A B Shortwall, Coal Cutter - South Hetton (sout0012)

Photograph of the head and shoulders of a man behind a large and complicated piece of machinery; he is wearing overalls and a miner's helmet with a light; to the right of the picture is another man wearing a miner's helmet and, possibly in the act of shovelling coal; the photograph has been described as depicting A. B. Shortwall Coal Cutter at South hetton Colliery

A B Shortwall, Coal Cutter - South Hetton

Photograph of the head and shoulders of a man behind a large and complicated piece of machinery; he is wearing overalls and a miner's helmet with a light; to the right of the picture is another man wearing a miner's helmet and, possibly in the act of shovelling coal; the photograph has been described as depicting A. B. Shortwall Coal Cutter at South hetton Colliery

Date: 1950

The man on the right is Jack Rackstraw.

Comment added by Elsie Johnston on 05/01/2009 15:52:00

It looks like the man with the shovel is clearing the gummings. The shortwall cutters were mainly used in room and pillar working. Unlike the longwall cutter, whose cutting jib was pivoted to allow it to be swung round at the front of the machine so that it could be locked into position perpendicular to the main body of the machine, the jib on the shortwall cutter was in-line with the body and ran underneath it so that the cutting debris, the 'gummings' were ejected at the back.

Comment added by jsierrat on 06/01/2009 13:15:00

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