In designing bumpers two factors control : the safety of the
coupler, and the greatest mechanical efficiency. Thick, round, single
bumpers with a single link-and-pin coupling seem to be most generally
used in this state. Their advantages are that cars do not become locked
on curves and that less slack is found between cars when a trip is
starting or stopping. The twin-bumper car is also used in Illinois.
The type of coupling used with the twin bumper varies. In some
mines the gravity coupling has proved satisfactory under unusually
severe conditions. Recent designs feature a spring drawbar with a
link coupling that decreases the jerking of trips and the accompanying
loss of coal. With this spring drawbar fewer cars are derailed at
100 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
starting, trips require less power in starting, and the general wear
and tear on the car is less. Partially offsetting these advantages are
a greater initial cost and additional repair expenses.
Capacity of Mine Cars
The weight and capacity of a mine car are important items in
connection with the handling of the car by men. If the cars are
pushed to the face by the miners, the number of cars taken to the
parting by the gathering locomotives is increased in proportion to
the time saved by the locomotive in not having to run into the rooms.
This time may amount to several hours per day and can be utilized
by the locomotive in haulage on the entry.
If cars are taken to the faces by the locomotive they should
have the maximum capacity for the given conditions as the time con-
sumed in taking a single car to the face is no greater for a large
than for a small car, and the larger the car the longer it remains in
the room during loading. The largest car now used in Illinois contains
about 5% tons.
Number of Cars Required
The number of cars in use in any mine is equal to the number of
loaders plus a variable reserve. Although each man usually has a
separate working place, two loaders generally work together in a room
while the adjoining room is being undercut by a machine. Therefore,
the car supply at the mine should include for each room where cars
are being loaded one car in the process of being loaded and one in
transit between the room and shaft bottom or drift mouth. In addi-
tion there should be a certain number of surplus cars on the shaft
bottom or tipple landing and on the various partings, to prevent
delays and to replace those undergoing repair.
The minimum empty-car reserve on the shaft bottom for each
main-line section of the mine should be not less than the average
number of cars per trip for that section. For instance, if there are
two main-line locomotives hauling to the shaft bottom, one from each
side of the mine, delivering to two tracks on the shaft bottom, and
if the average trip for each side of the mine is 15 cars, there should
be storage space for at least 30 empty cars on the shaft bottom, so that
the incoming locomotive may find an empty trip ready to couple to
as soon as it has uncoupled from its loaded trip. Likewise to prevent
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 101
delay on each of the partings there should be a trip of loaded cars
ready for the locomotive as soon at it has uncoupled from its empty
trip. As shown in Table 3, the empty-car reserve varies widely at
different mines.
The factors that influence the number of cars required for a given
daily output are : the car capacity, the length of haul, the system of
haulage, and the method of operating the haulage system. The greater
the capacity per car the fewer the cars to be hoisted per day for a
given output, and the longer the haul the more cars will be required.
Mechanical haulage should require fewer cars than mule haulage as
the cars are moving more rapidly and usually cars of larger capacity
are used.
An unnecessary reserve of cars is objectionable on account of the
extra capital they represent. The average life of a mine car is five
to eight years and, assuming cost of the cars as $160, about $20 per car
must be charged off each year for a life of 8 years. According
to Table 3, a car is loaded on an average 2.05 times per day and the
average capacity is 3.64 tons per day. In a year, or 200 days, a car will
handle 1492 tons. On this basis the mine-car depreciation charge is
approximately 1.34 cents per ton of coal hauled. This does not include
the cost of repairs but only the gross depreciation per car of $20 per
year.
For a simple calculation consider a mine having four main
partings of equal production which for a given day will supply an
equal number of cars, say 300 each, or a total of 1200 cars for a
mine producing between 4000 and 5000 tons. If the "turn" runs
four cars per loader, 75 loaders will furnish 300 cars from each of
four districts or 300 loaders will be required for the total. Consider
one unit of this group, and assume that 75 loaders will produce 300
cars and that the parting is 5000 feet from the shaft bottom. Assume
also one main locomotive under ordinary operating conditions, 16
trips of 19 to 20 cars each at the rate of one trip every half hour, on
the basis of ten minutes running time each way and ten minutes for
switching at the two terminal points, this being an easy operating
schedule. Under favorable conditions a gathering locomotive should
deliver at the parting 100 cars per day, assuming the same number of
trips per day as for the main-line locomotives, a running time of 6
minutes, a switching time of 24 minutes, and 6 to 7 cars per trip.
This is, however, considerably higher than the average Illinois gather-
102 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
ing performance. At most mines four locomotives are required to
handle 300 cars as assumed, operating on the same schedule with
five-car trips, and gathering approximately 75 cars per day per loco-
motive. On a practical operating basis with a fixed running schedule
of one trip every half -hour, the empty reserve on the parting is zero,
as the times of arrival of main and gathering locomotives should be
within a few minutes of each other, just as in the schedule operations of
ordinary 'town or city trolley cars. The total empty reserve in such
instances is held practically on the shaft bottom.
There should be some possible combination of the "turn" and
the number of rooms per panel that will make it possible to determine
the frequency of trips and the number of cars per trip for the most
economical gathering schedule. Cars should be distributed at uniform
intervals throughout the day. If the ''turn" is to be 8 cars for two
men then a trip every hour should be regularly established. The
larger the car, the longer the time required for loading and the
fewer the cars required for the "turn." If the car is of such capacity
that a six-car "turn" gives the desired tonnage, a trip every 80
minutes will be adequate.
Standardization
With the object of bringing about more uniformity in design and
construction, efforts have been made to establish acceptable standard
specifications for a few of the main features of coal-mine cars. A
committee of the American Mining Congress for The Standardization
of Underground Transportation Equipment, cooperating with The
Industrial Car Manufacturers' Institute, has recommended the follow-
ing specifications for the design and construction of coal-mine cars :
(1) A track gauge of 42 inches should be adopted for all new
coal-mining developments.
(2) The most desirable wheel-base is 42 inches.
(3) The overall length of a car-body should be three times
the wheel-base, thus making the standard length 126 inches, or 10
feet 6 inches.
(4) Standardized automatic couplings, comparable to those of
surface railways, should be used. For a car with 16-inch wheels the
center of such a coupling should be 10 inches above the top of
A STUDY OP COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 103
rail, with a variation of 1 inch above to accommodate 18-inch wheels
and of 1 inch below for 14-inch wheels.
Discussion of these features elicited the following statements:
About 80 per cent of all new track- work in coal mines of this country
is of 42-inch gauge. This gauge will fit all mine conditions and will
accommodate any appropriate car-body. A 42-inch wheel-base is
theoretically correct and practical ; it minimizes derailment, increases
speed possibilities, and tends to lengthen the life of cars.
Repairs
The expense of maintaining mine cars is not generally known;
hence the following data upon this matter gathe'red by one large
Illinois coal-mining company are of interest. During a period of eight
months or 117 operating days there were 400 cars in service. The
average weight of an empty car was 2000 and the average load of
coal per car, 5000 pounds. The total tonnage hauled was 292 877,
with the daily average per eight-hour shift, 2503. There were used
9279 board feet of oak, besides bolts and washers. At this mine one
carpenter would finish all the repairs to a two-ton wooden car in from
8 to 16 hours. The average life of a car was 5 years.
27. Track Construction. — Proper track construction and main-
tenance are important in any haulage system, as the expected benefit
from expensive rolling equipment may be offset by a poor track. In
many mines the defects in track construction would be much more
apparent if the track could be lifted out intact and reproduced in all
its variations on the surface. In development work track of a tem-
porary nature only is laid. In the rooms where track is intended only
for locomotives with one or two cars moving at a slow speed light
construction is used. But on the main-haulage track the construction
should be designed for the heavier locomotives and longer trips of
cars that are now generally used.
Gauge
The gauge of track has a direct bearing upon the capacity of
coal-mine cars. A narrow gauge permits a longer wheel-base on sharp
curves but as a rule the car is subject to more derailment. Gauges
varying from 36 to 42 inches are common in Illinois bituminous mines.
