The Way We Were
Cossall Colliery provided work for many local men T he above picture is of Cossall Colliery which ceased production in Novem-
out of old workings, the entrance was via a drift, more often referred to as the footrill, which was short for foot and rail access. ber 1966. I took the photo a month later. It was about a 3-minute walk uphill from the pit yard to the Nottingham Canal where you I left school in 1952 and trained and quali- went over a bridge and entered the footrill fied as an electrician there. and then passed under Church Lane. If you The pit yard entrance is now Soloman Road. walk the canal towpath you can just make The building on the left is the pit head baths out the blocked up entrance. and part of the slag heap (waste tip) in the Cossall was still hand filling (pick and shovbackground became an artificial ski slope. el ) coal face work when I started there, conWhen I started work at Cossall in 1952 the ditions were not good, 4 foot was a thick pit shafts adjacent to Coronation Road were seam. There were plenty of accidents as you used only for ventilation and pumping water would expect but things got a lot safer I
think when mechanisation (power loading ) came in about 1960. I worked three shifts most of my working life, power loading meant more shift work because coal was cut on days and afternoons, so more maintenance was done on the night shift. Cossall Colliery was the workplace of many men round here. It was dirty and sometimes dangerous, but it put food on the table. When the pits were nationalised in 1947 there were about 1,150 pits in the country. Most of them were small output pits like Cossall, about 250,000 tons a year. Now we
have no deep mines, that of course is another story. I left the pit and started on the railway in January 1967 and had a good 33 years at Toton Diesel Maintenance Depot. The station at the junction was already closed, not surprising as you very rarely saw anyone using it. Now 50 years later we are near to having a new railway station—let’s hope it is well used. Is the new station keeping its old name, Ilkeston Junction & Cossall?
John Fletcher, Ilkeston
HiQ Ilkeston has been serving the local area for more than 40 years. Our friendly and approachable team will make you feel at ease whether you’re a motoring expert or if it’s your first time visiting a garage. We started life as Kettering Tyres before becoming a HiQ centre. We are a proud local employer and have a very different way of working. Although we are backed by a nationally recognised business, we run things very much like any other family business would. This means a lot of repeat business and knowing many of our customers on a first name basis. We offer a full range of garage services including; servicing, MOTs and tyres for both cars and vans, replacing exhausts, vehicle health check, oil and filter changes plus on board diagnostics. At the moment we are offering a fantastic price on MOTs at just £30*. Bring along the voucher opposite to take advantage of this offer. Or why not book a Gold Service from just £129.99 and get your MOT* completely free. We will even collect your vehicle and deliver it back to you at no extra cost. With winter well and truly upon us, it’s important that your vehicle gets a health check. Ask in-store about our free check-up. We’ll check your oil levels, battery and add in some anti-freeze too. For all your motoring needs, head down to HiQ Ilkeston, your local motoring specialist. Call us on 0115 932 5499 or pop in to the centre; 4244 Heanor Road, Ilkeston, Derbyshire DE7 8DX. You can also email us at: hiqilkeston@yahoo.co.uk Pictured: The site of the old Ilkeston North railway station being developed for the Police Station with our premises across the road, and below HiQ as it is today,
Ilkeston Life, December 2016
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