| |
|
|
Woodhorn Colliery: Carbide Lamp
The carbide lamp was used in coalmines in the late 19th century, before the advent of battery lamps in the 1930s.
However, even in the 1930s some miners carried on using this type of lamp. It used a lump of carbide topped up with
water. Carbide is a compound of carbon and lime which, when water is added, produces acetylene gas. The gas was lit
to produce light. It is said that some miners urinated into the lamp if the water ran out to keep
the lamp burning.
Learn about the safety lamp, Mine Safety or
browse the archive.
|
|
|
 |