The maximum gauge in the state is 48 inches. Other conditions being
104 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
equal, the wider the track gauge the wider may be the car and the
greater its capacity. In low coal this is a pertinent factor. Good
roof conditions permit wide gauges. Entries are usually driven 12
feet wide and the 42-inch gauge has proved well adapted to such
entries.
Rails
Until a few years ago 40-pound rails on the main entries, 30-pound
on the cross-entries, and 20-pound in rooms were considered adequate ;
but with the advent of larger cars, heavier locomotives and longer
trips, the weight of rails and sizes of ties and spikes have increased
considerably. Numerous large companies have adopted as standard
not less than 50-pound rails for the main entries and 30-pound for
rooms and cross-entries. In some instances 60- to 70-pound rails are
used on main entries with excellent results. Where large cars and
gathering locomotives are used 30-pound rails possess considerable
advantage over 20-pound rails for rooms and cross-entries, as the
repair cost for the heavier rail is but slightly more than that for the
lighter, while the added initial expense — both for the material and
labor — is usually justified by the rails lasting longer.
•
Ties
Timber ties of the following sizes are generally used: main
entry, 5x6 inches ; cross entry, 4x5 inches ; rooms, 3x4 inches or
4x5 inches. Oak is used if obtainable, although considerable quan-
tities of elm, hickory, and sassafras are consumed. Hewn ties with
the bark removed are generally used, and are spaced 18 inches in
entries and 36 inches in rooms. The sizes of spikes used are : for 40
or 50-pound rail, % x 4 inches ; for 30-pound rail, % x 3^2 inches ; for
20-pound rail, % x 2~y2 inches.
Steel ties are used to a limited extent both for entries and rooms.
Their advantages are :
(1) They afford additional height of from 2 to 4 inches above
the rails, thus permitting the use of higher coal cars and heavier
loading of low cars.
(2) The ties are lighter in weight and more easy to handle than
timber ties, therefore are more readily laid and taken up.
(3) The rails being held by lugs the track is easily kept at a
true gauge and the spreading of rails is prevented.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 105
(4) Because of the less height of rail from the ground a de-
railment can be more readily remedied.
Switches
Switches may be classed under three general heads according to
the method of operation :
(1) Ground track, in which the lever lies close to the ground and
moves either parallel to or at right angles to the track.
(2) Switch stand, in which the lever moves either perpendicular
to the track or rotates.
(3) Automatic or partly automatic, in which ^the lever is thrown
by contact with a locomotive, or by motormen or trip riders without
leaving the locomotives.
All switches for main haulage roads should be substantial and
reliable. To avoid wrecks and to properly care for the rolling stock,
the lead should be as long as possible and should be definitely calcu-
lated. Manufacturers of track equipment recommend a 4- to 6-foot
switch-point to be used with a No. 4 frog, the length depending on the
length of locomotive wheel-base. Some operators prefer the kick
latch in place of the switch-point operated by the switch-stand. If
the roads are kept clean the kick latch has some advantages on
secondary haulage roads.
The cost of switches varies with the design. The following rep-
resents average requirement of material and labor and the costs will
vary with their fluctuations. The materials will be : one No. 4 riveted
frog with 6-foot switch-points; one switchstand with bridle and con-
necting rods complete; forty 5x6 inch ties; sixteen y2 x 4 inch
spikes, and eight special bonds and wiring. The labor will include
delivering material to place, cost of laying the switch and bonding.
If gathering motors are used, the room turnouts are similar to
the main-line switches upon a smaller scale. Good practice at the
larger mines demands the use of the maximum radius, which varies
usually from 25 to 35 feet. These radii are very nearly those
used with No. 2 and No. 2% frogs. If it is desirable to carry the
track along the rib it may be necessary to change the radius of the
curve entering the room. It can readily be seen that it would be
impossible to enter a room neck 10 feet wide with a turnout of 25-
foot radius if the neck were driven at right angles to the entry.
106 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
A room switch costs much less than a turnout or parting switch
because of the smaller size of the rail and its shorter length. The
salvage value is greater because it is more quickly removed. Cast-steel
frogs are used at present for secondary haulage and have proved
entirely satisfactory, their chief advantage being their low initial cost,
and their chief disadvantage the difficulty of holding the frog in place.
With mule haulage the switch is much simpler and consists of
one frog-point, one straight rail, and one turn rail. The length of
lead will vary between 8 feet 6 inches and 12 feet 6 inches, depending
on the gauge and the wheel-base of the car. Empty cars enter rooms
by being slewed over the open fixed point by the driver. On the
return the loaded car is shunted to the entry road with little jar.
A STUDY OF COAL M^NE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 107
V. UNDERGROUND HAULAGE COSTS
28. Cost Accounting. — Copies of the cost-accounting sheets of
sixteen well known companies were studied for the purpose of con-
structing a table that would show how the companies itemize their
haulage costs but, owing to the lack of any uniformity in this practice,
the tabulation proved impossible. Some companies maintain no special
account for Haulage but place all wages for this branch of mining
under General Expense. Companies frequently include haulage and
hoisting under Transportation, with so few sub-items as to prevent
analysis.
Cagers are charged by four companies to Haulage, by three to
Hoisting, by five to General, by one to Transportation, and by one
to Caging, while six companies do not carry this item. Four accounts
place tracklayers under Haulage, six under General. Trappers are
charged to Haulage by but one company, this occupation being usually
charged to Ventilation or General. The only occupations that are
uniformly charged to Haulage are switchmen, greasers and sand
driers. Of the 13 companies that itemize trip riders, 11 consider
them as chargeable to Haulage.
It is even more difficult to secure cost under the subdivisions of
shaft-bottom haulage, main-line haulage, and gathering haulage —
the three general divisions into which mine haulage may logically be
divided and which are necessary for a satisfactory comparison of
details. Hoisting and haulage are often combined. The hoisting cost
is, however, small in comparison with the haulage cost and it is more
nearly uniform for different mines than is the haulage cost.
29. Standardizing Cost Accounts. — The lack of uniformity in
the accounting of coal-mining costs applies not only to haulage but
to every other phase of the industry, as operating companies naturally
object to the radical changes in bookkeeping necessary for the adop-
tion of a universal system. Thus, close comparison of expenses and
profits of companies operating under either similar or dissimilar
natural or commercial conditions — a study that would yield informa-
108 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
tion of value in dealing with commercial and industrial problems —
has been impossible.
The Committee on Standard System of Accounting and Analysis
of Cost Production of the National Coal Association has prepared
the following schedule of the natural subdivisions of the work in and
around a coal mine :
1. Mine Office
2. Superintendence
3. Engineering
4. Mining
5. Timbering
6. Deadwork
7. Tracklaying
8. Drainage
9. Ventilation
10. Haulage and Hoisting
11. Dumping and Tallying
12. Preparation
13. Railroad Car Loading and Yard Expense
14. Power
15. Repairs to Buildings and Permanent Structures
This same committee explains that haulage and hoisting should
be accounted as follows:
Generation and Transmission of Power
This item includes the proportion of expense of generating power
chargeable to haulage and the construction and upkeep of transmis-
sion lines and haulage circuits.
Care and Maintenance of Equipment
This item covers :
(a) Hoisting and haulage engine repair parts, lubricants, pack-
ing and waste, and wages of hoisting engineer and mechanics employed
in care and repair; hoisting and haulage ropes, cage repairs, and
replacements; safety devices, guides, and sheaves.
(b) Care and maintenance of motors; when motor haulage is
used, repair parts and labor of care and repair.
A STUDY OP COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 109
(c) -Care and maintenance of;pit-cars; labor and material used
in keeping pit-cars in repair; new cars to replace wrecked or worn-
out cars, and additional cars necessary to maintain output by reason of
increasing length of haul after mine has reached its contemplated
output capacity.
(d) Care and maintenance of live stock, harness, stable supplies,
grain and hay, wages of stablemen and veterinary, clipping and
shoeing, etc.
Conducting Transportation
This item includes wages of drivers, boss drivers, motormen, trip
riders, couplers, cagers, pushers, oilers, trappers, switch throwers,
jackmen, and that part of 'hoisting- engineer's wages not charged to
Maintenance and Repairs.
