Two miners operate a cutting machine. 'Credit must be given to Willaim Vandivert, 21 East Tenth St., New York 3, N.Y., Not to be reproduced without written liscense.'
Miners Operating a Cutting Machine at Mine No. 32, Consolidation Coal Company, Owings, W. Va.
Date:
1950/10
Description:
Caption on back reads, 'Making a cut in the coal face is this Mastodon of the machine age - an underground cutter. Rubber tired for mobility, and mounting a 9-foot cutting blade armed with whirring steel bits, it can cut a full 360 degree arc. This and similar machines give America's bituminous coal mines almost unlimited capacity for production.'
'This very coarse lumpy mine run coal is the result of proper shooting. The miner is paid on a tonnage basis for loading this coal into mine cars. He is required to watch his coal carefully as he loads it and see that no impurities become mixed with the coal.'
A photograph of coal miners working in a mine. 'Island Creek Coal Sales Co., Cincinnati, Ohio; The following cars of Pocahontas coal were shipped today for account of; 4-Point Pocahontas Coal'
'West Virginia coal miners entering 'the bowels of the earth' to produce fuel for the defense of the Nation. The State supplies more than a quarter of the Nation's total production of coal.' Courtesy of W. Va. Dept of Labor.
'All White Oak mines are electrically equipped and of course this mining machine is operated by electricity. The machine is mounted and transported on a specially designed truck and moves under its own power from one working place to another. It is taken from the truck by the machine operator and his helper and moved to the place of the coal and place in cutting position as you see it in this picture. The machine consists of an endless chain with 'bits' inserted, which act as cutters. The machine cuts a 'kerf' or hole along the bottom of the coal about 4 inches high and extending back six feet under the coal. The fine coal made by this machine is what is commonly known as 'bug dust.' Cutting machines are operated at night and each machine is capable of cutting twenty places on each shift. These machines are operated on tonnage basis and these operators earn high wages.'
'All White Oak mines are electrically equipped and of course this mining machine is operated by electricity. The machine is mounted and transported on a specially designed truck and moves under its own power from one working place to another. It is taken from the truck by the machine operator and his helper and moved to the place of the coal and placed in cutting position as you see in this picture. The machine consists of an endless chain with bits inserted, which act as cutters. The machine cuts a kerf or hole along the bottom of the coal about 4 feet and extending back six feet under the coal. The fine coal made by this machine is what is commonly known as bug dust. Cutting machines are operated at night and each machine is capable of cutting twenty places on each shift. These machines are operated on tonnage basis and these operators earn high wages.'
'This miner has just completed loading a mine oar of coal weighing net about two and one-half tons, and is waiting for a locomotive to come along and take it out and give him another empty oar. An industrious miner will load about six and sometimes eight of these oars in one day. This is a wooden mine car that is now being rapidly replaced by steel mine car equipment. The number of posts shown in this picture indi- again [sic] the immense amount of timber required to conduct operations in a safe manner.'
'Shuttle Cars: Here are pictured loaded and empty shuttle cars sometimes called buggies. Note the noveyor on the bottom of the empty car for unloading the coal at a central loading station, into the mine cars. This equipment is propelled by huge batteries or electric cable and of course requires no track. Track-mounted mechanical loaders load directly into the mine car.'