I can only give an account of the underground canals, and the pits still reliant on the system for ventilation as of my last trip through in 1962, which I hope may be of some small interest to those fascinated by this 'wonder of the 18th Century engineering world.'
By the above date, the system as far as Aston Fields pit, was kept open and 'usable' for ventilation and escape reasons only. It was then inspected on a weekly basis by the NCB, in conjunction with the Mines Rescue Service, itself a branch of the above.
I first met the late and much lamented Mr Frank Mullineux in 1960, when he was involved in the setting up of a small museum in the nearby town of Eccles. He seemed to be amazed that this young schoolboy showed so much interest in the underground system, and went deeply out of his way to not only explain the magnitude of what lay underground, but also arranged to have me taken down on one of the weekly inspection tours.
And so it was that I duly reported to the old pit yard in Walkden, and was kitted up with a helmet and lamp, and a 'pass' to descend to the canal level. At that time the electric cage from the pit yard was not in working order, so we crossed the mail Little Hulton road, and went through a gate into the yard of the cotton mill, (now demolished and replaced by a shopping mall.) With a great deal of effort, a large iron hatch was levered up, to expose a set of stone stairs that descended into the darkness. I cant remember how far we climbed down this stairway, which was hewn from the rock, but eventually we arrived at a small landing stage, within a high brick vaulted chamber. There were tied up two 'starvationer' ex coal box boats. I was told this name had been applied when the canal was working, because the ribs of the boats were exposed. (One such boat now remains sunken in Worsley Delph, at the main outside canal entrance to the workings. As a boy, I remember several dozen of this type, and the smaller ones used for the lower canal levels, being sunk at the same location.)
Climbing aboard, we headed 'upstream'. (Note: there is no real natural current in the system. empty boats were brought in as trains, and propelled to the workings by the boat-boys attaching roped hooks to rings in the tunnel roof, and walking backwards through the empty boats. Full boats were 'washed' out of the system, by opening the sluices at The Delph, thereby creating a current.) I was surprised to see that mostly the tunnels were unlined, with brick being used only where the natural rock was bad or fractured. Many side tunnels lead off, to old workings I was told, where once an exploring canoeist had entered, got lost, and was only found following an extensive search.
Presently we arrived at what I came to know as the inclined plane chamber, devoid of all it's ironwork, but the still with a huge block of stone surmounted by a large iron wheel in place. We walked up the plane, to the top 'pound' of the canal, and entered a much smaller boat for the onward journey. Here the roof became very low in places, forcing us to lie on our backs within the boat, whilst my guides propelled us onwards by 'legging' with their feet along the roof.
Shortly we came to what must have been a roof fall. The canal onwards was blocked, but I was told that in an emergency, men could be brought out through the shafts to the boats. I should say that at this time, the Walkden fan pit was still in full operating condition, and as we passed under the fan pit shaft, (formally a coal extraction pit in it's own right, but now with the headgear removed, and a large electric fan installed,) the air flow was considerable. For those with 'Google Earth', this pit sat directly behind Plantation Avenue, Walkden, now the site of new housing.
We returned the way we had come, once more swapping boats at The Plane, proceeded past our boarding area, and on 'downstream' towards The Delph. Here the roof was higher, the pulling rings now being set into the walls. We Passed under the former Edge Fold Pit, then also converted to a fan pit, with it's oval shaft, built that way so that repaired boats could be dropped to the lower canal levels, (four in all.) We were wearing cap lamps, of coarse, but to work down there with nothing but a candle on your cap must have been awful.
About two hundred yards from the Delph outlet, the tunnel splits into two. Outgoing full boats in the deeper channel to the left, incoming boats to the right. We then broke into the blinding daylight, much to my relief, to find a couple more safety men awaiting. After a chat and a 'brew', these two worthy's took the boat back, whilst we took their van back from Worsley to Walkden Yard.
I subsequently went on the trip again, but shortly afterwards there became a gas problem (allegedly), which stopped further inspection trips. I think that maybe the need to save money had more to do with it, as my hosts had stated that coal damp had never been a problem.
When Aston Fields pit was closed down, and all pumping stopped, the underground canal became totally flooded, and also seriously silted up, so I'm not sure what remains passable today. However, I am only too pleased to have had the opportunity to visit this fascinating system before it finally shut down.
Sorry if I have bored you with this monologue, but please feel free to ask any questions that you may wish, which I will answer to the best of my ability.
Dave.