Final Days at Clifton Colliery.

The year was 1968, Clifton had ceased production just a few weeks back,
and I was just serving my last year of my apprenticeship as an electrician,
so I was still working supervised by an electrician.
He and I had got a call to go down to find out why 1's No4 conveyor had stopped,
seemed strange when we arrived at the belt,
not to see coal on it but parts of hydraulic chocks from the faces,
being sent out along the belts!! The last of the three faces was being "drawn off"
and the lighter of the equipment was being sent down the belts.
Trouble was some of this stuff wasn't so light!! and the belt had "tracked" out of
alignment and thrown some of the roof beams on to the floor twisting the belt!!
What a mess, this would require some heavy help from some miners.
We did get the belt running again, but like I say, sad very sad, just a
few weeks ago coal was travelling down these belts towards pit bottom,
just a few more weeks and the belts will be gone.
That was early 1968, in May I was transferred to Cotgrave Colliery with
many others from Clifton, end of an era and the start of another story.
John Waudby........