The Mining Industry Act 1926 attempted to stem the post-war decline in coal mining and encourage independent companies to merge in order to modernise and better survive the economic conditions of the day.
[4] Mining was a dangerous industry but Manchester Collieries aimed to make the job as safe as possible, and training was a major priority.
The company was considered to be a generous employer; workers at its pits were on average 1s 6d per shift better off than miners working for other employers, and it built pithead baths and canteens at its pits.
The collieries were linked to mainline railways at Ellenbrook and Sandersons Sidings on the Tyldesley Loopline, at Astley Green sidings on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, at Walkden Low Level on the line to Bolton, at Walkden High Level on the Manchester and Wigan Railway and at Linnyshaw Moss on the Manchester to Bolton Line.
[5] At Nationalisation in 1947 Manchester Collieries employed 14,868 workers on the Lancashire Coalfield.