Maintenance of Way
This item includes repairing roads, cleaning roads, relaying track,
also new ties, rollers for rope haulage, etc.
Under the head of Tracklaying the committee report says :
' ' While track is immediately connected with and necessary for the transporta-
tion of coal to the shaft bottom, and hence a necessary item incident to Haulage,
it has long been regarded as a significant item in the cost sheet, and should
stand by itself. To this account should be charged rails, ties, spikes, and fasten-
ings, and the labor of grading roads and tracklaying in advancing work. Eepairs
to track should be charged to Haulage and Hoisting under" Maintenance of Way.
Purchases of track material should be charged to Track Material Account, and
as the material is taken into the mine it should be credited and charged Track-
laying. ' '
The committee's explanation of the item Tracklaying (usually
called Trackwork by operators) illustrates a common reason for dis-
agreements between haulage costs as estimated by various companies.
As noted above, rail^, ties, etc. for advancing roads are charged under
a separate item Track, while relaid track is a part of haulage under
Maintenance of Way. If track is pulled out of an entry and used in
a new entry is it to be considered relaid and chargeable to Haulage
or as advancing work and chargeable to Tracklaying ? This is merely
an instance of the difficulty of defining any system of segregated items
so clearly that it is not open to misinterpretation.
In its wartime collection of costs the Federal Trade Commission
asked for haulage costs under the following heads :
110 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
Haulage :
Animal
Mechanical
Equipment Repairs
Stable Expense
Labor
Supplies
Total
The following items in the Instructions for Compiling Coal-
Mining Costs have direct bearing upon haulage :
Labor — Haulage. — This account shall include the wages of hoisting engineers,
cagers (top and bottom), motormen, brakemen, trip riders, switchmen, couplers,
greasers, spraggers, stable boss, drivers, sand dry*ers, and other labor employed to
operate the haulage facilities other than standard gauge railroad equipment.
Wages of employees, such as electricians, blacksmiths, trackmen, car and locomo-
tive repair men, and men engaged in maintaining haulage equipment and tracks,
shall be charged to Maintenance Account.
Maintenance and Eepair. — This account shall include the cost of labor em-
ployed in repairing and maintaining (1) the tipple, powerhouse, tracks, and other-
mine structures; (2) mining machines, pumps, fans, boilers, engines, motors,
locomotives, mine cars, and other mining equipment.
Feed and Other Stable Supplies. — This account shall include the cost to
the operator of feed, bedding, and other stable supplies.
Supplies — Maintenance and Repairs. — This account shall include the cost
(1) of supplies used, in maintaining and repairing the tipple structure, power-
house, and other mine buildings and structures, and (2) of supplies and parts used
in repairing mining machines, pumps, fans, boilers, engines, motors, locomotives,
mine cars, tracks, and other mining equipment.
Here are four separate items for haulage, any one of which might
be quoted from a government publication and be misleading as cover-
ing only part of the haulage costs.
•
30. Itemized Haulage Costs for Typical Large Illinois Mines. —
Table 12 gives transportation costs for twelve mines itemized as sug-
gested by the Coal Association except that the cost of hoisting has been
deducted when possible. Two of these mines G and H are also listed
in Table 3 of shaft-bottom costs. In general the average daily produc-
tion of the mines in Table 12 is less than of those in Table 3. The
costs per ton in Table 3 apply only to the shaft-bottom labor, whereas
the costs in Table 12 cover all haulage labor.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
111
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Labor Cost per Ton
Total Tonnage
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System of Haulage:
Main
Gathering
Weight Tons Coal p
112
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
-18
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A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
113
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114
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
The effect of daily production on shaft-bottom costs is shown
by Table 3, for the average labor cost per ton in the six largest mines
is 26.33 cents while in the six smaller mines it is 41.32 cents. Similarly
the average is 39.51 cents as against 58.22 cents in the six smaller mines.
As shown by Table 3, there is cost advantage in handling large
cars on the shaft bottom ; not only is this cost lowest where the largest
cars are used and highest where the smallest cars are used — which
might be accidental — but the average cost in four mines where cars
holding 4 tons and over are used is 1.31 cents per ton, whereas in 6
mines where cars holding less than 4 tons are used it is 1.51 cents per
ton.
In Table 13 hoisting costs are given for comparison with haulage
costs. The effect of tonnage upon costs is more pronounced in hoisting
than in haulage.
TABLE 13
HAULAGE COSTS AT FIVE MINES OF COMMON OWNERSHIP
In Cents per Ton
Items
Period
I
II
III
IV
V
Averages
Gathering
Main haulag"
0
10.73
4 16
10.55
2 67
10.61
5 80
9.88
3 89
13.63
4 07
11.08
4 12
Track work
2
4 42
13 91
8 08
17 06
8 03
10 30
^
Total haulage
1
19.31
27 . 13 •
24.49
30.83
25.73
25.50
Tons mined
Hoisting
Days worked
'
47602
1.47
25.00
88018
1.09
26.00
41 702
2.04
26.00
73 758
1.30
26.00
37928
3.81
25.00
57802
1.94
25.60
Gathering
10.60
11.57
12 47
8 73
26 12
13 90
Main haulage
Trackwork
4.05
4.98
2.20
13.54
6.78
9.98
3.20
8.88
5.59
4.65
4.36
8.41
Total haulage
19.63
27.31
29.23
20.81
•!<;.:«;
26.67
Tons mined
«
28 921
55 951
28 541
61 121
4 418
35 790
Hoisting
S
2.44
1.72
2*58
1 89
15 87
4 90
Days worked
13.00
15.00
18 00
20 00
3 00
14 00
In Mines I and V gathering is by mules; in the other mines it is by storage-battery locomotives.
All main haulage is by trolley locomotives.
The sub-items considered in obtaining the above costs are as
follows :
Trackwork — Tracklayers, helpers, handling track material, grading track
(laborers).
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
115
Gathering — Mule feeder, blacksmith,, (part time), drivers, veterinary service,
boss driver, motormen on gathering motors, trip riders on gathering motors,
battery charger, electrician (part time), labor on repairs, trappers, and naggers.
Main — Motormen, trip riders, electrician (part time), switch thrower, wire-
men (part time), other labor on repairs, trappers and flaggers.
The following are labor costs chargeable to Haulage, exclusive of
generation and transmission of power, at an Illinois mine which pro-
duces an average of 5000 tons daily :
1 eager
2 eager helpers ....
2 blockers . . . .
2 couplers
2 oilers
1 switcher
2 sump cleaners
7 drivers
19 motormen
19 trip riders ....
19 tracklayers ....
16 track helpers .
11 repairmen ....
4 cleaning falls
7 brushing
1 sprinkling roads .
1.5 cleaning roads ...
3 hauling dirt ....
1 mule feeder
2 electric bonders .
4 locomotive repairmen
Total . . .
Haulage wage per ton
$ 7.50
14.50
14.50
14.50
14.50
7.25
14.50
52.50
152.76
142.50
142.50
116.00
80.00
30.00
, 50.75
7.50
12.50
22.50
7.50
15.00
, 30.00
$949.26
18.99 cents
Labor, delivery of material and supplies:
1 eager
1 eager helper
5 drivers
$ 7.50
7.25
37.50
Total . $52.25
Daily wage per ton 1.04 cents
Total haulage labor cost per ton 20.03 cents
116 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
At another large mine with an average daily output of 5200 tons
the average number of employees engaged in haulage operating and
in maintenance of way, and their total wages, are as follows :
3 haulage bosses . $ 24.18
29 motormen 233.74
29 trip riders 217.50
32 trappers 128.00
6 jackmen 43.50
6 repairmen ..•....'... 45.00
2 electricians 15.00
1 oiler './..' 7.25
33 tracklayers . 247.50
27 track helpers 195.75
18 timbermen . . . . . . 130.50
8 road cleaners 58.00
1 sprinkler '. 7.50
2 bonders 15.00
4 cagers . .... . . ,• . . 29.50
6 blockers . . . . . . . . 43.50
1 switcher . . .- . 7.25
2 couplers 14.50
Total ............ $1463.17
Total haulage wage cost per ton ...*... 28.14 cents
At one mine producing 4500 tons daily, the following items cover
the daily labor costs of maintaining and conducting haulage :
Maintenance :
1 chief electrician, half time $ 6.50
1 shop foreman, half time 5.50
1 motor charger, half time 7.50
1 sub-station attendant, half time 4.52
1 motor oiler 7.50
1 electrician 7.50
23 tracklayers at $7.50 ' . ... . . 172.50
16 track helpers at $7.25 ..... .... 116.00
6 road cleaners at $7.25 . . . . '. . . . . . 43.50
2 sump cleaners at $7.25 14.50
4 car repairers at $7.50 " . . 30.00
1 oiler 7.50
Total ...... ' . .$423.02
Total maintenance wages per ton . 9.4 cents
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 117
Conducting :
16 motormen at $8.06 • . .$128.96
16 trip riders at $7.50 . . ..." . . .' . . . 120.00
1 motor boss . . . t . .. •. '....... 11.00
1 eager ..... .V . . . . . . . . . 7.50
2 spraggers at $7.25 ..... "' . ' . . . . . 14.50
1 coupler . . . .... . ,:'... . 7.25
1 switcher 7.25
Total $296.46
Total conducting wages per ton 6.6 cents
This represents high efficiency. No trappers are employed.
