A friendly farewell - roughly translated as "keep hangin on-tuh the twig."

Safety blocks that were moved under the cage by the banksman to prevent it descending while men were getting in and out.

A large steel 'bucket' that could be attached to a steel rope by chains - used to lower men down a shaft without a dedicated winding engine.

A twist in a length of steel rope that must be corrected before tension is applied.  If the kink is pulled tight it will damage the rope.

Deputies' underground office - assembly point for men to find out where they'll be working.  Also the name for a metal chest for tools etc.

Short planks of wood fitted between the side and roof of roadway steel girders - to keep pieces of broken stone from falling into the roadway.
Some were easily removed/replaced and could be used to make a seat (Wood keeps your bum warm!) and a very comfortable back support!

Shaft Landing: where miners step out of the cage.  Inbye Landing: where sets are filled with coal - usually roadways with double way.

Wooden shafts which were attached to a tub and to a pit pony's harness.

Special train carriages hauled by locomotive and used to transport shifts of men inbye & outbye.
Some collieries had specially adapted manriding conveyors, others had (wire) rope hauled manriding cars (carriages).

A work colleague; an equal; a close friend.

Just about anything used in the practise of coal mining e.g. steel girders, railway track, conveyor belt, pit props, shulls etc. etc.
Materials car: a mine car containing materials.

Mell - a large, usually heavy, wooden or metal hammer.  A Munder was so heavy, you needed the weekend off before attempting to lift it!

Pitmatic (and Old English) word for 'a measurement' or the 'action of measuring something' - as in, "How high is the coal here? Tek a met."

A large tub holding about 2 tons of coal.   Mine cars were hauled by Locomotives - English Electric Battery or, alternatively, Diesel.

A mechanical safety device fitted between the way to prevent tubs running back down a slope.

The roadway leading to a coal face.   The mothergate supplied the face with fresh air and held the conveyor belt and materials haulage system.

National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers.

Toilet and/or washing facilities.   Trouble woz: there wer nee netties undergroond!   (From the French verb Se Nettoyer - to clean oneself.)

National Union of Mineworkers.

The man in charge of a pit cage at an underground level.  He also takes empty tubs out and replaces them with full tubs - for raising to bank.

In the direction of the shaft bottom - as in, "It's time wuh-wuh headin oot-by, bonny lad."

The side furthest away from the coal face.

A miner (usually part of a team) paid an agreed sum for mining a certain amount of coal or driving a particular yardage of new roadway etc.

A miner's work boots.

A miner's work clothes.

Language used by North East Miners both above & below ground.

The colliery reservoir: a reserve of water where used steam from winding engines, compressors etc. could be recycled.

Sticks of explosive used to blast rock when driving roadways.  Also to loosen coal ready for hewers to shovel onto the face conveyor belt.

Pungent smoke released into the ventilation system after firing (exploding) sticks of powder.

A miner who moves the face supports & conveyor forward after coal has been won.   He also removes the roof supports from the goaf.

A miner who uses a pony to pull full tubs of coal from the hewer to the onsetter.   He then returns with a replacement chummin.
See Hand Putter.

The returns are main roadways that take used air from the working areas to the upcast shaft and, hence, out of the mine.

You could ride lots of things legally e.g manriders or, if authorized, in the rear cab of a locomotive, but not conveyor belts or sets (see below).
"What time duh yuh ride?"  ("At what time do you expect to ascend to the surface?")