Elm Park Drift Mine

Medomsley Colliery, known as the Busty Pit, commenced operations in 1839. It was originally owned by Edward Richardson & Co. but nationalised by the government in 1947. When the main shaft at Medomsley closed, the Elm Park Drift entrance was the only way to access the remaining reserves.

The drift was driven in 1962 when a re-organisation took place in order to shut down the Medomsley shaft and work the pillars around the shaft, in the Busty, Brockwell and Three Quarter seams, producing mainly good quality coking coal.

The drift, which was difficult to cut as running sand was encountered, had an incline of 1:3 to the Brockwell seam. It was used for men, materials and intake ventilation, with coal taken out on a conveyer up to surface hoppers. It was then transported in wagons along a track beside the railway cutting, from Elm Park Road to the main road [B6310].

The National Coal Board operated the drift for only ten years until the 6th October 1972, when the final shift left the mine entrance at Elm Park.

When it closed, 150 men out were put out of work and 138 years of coal production at Medomsley Colliery had come to an end. Following the colliery closure, the drift was stowed and sealed in 1973.

This map shows the Brockwell seam workings and the drift entrance [in the middle of the map] east of the railway line and south of Elm Park Road. The conveyor can be seen in all three photos, including the final shift leaving.