Double swinging doors are opened automatically by the locomotives,
but the item of maintenance of doors is not included in cost.
At this same mine the electric-power costs for haulage for the year
1919 were :
Kw-hr.
Total kw-hr. used by trolley locomotives 130 210
Total kw-hr. charging battery locomotives .... 129 650
Total kw-hr. for haulage 259 860
The cost of this power at the rate of 3.5 cents per kilowatt-hour
was $9094.10. During the year the mine produced 373 847 tons of
coal, thus making the power cost for haulage about 2.4 cents per ton.
The complete haulage costs, not including any materials, were per
ton:
Cents
Wages for maintenance 9.4
Wages for conducting 6.6
Power 2.4
Total ; . . . ... 18.4
Table 14 details the haulage costs in cents per ton for two large
Illinois mines during January and February, 1921.
These two mines operate under similar natural conditions.
Mine A has the longer hauls and there is no division between main
and gathering haulage, whereas Mine F has two-stage haulage. Al-
though general conclusions must not be drawn from these two mines
nor for such a short period, the marked difference in cost between the
two systems suggests the desirability of a more extended study of
the two systems.
118
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
TABLE 14
HAULAGE COSTS AT Two ILLINOIS GOAL MINES
In Cents per Ton
Item
Mine A
Jhn.
Feb.
Mine F
Jan.
Feb.
Tonnage for month 92 500
Tonnage Daily 4 500
Occupations:
Motor Bosses 0.63
Motormen 3.54
Trip Riders 2.63
Couplers 0.26
Cagers 0.42
Other Bottom Men 1.16
Flagmen 1.71
Jackmen 0. 17
Maintenance of Way 3.35
Trappers 1.06
Track Bosses 0.26
Tracklayers 2.70
Track Helpers 2.35
Totals 20.24
Repairs:
Labor on Mine Cars 1.92
Supplies for Mine Cars 2.17
Totals 4.00
Labor on Locomotives 1.36
Supplies for Locomotives 1.14
Totals... 2.50
62 188
4 480
0.93
3.36
2.64
0.29
0.48
1.12
1.59
0.17
2.32
0.89
0.36
2.02
17.68
88 072
3500
0.32
4.64
4.02
0.40
0.83
0.79
4.26
2.68
0.50
7.21
4.46
30.71
2.19
2.95
3.22
1.07
5.14
4.29
1.43
2.38
2.09
2.79
45 383
3700
0.62
4.43
3.83
0.38
086
0.72
3.35
0.13
2.01.
0.67
7.03
5.03
29.06
2.60
2.58
3.81
4.88
5.18
Total Cost per Ton Exclusive of Powci
and Track Equipment
-i, 63
39.88
39.86
Table 15 gives the haulage employees and the total labor costs in
cents per ton for four large Illinois mines.
The following estimates of haulage wages are for mines having
electric haulage exclusively. The figures cited as ranges of costs per
ton are distributed under four items. Main-haulage and general wage
costs are about equal and each is about double the shaft-bottom wage
cost per ton. The labor cost of gathering haulage usually equals or
exceeds the sum of the three other items.
Shaft-Bottom Haulage . . . . . . . . . . . 1 to 3 cents
Cagers, spraggers, blockers, couplers, car distributors, and all
other employees handling cars on shaft bottom only
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
119
Main Haulage . . . " . . . . 2 to 6 cents
Motormen, trip riders, trappers^' trackmen, timbermen, wire-
men, road cleaners, switch throwers, etc., engaged directly on
main haulage.
Gathering Haulage 8 to 15 cents
All employees engaged in hauling coal on the inside divisions,
including motormen, trip riders, drivers, trappers, and all track-
men and such timbermen as are necessary for maintenance of
way.
General 2 to 6 cents
All employees connected with haulage as a whole, as oilers, elec-
tricians (unless strictly main haulage), repairmen, sump cleaners,
etc.
Total operating haulage labor cost thus may vary between 13 cents
and 30 cents per ton. As the tonnage varies at a given mine on
different days there will be a variation in the daily haulage cost per
ton, even with the same working force.
TABLE 15
HAULAGE LABOR COSTS AT FOUR- LARGE ILLINOIS GOAL MINES
In Cents per Ton
Occupations
Mine 1
Mine 2
Mine 3
Mine 4
Main
Gather.
Main
Gather.
Main
Gather.
Main
Gather.
Motormen
Trip Riders
Tracklayers
Track Helpers
Switch Throwers
Wiremen
3
3
11
12
12
16
16
4
4
2
2
1
4
4
2
2
8
8
5
9
2
12
3
3
1
15
15
21
4
4
7
7
1
14
14
15
15
14
4
2
Timbermen
1
2
Mule Feeders
Road Cleaners
Totals
18
58
21
48
7
53
23
79
Total Cost Labor. .
$131.41
$437.48
$144.41
$283 . 08
$54 . 12
«405.10
$172.10
$542.27
Tonnage Daily
4500
3800
3400
4000
Labor cost per ton:
Main
Gather
3.0
9.7
3.8
7.4
1.6
Li.O
4.3
13.5
Total per Ton, cents
12.7
11.2
13.6
17.8
120
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
VI. HAULAGE ACCIDENTS
31. Haulage Fatality Statistics. — Table 16 gives the coal mine
haulage fatalities in the United States and in Illinois for the period
1901 to 1920 inclusive, together with the average percentage of all
fatalities for each five-year period. For the past ten years haulage
fatalities have been second in importance only to those from falls.
These two classes, which make up from 60 to 70 per cent of the number
of deaths underground, occur for the most part singly or in small
groups, hence do not attract public attention to the same extent as
do explosions, which are third in importance. The number of deaths
from falls is remarkably uniform year after year, forming almost 50
per cent of the total fatalities. Haulage deaths have been constantly
increasing in per cent of the total and therefore should be given more
attention as they seem to a great extent to be preventable.
In Illinois the percentage of deaths from falls of roof and pillar
coal approximates that for the United States but the percentage of
deaths from haulage is higher and shows a decided increase during the
past decade. Such haulage fatalities are due not only to mine cars and
locomotives but also to electricity and animals as shown in Table 17.
TABLE 16
COAL MINE FATALITIES DUE TO HAULAGE
By Five- Year Periods
Period
United States
Illinois
Total
Underground
Fatalities
Haulage
Fatalities
Per Cent
of
Total
Total
Underground
Fatalities
Haulage
Fatalities
Per Cent
of
Total
1901-1905
1906-1910
1911-1915
1916-1920
8428
12017
11 424
10771
1097
1649
1939
2201
13.0
13.7
17.0
20.4
668
1024
753
904
84
145
191
278
12.6
14.2
25.4
30.8
Totals 1901-1920
42640
6886
16.1
3349
698
20.8
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
121
TABLE 17
UNITED STATES COAL-MINE NATALITIES DUE TO HAULAGE
CLASSIFIED AS TO CAUSES
Year
Causes
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1. Mine Cars and Locomotives:
17
6
15
12
6
12
7
11
6
13
Falling from Trips
43
29
36
17
26
Run over by Car or Locomotive
147
187
203
149
163
Caught between Car and Rib
87
122
113
105
98
Caught between Car and Roof . .
