page_title: New Cumnock
section_title: Coal mining
hierarchical_section_title: New Cumnock / Coal mining
caption_attribution_description: English: Rigghead level crossing, Knockshinnoch, Ayrshire, Scotland.
context_page_description: New Cumnock is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It expanded during the coal-mining era from the late 18th century, and mining remained its key industry until its pits were shut in the 1960s. The town is 5.7 miles south-east of Cumnock, and 21 miles east of Ayr.
context_section_description: Opencast coal mining was one of the main employers in the village, before the closure of the opencast works was announced in May 2013, resulting in the loss of a number of jobs. In 1950, thirteen people were killed in a mining disaster at the Knockshinnoch Castle Colliery; a film was made about the disaster called The Brave Don't Cry and there is a memorial at the site of the disaster. The Scottish Wildlife Trust took over the Knockshinnoch Bing, turning into a wetland reserve with paths.
caption: Rigghead Opencast rail link near New Cumnock.
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