Journal of Louis Tyler

Turning Point 1: Invention of the Steam Engine

Father’s first locomotive. It had a steam engine and made him lots of money

From the Journal of Louis Tyler

1781

My father Tomas was a great man. He singled handedly owned a successful iron works and coalmine in Blanaevon and Merthry Tydfil. His success made him immensely wealthy. While his miners lived together in crammed houses, we lived away from the dust and soot in a spacious mansion and gardens at Daffryn House. My father mentored my brother and shared his experience. Now he owns a coalmine too and lives away in London, away from all the smog.

I remember my father telling me about the invention of the steam engine. ‘Genius, simply genius’ were his own words regarding this invention. It was invented in 1781 but wasn’t perfected until 1800 by James Watt. Innovation made these steam engines faster, stronger, and more efficient than the canals and the pony’s used in the coalmines and iron works. The steam engines were much faster than the canals and packhorses. Plus, packhorses would get sick, tired, and we had to feed them food. These steam engines couldn’t get sick, they wouldn’t tire out, and all they needed was coal. Coal we had plenty of. Of course sometimes they would break down, but this brought in a new occupation: the engineer. Their job was to repair the steam engines when they broke down.

The steam engine didn’t only make a coal owner’s life easier. The British Empire was only so vast because of the steam engine. The British Empire was able to maintain power across oceans because of the powerful Royal Navy. Many of our servants and maids are from countries like India. The Royal Navy had steam engine ships that allowed them to sail faster and further than any other ship. This allowed the British Empire to remain in power over such a widespread area. There were coalmines all over South Wales, with miners working around the clock to extract the coal. Our coal is better and purer than any other coal and so it works most efficiently. It burns 10 times hotter and weighed much less than ordinary coal. This meant the Navy ships could carry less coal than other ships and still sail further than any other ship.

This groundbreaking technological invention created the spark that sent the industrial revolution on its way. Perhaps one day coal will be used for something else. Something else like the steam engine that brought my father’s business more money in less time. Simply genius.

Turning Point 2: Opening of Blaenavon Ironworks

The Blaenavon Ironworks

From the Journal of Louis Tyler

1805

The steam engines didn’t only make coalmining more efficient. It also helped ironworks produce more iron in less time. Speaking of which, my dad wouldn’t stop blabbering about the opening of the Blaenavon Ironworks. The coal opened in 1789 and cost over 40,000 pounds.

Coal from his mine in Blaenavon was used in the Blaenavon Ironworks. Ironworks used to burn ironstone over a fire but wasn’t hot enough for all the iron to flow out. The combination of ironstone and limestone, and the burning of the high-quality Welsh coal, allowed the ironworks to produce better iron. The nickname for the iron made from these ironworks was nicknamed ‘pig iron’. This was because the melted iron flowed down onto molds in a structure that looked like piglets feeding from a pig. Workers at the ends would push all the molten iron into the molds where it would cool down into iron blocks. The blocks were so heavy it required at least 4 strong workers to lift it onto the locomotives where it would be taken somewhere it was needed.

The Blaenavon Ironworks were very efficient and were one of the six ironworks that made a significant change in iron production. At first they only had three blast furnaces and 300 employees but as the demand for iron grew in American and Napoleonic Revolution there were over 5,000 workers. Much of the iron were sent to factories for weapons manufacturing in these times. More than the American and Napoleonic Revolution, the iron works were an important aspect of the industrial revolution. Iron was used in railways, steam engines, and many other construction projects during the industrial revolution.

The production rate of Blaenavon Ironworks significantly declined. By 1847 sales had gone down from 35,549 tons to 18,981 tons. Eventually the Blaenavon Iron Works went out of business. What a shame. But in 1870 the Blaenavon Ironworks reopened as Blaenavon Iron & Steel Company, this time producing steel along with iron.

It’s amazing how far technology has innovated so far. We’ve gone from an agrarian lifestyle to an industrial lifestyle. Now ironworks and coalmines all over Wales are filled with workers, each one fueling the industrial revolution. Absolutely nothing can go wrong.

Turning Point 3: Mines Act

Father reading of the Mines Act in the papers

From the Journal of Louis Tyler

1842

Bollocks. Complete bollocks. When the Mines Act was initiated in 1842, these were the words that father used. He stomped around all day complaining how production rates were going to decline because women and children would no longer be able to work in coalmines.

It all started during a thunderstorm. We were used to thunderstorms, it was as common as a mine owner living away from his coalmine in a mansion. Except this thunderstorm was larger. The rain pelted against the roofs and windows, trees were stripped of their leaves, and rivers gushed, threatening to overflow any second. A stream began to fill and over flowed into a ventilation shaft of the mine and drowned 26 children. 11 boys and 15 girls were killed in the accident and Queen Victoria ordered an inquiry as soon as she heard about it. Authorities were sent to mines all over South Wales to investigate the working conditions of miners.

