Working on a coal mine

The decline of the coal industry created a mine of subject matter for modellers…

The decline of the coal industry in the early 1970s created a mine of subject matter for modellers such as Tony and Graham Bucknell, who have captured the era’s characteristic grime and dereliction.

South Yorkshire. Durham and Northumberland. South Wales. Those are probably the first places that would spring to mind when we’re asked to think about the British coal industry. But Scotland had a huge coalfield, stretching from Ayrshire in the west right the up to the Fife Coast in the east. It formed a large and important part of the National Coal Board empire and yet, in 1958, the NCB announced that 36 of its pits would close. Twenty of these were in Scotland. That was just the start of even greater downward spiral.

DISHING THE DIRT

The decline of the UK coal industry has provided modellers with inspirational scenes of dirt and dereliction to model. These scenes of decay are complemented by the fact that NCB steam outlasted steam on BR. That led to intriguing scenes of run-down steam engines rubbing shoulders with green and blue diesels. This fascinating period in British industrial history caught the imagination of father and son modelling team Tony and Graham Bucknell. “In creating my previous layouts and helping with other Rochdale MRG layouts, including my dad’s layout ‘Eskmuir’ [MR201], I realised I wanted to build something with an industrial theme,” says Graham. This new project would also give Graham the opportunity to explore the world of

“The decline of the UK coal industry has provided modellers with inspirational scenes of dirt and dereliction to model”