We would love to know who these gentlemen are. If it’s you, or someone you recognize, let us know.
We think they are celebrating the completion of the tunnel linking Riccall ‘staple’ shaft to the drift conveyors that took the coal out to Gascoine Wood rail terminal.
This would have been done using the Robbins Tunnel Boring Machine shown in the next photograph.
Simillar malchinery, like the one shown below, would be used for HS2 and the London Sewage outfall tunnel. This photograph shows one of the 5 Robbins machines used to form the Channel Tunnel.
