We had been involved in track maintenance work off and on since the No 9 mine tour opened in 2002. However, during the winter of 2012, UGM was tasked with cleaning out and timbering a section of the East Primrose Gangway. To accomplish this, we brought in a chain conveyor we purchased from Tito Coal Co. This runs on compressed air and was used to move material from the gangway project out to the tunnel where it would be loaded into the mine cars and taken outside to be dumped. We removed 2 dozen car loads of fill that had settled down an old coal chute and then timbered up the area using 2 piece sets, consisting of a leg and a collar. Hitches for the timber were driven into the bottom rock using a jack leg drill and all work was completed before the start of that years tour season. Today, the timber work and coal chute can be visible from the tour, and at some point in the future the plan is to continue cleaning and timbering this gangway.
