This wheel saw a lot of travelling in its day in a coal mine in the long closed Clipstone Pit in Nottinghamshire. It is one wheel of a coal trolley used by the miners to haul large lumps of coal from the coal face and it is now in All Saints church, Clipstone still carrying a 1 ton lump of coal together with a pair of miner’s boots and hard hat. Many men lost their lives in the pits of Great Britain and the Nottinghamshire pits suffered their fair share of fatalities, the trolley serves as a memorial to all those who worked in the dangerous coalfields.
Living in Southern Illinois, we have a very strong history (and current) associated with coal, and the dangers / deaths attributed to it.
Many folks may not be able to fully relate, but I can definitely relate to the hazards associated with such travels. Folks continue to be injured and killed in the plight of this occupation today. We should take a moment and give respect and gratitude to those who endure to bring us the means for generating the electricity that coal contributes to the world. Without electricity, our beloved (digital) cameras and computers would be worthless.
