Mr. Murrayasked the Minister of Fuel and Power how much American machinery has been installed in the coalmines of county Durham; will he state the collieries where such installation has taken place; whether the output has increased; and is the machinery working to the satisfaction of all concerned.
Major Lloyd GeorgeAt the present time the only American machinery in use in County Durham consists of three coal-cutters at Murton Colliery, but machinery for several other collieries is in transit or on order. Other American machinery was installed at Murton on an experimental basis, but the results obtained led to the replanning of the project with different types of equipment now in course of delivery. Meanwhile, the American room and pillar method of mining, although operating on a modified scale, has, in the limited time the machinery has been at work, proved satisfactory, and has increased the output per man-shift in the section concerned.