The shaft where this accident happened is 77 fathoms deep. There are four distinct workings at different levels; three of them are known as mid workings, and are situated as follows :-The first at 22 fathoms from the surface, the second at 35 fathoms, and the third at 65 fathoms. The deceased was a drawer, and worked in the second working, at 35 fathoms from the surface. By the 14th General Rule of the Mines Regulation Act it is provided that "The top and all entrances between the top and bottom of every working or pumping shaft shall be properly fenced, but this shall not be taken to forbid the temporary removal of the fence for the purpose of repairs or other operations if proper precautions are used." And by the special rules of the colliery " the bottomer shall attend during the working shifts in the mine to regulate the number of men who shall ascend on the cage at a time, to keep order among the drawers arriving with loaded hutches at the pit bottom, to see that the loaded hutches are carefully placed on the cage, " &c. It appears that a fence, as provided for by the 14th General Rule, had been constructed at the second working, but was out of use for some weeks before the accident. From some cause the regular bottomer was absent on the morning of the accident, and when the deceased, who was a drawer, approached the pit with a loaded hutch, he unwittingly pushed it into the shaft, and fell to the bottom with it, a distance of 42 fathoms.
A neighbouring drawer, who was following close after him, also pushed his hutch into the shaft, and made a narrow escape in not falling down with it.
If the pit had been fenced, as it ought to have been in terms of the 14th General Rule, the accident would have been prevented ; or if the bottomer had been present, as provided for by the 42nd Special Rule, in all probability this unfortunate occurrence would not have taken place.
The manager and oversman were charged by the Procurator Fiscal with culpable homicide, or culpable violation or neglect of duty, at the Spring Circuit Court, Glasgow. The oversman was found not guilty, and in consequence of the result of his trial the case against the manager was not proceeded with.

[NB The accused were William Forsyth, married, age 51, manager, Heathery Knowe colliery, address: Heatheryknowe (native of St Ninians parish, Stirlingshire) & John Ramsay, married, age: 42, fireman and oversman, Kiltongue pit, Heatheryknowe colliery, address Old Monkland (native of Carmyle). Ramsay was tried at High Court, Glasgow, 27 Apr 1874 - source NAS catalogue]

Newspaper report

There was one fatal boiler explosion at Greenfield Colliery. The boiler was one of a range of five, which had been working for ten years. It was egg-ended, 30 feet long, 5 feet diameter, and the plates were 7/8ths of an inch thick. It burst into three pieces ; the central part flattened out, and the two ends kept their shape. One of the ends, about 20 feet long, was blown a distance of 150 yards, tore off the roof's of five workmen's houses, and finally landed on and fell through the roof of a school-room where about 30 persons were assembled. Three children were killed and several persons injured. One of the enginemen was killed, his name appears in the " list." I had the assistance of Lawrence Hill Esq., in investigating this accident. We did not detect that the boiler had been short of water; it seemed to us that it had leaked about the water line, was a good deal corroded, and thoroughly worn out. At our suggestion the owners took out the whole range, and replaced them by double flued boilers.
It is satisfactory to find that in most of the new fittings double flued boilers are used, which are capable of being safely worked at 50 to 60lbs. on the square inch.

Newpaper reports - Greenfield page