12
20
27
23
18
Runaway Car or Trip
42
67
68
42
43
Miscellaneous
30
50
33
27
38
Totals
390
488
506
[381
405
2. Electricity:
Direct Contact with Trolley Wire
66
46
55
39
29
Bar or Tool Striking Trolley Wire
5
2
4
2
3
Contact with Locomotive Parts
1
4
1
2
3
Totals
72
52
60
43
35
3. Animals ...
8
9
8
2
4
Total Fatalities Chargeable to Haulage
470
549
574
426
444
Total Fatalities Due to Coal Mining
2226
2696
2580
2317
2260
Per Cent Due to Haulage
21.1
20.4
20.2
18.4
19.7
Even falls are frequently caused initially by derailed cars knocking
out roof supports.
Table 17 gives the classification of the causes of haulage fatalities
in the United States for the five-year period, 1916-1920.
32. Haulage Accidents in Illinois. — Table 18 gives a more de-
tailed causal analysis of haulage accidents for Illinois, and the accom-
panying graph, Fig. 27, shows the variation of the percentages of
haulage to total fatalities throughout the period 1902-1921. The
latter half of the period is fairly indicative of present operating condi-
tions. For the past ten years haulage fatalities have averaged 27 per
cent of the whole. During the years 1918 to 1921 inclusive the average
number of employees in Illinois coal mines was 88 274 per year. These
122
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
TABLE 18
CAUSAL ANALYSIS OF HAULAGE FATALITIES IN ILLINOIS
Causes
Period
1902-05
1906-10
1911-15
1916-20
1921
Totals
Switching and Spragging
5
11
12
9
0
5
7
3
2
3
7
5
1
1
2
1
8
1
39
15
12
0
9
11
10
3
6
6
5
0
7
4
3
5
5
31
29
20
0
4
2
7
8
5
13
62
1
8
12
7
13
22
72
29
4
7
10
11
11
8
15
54
0
7
18
4
1
3
3
24
4
0
2
3
0
0
3
2
8
8
0
3
1
26
23
106
152
74
4
25
33
31
24
25
43
134
10
23
39
10
Coupling Cars
Falling from Trips
Run over by Car or Locomotive
Caught between Car and Rib
Caught between Car and Face
Caught between Car and Roof
Caught between Cars (not Coupling)
Runaway Car or Trip
Jumping on or off Car or Locomotive
Collisions
Derailments
Killed by Cars, not Stated
Roof Falls
Animals
Contact Trolley Wire
Miscellaneous
Total Haulage Fatalities
75
139
213
292
65
782
Total Coal-mining Fatalities
611
1122
856
1020
222
3831
Per Cent Haulage Fatalities. . . .
12.3
12.4
24.9
28.6
29.3
20.4
%
four years are selected because they represent recent average condi-
tions and the statistics are complete. The average number of haulage
employees per year was 12 493 ; hence the duties of mine haulage
required more than one-seventh of the entire number of coal mine
workers in the state. For these same years in Illinois there were 243
fatalities directly attributable to haulage as against 870 total coal-
mine fatalities. These fatalities averaged respectively, 60.75 and 217.5
annually. Since 60.75 haulage fatalities were sustained among 88 274
employees, this was 1 for each 1453 men employed about coal mines.
Even among those 75 781 employees who positively had no duties
connected with haulage, Table 19 shows that the annual haulage fatali-
ties for this same four-year period averaged 19.25, or one in 3937,
thus leaving an average of 41.5 haulage employees killed each year in
the discharge of their duties. There being 12 493 such employees, it
follows that the mortality was one per 301 men.
The number of deaths occurring year by year naturally increases
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
123
with increase in production and number of men engaged. Thus, as
shown in Table 19, while the production has increased rapidly, it has
always been more than 1 000 000 tons of coal per fatal haulage acci-
dent, the best record being in 1905, slightly more than 3 000 000 tons,
and the lowest in 1913, 1 124 476 tons. The average for the whole
period is about 1 500 000 tons.
The graph, Fig. 28, shows a periodicity in the fatalities directly
attributable to underground haulage. It can be seen that the peaks
and depressions do not coincide with similar features of the curve for
total coal-mining fatalities, Fig. 27. The large numbers of fatal
03 04 05 '06 '07 '08 '03 '10 // 12 '13 '/4 '/3 '/6 77 78 '19 '€0 '
Year
FIG. 27. GRAPH OF ILLINOIS COAL MINE FATALITIES
124
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
TABLE 19
BELATION BETWEEN COAL PRODUCTION AND HAULAGE FATALITIES IN ILLINOIS
Year
Production
Total
Haulage
Fatalities
Total
Fatalities
Haulage
Employees
Fatalities
Non-
Haulage
Employees
Fatalities
to Drivers
Fatalities
to Motormen
and Trip Riders
Tons per
Haulage
Fatality
Per
Per
No.
Cent
No.
Cent
1902
30 021 300
15
13
2
10
66.70
2 001 420
1903
34 955 400
19
15
4
14
73.11
1 839 757
1904
37 077 897
29
21
8
16
55.17
1 278 544
1905
37 183 374
12
9
3
8
66.66
3 098 614
1906
38 317 581
22
18
4
15
68.18
1
4.54
1 741 708
1907
47 798 621
29
22
7
17
58.62
1
3.44
1 648 228
1908
49 272 452
35
31
4
25
71.42
1 407 784
1909
49 163 710
30
23
7
18
60.00
'2
6.66
1 638 790
1910
48 717 853
23
23
0
20
86.95
1
4.34
2 118 170
1911
50 165 099
37
30
7
22
59.45
3
8.10
1 355 813
1912
57 514 240
40
32
8
20
50.00
5
12.50
1 437 856
1913
61 846 204
55
37
18
22
40.00
6
10.90
1 124 476
1914
60 715 795
45
35
10
20
44.44
10
22.22
1 350 352
1915
57 601 694
36
25
11
13
36.11
9
25.00
1 600 047
1916
63 673 530
44
29
15
18
40.90
5
11.36
1 446 443
1917
78 983 527
70
48
22
28
40.00
14
20.00
1 128 336
1918
89 979 469
74
51
23
20
26.66
21
28.00
1 199 726
1919
75 099 784
55
36
19
14
25.00
16
28.57
1 341 067
1920
73 920 653
49
25
24
9
18.38
7
14.29
1 508 585
1921
80 121 948
65
54
11
18
27.69
28
43.08
1 232 645
Aveand
Totals
1 122 130 131
784
577
207
347
44.25
129
16.45
1 431 287
accidents that occurred in 1905, 1910, and 1915 were caused by serious
disasters such as fires and explosions but it would seem, that haulage
employees suffered least of all the classes of underground employees.
The peaks in the curve for haulage fatalities, Fig. 28, preceded the
peaks of total fatalities by a year or two in each instance and the ques-
tion suggests itself, did not the haulage employees naturally become
more careful after each time of heavy loss and in consequence conduct
their duties with special attention to "safety first"?
The relative hazards incident to the occupations of those killed
in connection with haulage are shown by Table 20 and the graph,
Fig. 29. It can be expected that with the more extended use of
mechanical haulage, with increased speed and size of equipment, and
with the utilization of haulage ways as traveling ways, the hazard to
employees other than haulage employees will be increased. During
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
125
the period 1902 to 1921, inclusive, non-haulage employees sustained
28.8 per cent of the total haulage fatalities, as shown by Table 20.
Since 1915 the number of non-haulage employees killed each year
has exceeded the number of motormen and trip riders killed; and,
since 1918, has even exceeded the number of drivers or motormen and
trip riders killed — the largest groups among haulage employees. The
classes of employees included in haulage fatalities are given in Table
20 in which the first ten occupations are essentially connected with
haulage. It seems that the accidents to non-haulage employees can
be most readily prevented and should be given special attention.
