DEAF HILL COLLIERY.
Deaf Hill Colliery was sunk by the Trimdon Coal Company in 1870, and from 1900 until the present day, from information supplied by Mr. John Hampson, Rolleywayman, now 75 years of age, and whose name is perpetuated with a haulage curve known as “Hampson’s Curve,” there have been eleven managers.

In 1919 the colliery was idle for 6 months, following the break in of heavy feeders of water from the Harvey Seam workings, approaching the Butterknowle fault, at the southern extremity of the take. The colliery was partially flooded until satisfactory dams were built in the Hurworth district of the Harvey Seam. In 1921 the Trimdon Coal Company was taken over by the South Durham and Cargo Fleet concerns, and came under the management’s of Messrs. J. H. B. Foster and Geo. Raw, both well-known Durham Mining Engineers.
Peak output was reached in 1939 when 363,356 tons were produced. From 1945 outputs declined due to exhaustion of the good Low Main and Harvey seams. Since 1945 production has been maintained between 160 and 170 thousand tons per annum. In 1955 the figure was raised to 186,000 tons and in 1956 223,000 tons were produced. In September, 1955, the Wingate and Deaf Hill reconstruction scheme wvas partly completed and put into operation. It briefly consisted of scrapping the 10 cwt. tubs in favour of one ton tubs, and transporting same from Deaf Hill to Wingate via the overland narrow gauge railway by means of three 75 h.p. Diesel L,ocomotives, where the coal was tipped at the tippler station, which transported the coal from both Wingate and Deaf Hill to the Wingate washer.
The colliery at the present moment is producing 5,500 tons per week from the Hutton seam, section 2′ 3″, and the Busty (Tilly), section 3′ 9″, containing two dirt bands.

Power loading by the Flighting method is working well in the Hutton seam and it is visualised that eventually the colliery will be loading all its coal at the present loading point, 300 yards from the shaft bottom. This will further improve the colliery’s figures.
The Colliery Junior Ambulance Team won the Area Competition in 1954, the Area and Divisional Competition in 1955 (being unsuccessful at Blackpool), and in 1956 won the Area, Divisional and National Competitions

Mr. Fred Hope, the Ambulance Attendant for the Colliery, was awarded the B.E.M. in 1955.

In 1952 the colliery was awarded the Output Banner -awarded by the Durham Branch of the National Union of Mineworkers.

In 1959 the colliery was converted to an all-electric colliery -steam winders being substituted with electric this will be the completion of the reorganisation.

The T. M.S. started to run through Trimdon Station in 1929. T.M.S. were one of the regular stage carriage services in South-west Durham and were formed in 1929 by amalgamation of two former Trimdon operators who had been operating joint services for about 5 years previous. They were J. S. Grundy, Esq., and Messrs. Paul and Seymour. J. S. Grundy in 1919 bought a second-hand Ford T. type 6 seater bus which had been built in 1916. In 1922 this vehicle was exchanged for another Ford T. Tonner with a convertable body. This vehicle was used as a lorry on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, to deliver groceries, etc., for Messrs. Broughs of Wingate, Saturdays by the local football team, Sundays on a special Church service, on alternate Mondays to Castle Eden and Haswell Marts from the Trimdons, Wingate and Wheatley Hill, Wednesdays to Stockton Market and nightly from Kelloe to the local cinema at Trimdon.

Paul and Seymour started a service with a Ford T. type and operated between the Trimdons and Sedgefield on Saturdays and Sundays. They also ran special services to Winterton Hospital on visiting days, otherwise it was used on private trips.

In 1924 Grundy, Paul and Seymour each purchased a further vehicle and decided to operate a joint service to Fishburn for the miners (this service is still in operation today). The tickets for this service were hand made from plain white post cards and stamped; on having made twelve journeys one was entitled to a free ride ; thus the introduction of the twelve journey tickets as issued today.

In 1926 the Trimdon Grange to West Hartlepool service was started and operated under Trimdon Motor Services. In 1929 West Hartlepool -Trimdon service was extended to Durham via Coxhoe. In 1929 they amalgamated to form a company known as Trimdon Motor Services, Limited, with the registered office at Trimdon Grange.

In 1930 the Road Traffic Act came into force. In 1939 the outbreak of war -ten vehicles were commandeered by the Army and T.M.S. were granted licences to run services to the Royal Ordinance factories at Aycliffe and Spennymoor from the Trimdons, Thornley, Wheatley Hill and Wingate. In 1953 T.M.S. bought Alton Bros. (a Bee-Line Roadways subsiduary company) together with their two services Sedgefield -West Hartlepool via Trimdons and Elwick and Ferryhill Crag Spennymoor.

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