Today I had a very enjoyable day with friends from the West Manchester Radio club at the Lancashire Mining Museum at the former Astley colliery which closed in 1970 celebrating museums on the air.

I am pictured making the first contact using special event call sign GB0PIT to another museum, the GB1TT “Turton Tower” museum, operated by Bolton Wireless Club.

With the sun out, and it being a baking hot day, I even managed a cream tea for my lunch, and an ice cream afterwards.  Very enjoyable and reasonably priced too with a coffee included.

Here are some photos of the winding engines and other mining equipment including a rescue winder with an eight cylinder Gardener diesel engine, (I have never seen one before), and that largest winding engine left in existence that is still running…

Friends from West Manchester Radio Club all working as a team to make the event possible…