Workers in my father’s coalmines would spend hours underneath in tunnels, hacking away at lumps of coal. It was a hazardous occupation because explosions would occur when a miner’s naked candlelight came into contact with the trapped methane in the coal. Miners did not only have to work under the constant threat of an explosion and the mine collapsing, but also worked in appalling conditions. There were really low sanitation standards in the mines. Rats and insects were everywhere in the mine and because of the high demand for coal, miners couldn’t even take a toilet break. They would go right where they worked. Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury gave an statement to the parliament concerning the poor conditions of a miner. In the end child labor was banned and women were no longer allowed to work in mines.

Speaking of mines, father and my elder brother Alfred have gone to Pendyrus to scout for a new potential mine. Alfred as been mentored by father for years now and father thinks he is ready to manage is own mine. The mailman is at the door. I must go now.

Turning Point 4: Tylerstown Coal Mine Opens

A photograph of Tylerstown from above

From the Journal of Louis Tyler

1876

News had just arrived! Alfred has opened his coalmine in Pendyrus. It is the same mine Alfred and father searched earlier in the Rhondda Valley. The natural curve of the valley bends the layer of coal and makes it more compact and rich. This higher class of coal is called anthracite. I have4 a feeling that this is going make Alfred lots of money.

The valley was originally a rural area but Alfred had collieries built around the mine so his miners could live close to work. The rural valley has been developed into an urban town. He wants the workers to be able to live as close as possible to the mine so they can mine more coal. Even though these miners only walk 15 minutes to the mine max, many of them still walk for a while before they actually get to where they need to be in the mine. You can just imagine how large this mine is and how much money Alfred is making. The thing Alfred is making so much he doesn’t even know what to do with it! He’s already bought property in India and Australia.

The coal mining industry is very competitive. Many of Alfred’s miners were attracted by employment “benefits”. Alfred developed the Tylers System. He pays his miners in tokens. These tokens can only be used in Alfred’s stores and have literally no worth in the outside world. Not only does the Tyler System keep his miners working for him, Alfred can also charge whatever he wants for everything. Personally, I don’t get why his miners still work there. Conditions are terrible. On top of the low pay and long hours, those mines are filled with rats and bug the size of potatoes. It smells horrible down there and when they come out they’re all covered in black soot.

I pray that no one else will ever read this journal but I think despite the money Alfred is making, he is being inconsiderate of his miners. He can’t be getting all good from the bad he’s been doing to him.

Turning Point 5: Tylerstown Mine Incident

My recreation of the mine incident with a paintbrush

From the Journal of Louis Tyler

1896

Shame, just a shame. News of an explosion in Alfred’s mine has just arrived. I just knew something bad was going to happen. He can’t keep taking without giving back. But still, I feel bad for all those miners. So much for the employment benefits. Their bodies will be buried Wednesday morning.

On the morning of January 28, the whole town was woken up by the sound at five o’clock. The explosion was caused by a gas explosion from No. 8 and killed other miners in mine No. 6 and mine No. 7. Alfred finally sent out rescuers at 10 AM and they retrieved the 32 survivors from mine No. 7. 12 bodies were recovered in mine No. 6, 57 in mine No. 7, and 20 bodies in No. 8.

I had often heard of these explosions from father. After all, mining is a hazardous occupation. Miners used to carry unprotected candles as their only light source. The only problem was that when it came into contact with methane it would explode. The methane would escape from within the coal when a miner struck it. Canaries were used to try to prevent these accidents. They are more sensitive towards methane and other flammable gasses so as soon as they stop singing and drop dead, the miners know it’s time to go. Miners also carried Davy lamps. This handy invention enclosed a candle and the flame would turn blue instead of exploding when it detected methane.

I’ve been babbling on about those poor miners. Alfred seems to be taking this accident well. As a mine owner, Alfred only sees his workers as expendable tools. He is bummed out about the lower production rate that comes with these explosions but it’s nothing compared to the miner’s families. 88 men had left the night before on Sunday January 28th, 1896. But none of them knew that 57 of them would not return home. My they all rest in peace.

Bibliography"Tylorstown." Wikipedia. 14 May 2013. Wikimedia Foundation. 6 May 2013 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylorstown>.

"FERNDALE. Tylorstown Pit. Rhondda Fach, Glamorganshire. 28th. January, 1896." 6 May 2013 <http://www.cmhrc.co.uk/cms/document/1896_97.pdf>.

Bill. "Tylorstown Colliery Disaster. 28th. January 1896." Pitwork. 2013. Bill Riley. 6 May 2013 <http://www.dmm-pitwork.org.uk/html/tylorstown.htm>.

"Tylorstown Colliery." Tylorstown Colliery. 6 May 2013 <http://www.welshcoalmines.co.uk/GlamEast/Tylorstown.htm>. 

Photo Credits

1. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Kahlenberg_steam_engine.jpg

2. http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/5025320/5227084/5227088/blaenavonironworksFMA01.jpg

3. Image supplied by Rhondda Heritage Park

4. Image supplied by Rhondda Heritage Park

5. Image Supplied by Rhondda Heritage Park