Table 21 gives a comparison of the haulage hazard for various
counties in the state for a period of nine years. As Franklin county
not only has the largest number of fatalities per million tons, but is
now the -largest producing county in the state, a detailed study of the
casualties in that county was made (Table 22). Of the mine fatalities
'02 '03 '04 '06 '06 '07 '08 '09 '/O '// 72 '13 '/4 76 76 '/7 78 73 'SO
Year
FIG. 28. GRAPH OF ILLINOIS COAL MINE HAULAGE FATALITIES
126
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
TABLE 20
HAULAGE FATALITIES IN ILLINOIS — CLASSIFIED BY OCCUPATIONS
Occupations
Perio
d
Haulage Employees:
1902-O5
1906-10
1911-15
1916-20
1921
Totals
Drivers
48
95
97
89
18
347
Trip Riders
Trappers
0
6
5
7
24
11
44
16
19
5
92
45
Motormen . .
0
0
9
17
9
35
Track and Road Men
2
2
3
9
2
18
1
2
1
1
0
1
2
2
o
5
o
1
3
o
c
Electricians
0
0
0
4
0
.
Grippers
0
0
o
0
1
Total Haulage Employees
57
114
148
185
54
558
Non-Haulage Employees:
14
12
38
59
*
7
130
Laborers
2
8
11
17
1
39
Managers and Assistants . .
1
1
4
12
1
19
Cagers
o
3
9
5
1
18
Timbermen
o
1
2
4
1
g
Pipemen and Pumpmen
0
0
0
3
0
3
Machine Runners
0
0
0
2
0
2
Bratticemen
0
0
o
2
0
2
Blacksmiths
0
0
o
2
0
2
Hoist Engineers
1
0
0
o
o
1
Shot-firers
o
o
0
1
o
1
Mining Engineers "...
0
0
1
0
o
1
Total Non-Haulage, Employees
18
25
65
107
11
226
Total Fatalities
75
139
213
292
65
784
Per Cent, Haulage Employees
76.0
82.0
69.5
63.4
83.1
71.2
Per Cent, Non-Haulage Employees .
24.0
18.0
30.5 .
36.6
16.9
28.8
in Franklin county during 15 recent years, 22 per cent have
been due to haulage, while during the last five years 28 per cent
have been due to the same cause. Undoubtedly, large producing
mines, large capacity cars, and high speed are the chief reasons for
the increased number of haulage fatalities.
Table 23 presents statistics for one year for the non-fatal accidents
that occurred in a selected group of typical Illinois coal mines. In this
same year, 1919, the total number was 2620, so that roughly speaking
this table covers one-third of all such accidents in the state.
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
127
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£ ^ ^ 04 03 '06 '07 08 '09 '10 'II K 13 '14 '15 '/6 '17 '/8 'Id '80 '81
FIG. 29. GRAPH SHOWING PERCENTAGES OF FATALITIES BY OCCUPATIONS
TABLE 21
RELATION OF HAULAGE FATALITIES TO PRODUCTION
For Period of Nine Years in 19 Coal-Mining Counties of Illinois
County
Tonnage
Fatalities
Fatalities per
Million Tons
Franklin . . .
69 263 400
97
1 40
Montgomery
26 259 295
29
1 10
6 948 458
7
1 01
Vermilion .
26 908 926
24
0 90
Williamson
Saline
Fulton ....
80 906 264
38 700 228
19 595 117
72
33
14
0.89
0.83
0 71
Christian
18 901 802
13
0 70
Madison
35 766 010
25
0.69
Sangamon
53 303 653
36
0 68
49 194 248
33
0 67
Washington
Perry
4 483 649
19 182 399
3
12
0.67
0 62
La Salle-Bureau* . .
39 369 969
21
0 53
St. Clair
43 627 890
19
0 44
Peoria
9 773 729
4
0 41
Clinton
10 988 907
4
0 36
Randolph .
q 103 597
\
0 11
Marion
9 453 052
o
0 00
Totals
570 730 523
447
0 78
Bal. of State
24 848 819
9
0.36
Total of State
595 579 342
456
0 76
*Northern Longwall Field
128
ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
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A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS
129
TABLE 23
NON-FATAL ACCIDENTS FOR GROUP OF ILLINOIS MINES, FOR YEAR 1919
Occupations
No. Injured
No. Shifts Lost
Haulage Employees:
44
1 Oil
Trip Riders
112
3448
Trappers, Spraggers
15
301
Couplers
10
440
Trackmen
Electricians ...
26
20
689
352
Total Haulage Employees
227
6 241
Other Underground Employees
572
15 869
Surface Employees
71
1485
Total Non-Fatal Accidents
870
23 595
Per Cent, Haulage Employees
26.1
26.4
Comparing injuries by the relative losses of time sustained by
the victims, the average time lost per accident was 27.1 shifts, this
applying to all occupations of coal mining, both underground and
surface. Although the electricians' duties should properly be dis-
tributed between haulage, coal-cutting, and illumination, they are
charged to haulage exclusively. On this basis, we have a total number
of 227 injuries that caused a loss of 6241 shifts or approximately
27.5 shifts per accident. The significance of this analysis is that the
injuries sustained from haulage appear to be about equal in severity
to the average of all coal-mining non-fatal injuries. This of course
has no direct bearing upon relative hazards nor upon fatalities. This
appears in a different manner in the last line of Table 23 which shows
that haulage employees sustained not only 26.1 per cent of the acci-
dents but also 26.4 per cent of the lost time.
Table 24 is presented to compare coal mine haulage fatalities in
Illinois with those in the bituminous district of Pennsylvania. The
Pennsylvania data are from the Statistical Analysis of Coal Mine Acci-
dents compiled by the Insurance Department of Pennsylvania. This
table covers the 5-year period, 1916-1920, thus representing present con-
ditions, and shows production tonnages for several classes of employees.
Pennsylvania produced more than twice as much coal as did Illinois
with about twice as many coal-mine employees. Various interesting
comparisons may be noted in the column of Ratios.
130 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
TABLE 24
UNDERGROUND HAULAGE FATALITIES IN BITUMINOUS MINES
OP PENNSYLVANIA AND ILLINOIS
5-Year Period, 1916-1920
Items
Pa.
111.
Ratios
Comments
Total Coal Production
Total No. Men Employed .
Tons Coal per Employee . . .
831 877 000
864878
961.8
381 656 963
427 273
893.2
2.18:1
2.02 : 1
1.07 : 1
Pa. double 111.
Close
Haulage Fatalities:
Total
557
292
1 91 • 1
Almost 2 * 1
To Non-Haulage Em-
221
103
2 14 • 1
To all Haulage Employees
To Loco. Employees
To Mule Drivers
318
209
99
189
61
89
1.68:1
3.43 : 1
1.11:1
5:3
Notable difference
Nearly even
Percentage of Haulage Fatal-
ities:
Suffered by Haulage Em-
ployees
5709
64 72
1 • 1 13
• '
Suffered by Loco. Em-
6572
32 27
203-1
Pa double 111
Suffered by Mule Drivers
31.13
47.09
1 : 1.51
111. 51 per cent greater
Tons of Coal Produced for
each Fatality:
Haulage
1 493 495
1 307 044
1 14 • 1
Haulage Employee
Loco. Employee
Mule Driver
Non-Haulage Employees .
2 615 965
3 980 272
8 402 798
3 764 149
2 019 349
6 256 671
4 288 280
3 705 407
1.29:1
1 : 1.57
1.96 : 1
1.01 : 1
Pa. double 111.
Practically equal
No. of Employees for each
Fatality:
Due to Haulage
1552.7
1463.3
1.06 : 1
To Haulage Employees . . .
To Non-Haulage Em-
ployes
2719.7
2913.5
2260.7
4148.3
1.20 : 1
1 : 1.42
To Loco. Employees
To Mule Drivers
4138.2
8736.1
7004.5
4800.8
1 : 1.69
1.82 : 1
33. Comparative Hazards in Locomotive and Animal Haulage. —
The question arises as to whether or not locomotive haulage is more
dangerous than animal haulage. Analysis of Illinois statistics on this
subject shows that a direct answer to the inquiry is imposible, but
the statistics in the Annual Coal Report of Illinois for the year 1921
may be accepted as fairly representative of present-day conditions.
