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Report - - Clipstone colliery. 01/02/09 | Industrial Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Clipstone colliery. 01/02/09

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Dempsey

The Human Turbine.
28DL Full Member
An early start for me and Brickman, coming from my York base, we eventually arrived in the darkness at Mansfield, a few navigation problems later, we Walk up the bank behind The colliery, the light was Dim, but one thing that was for sure, was the massive scale of the headstocks, like two giant masses of steel having just erupted from the dark landscape which surrounds them.

Originally a mine shaft from the early 20th century, it was in 1948 when the current buildings where being constructed. The Mine was made into an unconventional system, more at home in Europe in the late 19th century, mainly because the system is more balanced than traditional mine workings and uses less power. A powered pulley or 'Koepe' wheel is used to wind rather than the standard drum. Clipstones Two wheels at the top of the headstocks are for this system, although they would normally be closer to the ground. The winding house in the centre of the headstocks contains the two electrically driven Koepe winders, and two motor generator sets to convert the local AC supply to DC. This configuration remained virtually unaltered until closure in 2003! When the mine was closed.

The Two headstocks are the tallest in the UK, i'm told they are the tallest left in mainland europe too! They where listed in 2000 as a remaining example of the Keope system, that, and the engineering involved to construct 'em!

We climbed through the heapsteads buildings at the bottom of the 'back' stock, and eventually we where at the top of this magnificent beast in a queer, blue light, as the sun was rising behind the clouds, the wind had picked up though, drastically! You would fall over if you hadn't perfected the stance.

Wheels turning in the wind
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Im using someone elses PC's upload the shots, and the first two look contrasty, think its this monitor though.
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Eventually the light returned to its natural colours, and brung out a stark landscape, with desaturated green headstocks, Lavvvverlyyyyyy.
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I really wanted to climb up the ladder to the top, but i didnt fancy it in the winds.
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When the light had balanced, it revealed a desolate place, it didn't even look lived in.
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Looking towards the demolition plant, and the security hut.
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underneath the first wheel 'Please mind the gap'
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The second wheel
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Nearing the bottom, you find, like with any old building, its a pigeon hive, which isnt nice when your in a hatch 2m's wide with 4 of them...Lol
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I couldnt get enough of this place, the size, the colours... everything seemed surrel, almost dreamlike. When venturing too it, my thoghts where on other things, but im REALLY glad i have had a look around now.
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On top of the frozen heapstead.
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Soon we had made ground into the centre winding house, an epic place in its self, filled with generators, wheels, and control rooms, a real attribute to british industry.




This is the generator room, where the two sets lay, one partly dismantled....
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Things where slightly mashed, but it really didnt matter.
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From the genny room, we entered the winding house, complete with two Metropolitan Vikers winding sets, in all their glory.
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Brickman holds a wrench as a salute to the industrial porn surrounding us.... haha.
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Although the site was on the closure list for british coal in the early ninties, it exchanged hands and served at least another 9 years on reserves, eventually the colliery was deemed exhausted, with nothing left of value.




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In 2003 a referendum was held.... the villagers voted for complete demolition of the site. Now, only the headstocks stand. It baffles me why people want this british industrial relic gone, this is what the UK was made on, this is why clipstone is even there, and yet they would preffer a housing estate or a supermarket because its ugly. Its wrong, on a whole new scale wrong, people cannot see the wood for the trees...




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