Old Boston Colliery was sunk in 1884 and closed in Nov 1952.The reason that it closed was due to a fire that started at the downcast pit bottom and spread very fast through the workings. The fire started during the weekend, shafts men and blacksmiths where working in the shaft removing a pipe range with gas cutting equipment. It is certain that sparks from the cutting set the pit alight. The fire was not discoverd for many hours. With no men being underground and the dark November day nobody saw the smoke comming up the fan drift. It was only when the undermanager Alex Pownall was walking his dog smelt the smoke that the alarm was raised. The fire was so bad that it was not possible to get down the pit. The pit was flooded and abandoned. The workforce from Wood Pit then started to use the pithead baths until Wood Pit closed in the 1970s. In the 1950s the NCB set up the North West Division Training Centre there for electrical, mechanical and mining appretices. They also ran courses for officials and refresher courses for all craftsmen and officials.
Gresford Colliery training centre used to do all the locomotive training but with its closure a loco training circuit was built around the outside of the surface gallery included was a steep bank for emergency break training.
When the pit was working it had used a lot of methane drainage, with the pit flooded it was soon found out that the methane was still coming up the drainage pipes. This gas was utilised in the boiler house for heating etc. and was still being used in the late 1980s.
The Mines Reserch Establishment had a small unit there and it was them that had succesfull trails on fluidised bed boilers.
Thanks to Phil Ford [url]http://www.aditnow.co.uk/profile/?uid=1281 />[/url] for the information