In that year there were in the coal mines 2892 locomotive men, 4229
drivers, and 278 boss drivers. Of all classes of underground employees,
numbering 81 708, 39 men were killed by locomotive haulage and
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 131
26 men by animal haulage, a total of 65 fatalities (see Table 19). Of
these 65 fatalities, 54 were among the 23 453 employees connected with
haulage. There were 7399 men employed in moving trips of coal,
2892 of these being motormen and trip riders and the remaining
4507, mule drivers. Of the 54 haulage-employee victims 8 were men
other than trip men (5 trappers, 2 tracklayers, and 1 spragger), 28
were locomotive men, and 18 were drivers (see Table 20). Beside
the 7399 trip men, there were 6054 haulage employees such as trap-
pers, spraggers, trackmen, stablemen and electricians. (In the case
of electricians it is assumed that about one-half their time is occupied
with mining work connected with mining machines, illumination and
pumping. ) There were 19 haulage fatalities among the 74 309 em-
ployees other than trip men. Of these 17 were due to locomotive
haulage and 2 to mule haulage. In 1921 there were 2.03 locomotive
men per locomotive and 1.19 mules per driver.
From the above data several deductions are possible :
(a) Of the 4507 drivers and boss drivers 18 were killed in their
occupation. This is a rate of 3.994 men per thousand.
(b) Of the 2892 locomotive men 28 met death in their duties,
this being a rate of one man per 103 men or 9.682 men per thousand.
(c) Locomotive men were thus under a hazard 2.42 times greater
than were mule drivers.
(d) Among all classes of underground employees, locomotive
haulage, with its 39 fatalities, was but one and one-half times as
dangerous as mule haulage with its 26 fatalities.
(c) Among the 74309 employees other than trip men (motor-
men, trip riders, drivers) fatalities were 19, this being a rate of one
death per 3911 men or 0.256 men per thousand. The risk assumed by
such workmen appears reasonably small. In comparing the 17 locomo-
tive haulage fatalities with the 2 fatalities due to mule haulage we
run upon the striking fact that, to nearly 91 per cent of all under-
ground employees, locomotive haulage is eight and one-half times as
dangerous as mule haulage.
Such calculations and deductions, however — leading to the con-
clusion that locomotive haulage is much more dangerous than mule
haulage — have been based upon the numbers of employees only,
whereas recent practice refers vital coal-mine statistics to tonnage of
production.
132 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
There is a slow but general lessening of mule haulage on main
lines. The last statistics gathered on this point — those for the year
1921 — show that mules hauled less than one-tenth as much coal over
main lines as did locomotives. The superiority of locomotives over
mules for main haulage became fully evident to Illinois coal operators
about fifteen years ago. Mules handled their maximum annual ton-
nage on main roads in 1907. Since that year, there has been a general
diminution of this mule haulage with a simultaneous increase in the
annual tonnage handled on main roads by locomotives. Using data
from Table 1 and Table 19 for the years 1908 to 1921 inclusive, we
find that for a total of 674 766 930 tons of coal hauled by locomotives on
main lines there were 334 fatalities and that for 185 986 960 tons
hauled by mules there were 321 fatalities. This means that the re-
spective tonnages per fatality were 2 020 260 and 579 398 and indicates
that mule haulage is nearly 3.5 times as dangerous as locomotive haul-
age when computed from the standpoint of tonnage handled.
34. Accident Prevention Measures. — The safeguards or measures
installed to prevent accidents are usually determined by their relative
necessity. Generally speaking favorable natural conditions of haulage,
with easy grades and good roadbed, standard haulage equipment in good
repair, and strict enforcement of safe practices are prime requisites
for safe haulage and efficient operation. There are dangers inherent
to such acts as switching, spragging, coupling, jumping on and off
cars and locomotives, and handling animals, but these risks may be
minimized by. strict adherence to and practice of safety-first prin-
ciples. If these accidents are due to inadequate or poorly maintained
equipment or to failure to inculcate safety principles among the
employees, certain responsibilities must be assumed by mine owners.
It is not, however, the purpose of this discussion to decide upon
specific methods of minimizing the accident hazards that attend mine
haulage but to study the occurrence and relative numbers of such
hazards in the different occupations. When each operator duly an-
alyzes the accidents that occur in his mine he will be in position to
undertake corrective measures that will apply to his particular prop-
erty. The frequent recurrence of accidents to a given group of
workers emphasizes the need of accident-prevention regulations for
that group. Statistics covering a period of years reveal the underlying
A STUDY OF COAL MINE HAULAGE IN ILLINOIS 133
causes, and from them may be formulated more effective methods of
combating the hazards.
For example, as the work of distributing and collecting cars
underground must be maintained with a certain amount of speed,
narrow haulageways with scant illumination are constant sources of
danger. This hazard increases with the speed of haulage. In order to
reduce this risk whitewash is applied to the walls and roofs of
shaft bottoms in the larger mines of the state. The benefit of this
treatment is especially marked in bottoms without concrete linings,
but it is considerable even where concrete supports are erected. Mine
superintendents believe that their men work more freely and cheer-
fully in the better illumination and that there are fewer accidents.
Whitewash, moreover, possesses sanitary features that recommend its
use in stables, first-aid rooms, offices, and waiting-rooms. Along main-
haulage roads whitewash should be used in all manholes or refuges
and upon all doors, as means of additional safety to employees. At
partings and at all entry branchings in portions of mines remote from
electrical lighting, whitewashed ribs and roofs greatly enhance the
illumination and thus reduce accident hazards. There are several
recipes for making whitewash which has the properties desired in
underground use. The washes may be applied by either brushes or
sprays — preferably the latter. Two or three coats should be applied
with intermissions for due seasoning.
In all districts the personal factor is often the controlling element.
It is generally agreed that such accidents as those due to falls, haul-
age, and handling explosives, have much in common and that mental
and physical alertness and knowledge of the hazards are the essential
safeguards. Workmen grow thoughtless of their own personal interests
when continually subjected to dangers. It is very probable that the
majority of the deaths classified by causes in Table 18 were due to
carelessness of the victims themselves. The final responsibility is
therefore placed to a very great extent on the individual worker.
35. Safety Rules for Underground Haulage. — Keep locomotives,
cars and track equipment in good repair.
Standardize car equipment, such as bumpers and couplings.
Illuminate haulage ways so that men need not carry individual
lights on motor tracks.
134 ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
Have head-lights on locomotives and markers, gongs or lights
on rear cars of trips.
Have safe clearance between cars and one or preferably both ribs
of entry.
Maintain whitewashed refuge holes at regular intervals.
Use block fillers to top of rail-web in flangeways and wedge-
spaces in frogs and switches.
Use low- voltage trolley current; support wire at short intervals,
so that sag will not exceed 3 inches; guard trolley with boxing 3
inches lower than wires, especially where men travel, as at junctions
and stations where man-trips are made up.
Start locomotives only on signal from trip riders and after giving
warning bells. King bells before all junctions.
Keep car-doors and latches in repair and inspect reclosing.
Give special instructions for spragging and blocking cars.
Place limitations on speed of travel.
Maintain special instruction for motorinen and trip riders re-
garding the making-up of trips.
Give instructions in coupling cars.
Impress on all working in the mine the necessity of personal
caution.
PUBLICATIONS OF THE ILLINOIS COAL MINING INVESTIGATIONS
Bulletin 1. Preliminary Report on Organization and Method of Investigations. 1918.
None available.
Bulletin 2. Coal Mining Practice in District VIII (Danville), by S. O. Andros. 1913.
None available.
Bulletin 3. Chemical Study of Illinois Coals, by S. W. Parr. 1916. None available.
Bulletin 4. Coal Mining Practice in District VII (Mines in bed 6 in Bond, Clinton,
Christian, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Montgomery, Moultrie, Perry, Randolph, St. Clair,
Sangamon, Shelby, and Washington counties), by S. O. Andros. 1914. None available.
