Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-02-24

.or, from - - -
Its in reference to the mines in this
county:
Mr.. Roy says of the Bellaire coal
district, that it includes the Uiines
opened along the Ohio River in the
Pittsburgh coal, or No. s, beginning
with the Walnut Hill mines of the
Ohio and Pennsylvania Coal Company,
at Tiltonville, Jefferson county. ex-
tending thence twelve miles below
Bellairs to the Union Coal Company.
in Belmont county. The Ohio River
flows along the dip of the Coal Meas
ures. The Tiltonville and neighbor-
ing mines are high up in the hills
fronting the river, while the Union
and Pipe Creek mines are below the
bed of the Ohio.
The Rainey mines were inspected by
the proprietOr's request during a sec
ond visit to this region. The ventila-
ton was good, and proper means OF liz
gress and egress were provided. These
mines had been leased for some years
previous to a firm in Cleveland, and a
humber of the rooms had fallen in,
caused by q crush of the rocks over
head, The safety of the miners was
assured in case Of any sudden and itn-
mediate falling In of the mine. The
falling of the roof in the room was due
10 local crush Of the overlying rocks,
In accordance With the prevailing sys-
tenn of the district, the rooms were
made wilde and the pillars narrow.
with the object of finishing up the
mine in the first stage of working, and
leaving all the pillar coal unwrought,
to be lost forever.
The mines of HeatheringtOn 4 Broth
ers, near Bellaire, are more systematic
ally managed than any others, both as
regards ventilation and the ultimate
recovery of the coal. The sir is exceed
Ingly well distributed, and the miners
expressed gratitude for the sanitary
condition of the mine.
Several mines are opened on the line
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
west of Bellaire. They are drift open
ings. Kidd's mine was examined. 1t
worked fourteen men, had fair state
OF ventilation, and was in other regards
secure. There is slip-dike in this
mine, which throws up the coal three
feet. This fault, although of little
depth, compared with slip-dikes in
many coal fields of the world, is one of
very unusual depth in Ohio, and is the
largest have seen in any coal mine in
the State. Another mine, west OF
Kidd's, working more tn n ten miners,
was visited, but was not inspected.
The Pittsburgh Works, the Wegee
ro;po5 fba ITp;on Coal XVnrEs ap1 ~,
Pipe Creek mines are all slope open
ings, situate below Bellaire, on the
Ohio River. They were all visited and
inspected. The Pittsburgh slope was
being pushed towards point with one
of its galleries, in order to get shaft
sunk in suitable ground for double
mode of ingress and egress, and to pro-
vide better ventilation. The owners OF
the mine propose to put stairway in
this shaft. The mine had two open.
ings already, but the air-shaft, although
situate more than one hundred fee.
from the bottom of the slope, came up
directly by the side of the slope mouth,
and as the wooden structures covering
the hoisting machinery were near the
slope mouth, there was no guarantee OF
safety in case of fire in these buildings,
but when the new air-shaft is com.
pleted there will be approved means oi
egress in case of accident, and also an
improved ventilation.
The slope of the Union Coal Company
is one of the most skillfully opened
mines in the State. The entrance to
the slope mouth, and the passage
downwards to firm and rocky strata,
are secured by an arch of stone mason
ry, substantially erected, and the pass
age-way of the slope ia double. The
length of tie slope is 42S feet. The
air-shaft OF this mine also bore marks
of skiIlful and prudent workmanship.
The passage to the ventilating furnace
was lined on both sides, for several
yards, by q wall Of stone masonry, to
prevent the possibility of the pillars
taking fire from the heat of the fur
mace.
The Pipe Creek mines, situate at the
mouth of Pipe Creek, are the lowest
openings on the Ohio River of the Bel
laire district. This mine was working
about thirty men at date OF visit, was
provided with two openings, but, as al
the Pittsburgh works, the mouths ot
the slope and air-shaft are too near each
other for safety. The ventilation Wa;
fair.
| The manner of laying out the work.
iings is generally very faulty all over
this district. The rooms are made toe
wide and the pillars too narrow. The
ultimate result will lie, in many cast S
a crush or creep of the mine eXcava
tiona, which will overrun and destroy
the whole economy of the underground
workings. The overlyipg strata is 50(
10 $50 feet thick. To support this mass
pillars no more than eight and ten fee
thick are left, while the room. working.
are made from twenty-four to twenty
six feet wide. No value is placed or
this pillar coal, the main concern witt
all the companies being to get out Goa
rs cheaply as possible in working for
ward, without regard to ultimate con
sequences.
The dip of the Coal Measures is quite
|, marked in the mines of the Beliair'
district, 1t is south 50 degrees east
and exceeds 40 feet to the mile. Room:
can only be turned from one side of th'
butt entries, by reason of the dip.
The Pipe Creek mines are opened a
the foot of one of the highest hills il
Belmont county. Ispent several hour
on the mountain side, noting the mum
ber and thickness of coal beds above
the Pipe Creek mine, opened on tn,
Pittsburgh coal, and found a bed o
coal from three to four feet thick, six
ty-three feet above the Pittsburgh
seam, resting on floor of limestone
This is local bed, and the coal is very
impure, having two layers of slate run
ming through it. The lower Stratum
three inches thick, was composed o
fire-clsy the upper stratum was tw'
: inches thick, and was black shale. The
immediate cover of the coal was I
stratum Oc iron ore, but both the Goa
and ore appeared to be very irregular
ly deposited. Fifteen feet above thi
coal there is four-feet seam, in
homogeneous mass and of good quail
ty, The horizon of this coal is wei