Bulletin 5. Coal Mining Practice in District I (Longwall), by S. O. Andros. 1914.
None available.
Bulletin 6. Coal Mining Practice in District V (Mines in bed 5 in Saline and Gallatin
counties), by S. O. Andros. 1914. Free upon request.
Bulletin 7. Coal Mining Practice in District II (Mines in bed 2 in Jackson County),
by S. O. Andros. 1914. Free upon request.
Bulletin 8. Coal Mining Practice in District VI (Mines in bed 6 in Franklin, Jackson,
Perry, and Williamson counties), by S. O. Andros. 1914. Free upon request.
Bulletin 9. Coal Mining Practice in District III (Mines in beds 1 and 2 in Brown,
Calhoun, Cass, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henry, Jersey, Knox, McDonough, Mercer, Morgan,
Rock Island, Schuyler, Scott, and Warren counties), by S. O. Andros. 1915. Free upon
request.
Bulletin 10. Coal Resources of District I (Longwall), by G. H. Cady. 1915. None
available.
Bulletin 11. Coal Resources of District VII (Counties listed in Bulletin 4), by Fred H.
Kay. 1915. None available.
Bulletin 12. Coal Mining Practice in District IV (Mines in bed 5 in Cass, DeWitt,
Fulton, Knox, Logan, Macon, Mason, McLean, Menard, Peoria, Sangamon, Schuyler, Tazewell,
and Woodford counties), by S. O. Andros. 1915. Free upon request.
Bulletin 13. Coal Mining in Illinois, by S. O. Andros. 1915. Free upon request,
Bulletin 14. Coal Resources of District VIII (Danville), by Fred H. Kay and K. D.
White. 1915. Postage four cents.
Bulletin 15. Coal Resources of District VI, by G. H. Cady. 1916. Fifteen cents.
Bulletin 16. Coal Resources of District II, by G. H. Cady. 1917. Fifteen cents.
Bulletin 17. Surface Subsidence in Illinois Resulting from Coal Mining, by L. E.
Young. 1916. Mailing weight, one pound.
Bulletin 18. Tests on Clay Materials Available in Illinois Coal Mines, by R. T. Stull
and R. K. Hursh. 1917. Mailing weight, one pound.
Bulletin 19. Coal Resources of District V, by G. H. Cady, 1919. Mailing weight,
one pound.
Bulletin 20. Carbonization of Illinois Coals in Inclined Gas Retorts, by F. K. Ovitz.
1918. Postage two cents.
Bulletin 21. The Manufacture of Retort Coal-Gas in the Central States, Using Low-
Sulphur Coal from Illinois, Indiana, and Western Kentucky, by W. A. Dunkley and W. W.
Odell. 1918. Postage two cents.
Bulletin 22. Water-Gas Manufacture with Central District Bituminous Coals as Gen-
erator Fuel, by W. W. Odell and W. A. Dunkley. 1918. Postage two cents.
135
136 PUBLICATIONS OF THE ILLINOIS COAL MINING INVESTIGATIONS
Bulletin 23. Mines Producing Low-Sulphur Coal in the Central District, by GK H
Cady. 1919. Postage two cents.
Bulletin 24. Water-Gas Operating Methods with Central District Bituminous Coals as
Generator Fuel, by W. A. Dunkley and W. W. Odell. 1919. Pmtage two cents.
Bulletin 25. Gas Purification in the Medium-size Gas Plants of Illinois, by W. A.
Dunkley and C. E. Barnes. 1920. Postage four cents.
Bulletin 26. Coal Resources of District IV ( Peoria- Springfield , by G. H. Cady.
1921. Mailing weight, 2 pounds.
*Bulletin 72. TL S. Bureau of Mines, Occurrence of Explosive Gases in Coal Mines, by
N. H. Darton. 1915. Thirty-five cents.
*Bulletin 83. U. S. Bureau of Mines, The Humidity of Mine Air, by R. Y. Williams.
1914. Ten cents.
*Bulletin 99. U. S. Bureau of Mines, Mine Ventilation Stoppings, by B. Y. Williams.
1915.
'Bulletin 102. U. S. Bureau of Mines, The Inflammability of Illinois Coal Dusts, by J.
K. Clement and L. A. Scholl, Jr. 1916.
'Bulletin 137. U. S. Bureau of Mines, The Use of Permissible Explosives in the Coal
Mines of Illinois, by James R. Fleming and John W. Koster. 1917.
'Bulletin 138. U. S. Bureau of Mines, Coking of Illinois Coals, by F. K. Ovitz. 1917.
Twenty cento.
'Technical Paper 190. U. S. Bureau of Mines, Methane Accumulations from Inter-
rupted Ventilation, with Special Reference to Coal Mines in Illinois and Indiana, by
Howard J. Smith and Robert J. Hamon, 1918.
'Technical Paper 246. Water-gas Apparatus and the Use of Central District Coal as
Generator Fuel, by W. W. Odell. 1921. Five cents.
'Technical Paper 268. Preparation and Uses of Tar and its Simple Crude Derivatives.
W. W. Odell. 1922.
Bulletin 91. Engineering Experiment . Station, University of Illinois, Subsidence Re-
sulting from Mining, by L. E. Young and H. H. Stoek. 1916. None available.
Bulletin 100. Engineering Experiment Station, University of Illinois, The Percentage
of Extraction of Bituminous Coal, with Special Reference to Illinois Conditions, by C. M.
Young. 1917. Free upon request.
Bulletin 113. Engineering Experiment Station, University of Illinois, Panel System of
Coal Mining, A Graphical Study of Percentages of Extraction, by C. M. Young. 1919. Free
upon request.
Bulletin 119. Engineering Experiment Station, University of Illinois, Some Conditions
Affecting the Usefulness of Iron Oxide for City Gas Purification, by W. A. Dunkley. 1921.
Free upon request.
Bulletin 125. Engineering Experiment Station, University of Illinois, The Distribution
of the Forms of Sulphur in the Coal Bed, by H. F. Yancey and Thomas Eraser. 1921. Free
upon request.
Bulletin 132. Engineering Experiment Station, University of Illinois, A Study of Coal
Mine Haulage in Illinois, by H. H. Stoek, J. R. Fleming, and A. J. Hoskin. 1922. Free
upon request.
* Copies may be obtained by addressing the Director, U. S. Bureau of Mines. Washington,
D. 0.
THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
THE STATE UNIVERSITY
Urbana
DAVID KINLEY, Ph.D., LL.D., President
THE UNIVERSITY INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING DEPARTMENTS:
The Graduate School
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Ancient and Modern Languages and
Literatures; History, Economics, Political Science, Sociology; Philosophy,
Psychology, Education; Mathematics; Astronomy; Geology; Physics; Chem-
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ing, Insurance, Accountancy, Railway Administration, Foreign Commerce;
Courses for Commercial Teachers and Commercial and Civic Secretaries)
The College of Engineering (Architecture; Architectural, Ceramic, Civil, Electrical,
Mechanical, Mining, Municipal and Sanitary, and Railway Engineering;
General Engineering Physics)
The College of Agriculture (Agronomy; Animal Husbandry; Dairy Husbandry;
Horticulture and Landscape Gardening; Agricultural Extension; Teachers'
Course; Home Economics)
The College of Law (Three-year and four-year curriculums based on two years and
one year of college work respectively)
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The Curriculum hi Journalism
The Curriculums in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
The School of Railway Engineering and Administration
The School of Music (four-year curriculum)
The Library School (two-year curriculum for college graduates)
The College of Medicine (in Chicago)
The College of Dentistry (in Chicago)
The School of Pharmacy (in Chicago) ; Ph.G. and Ph.C. curriculums
The Summer Session (eight weeks)
Experiment Stations and Scientific Bureaus: U. S. Agricultural Experiment Sta-
tion; Engineering Experiment Station; State Laboratory of Natural History;
State Entomologist's Office; Biological Experiment Station on Illinois River;
State Water Survey; State Geological Survey; U. S. Bureau of Mines Experi-
ment Station.
The Library collections contain volumes and pamphlets.
For catalogs and information address
THE REGISTRAR
Urbana, Illinois
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