putter

A putter was a laborer employed in coal mines, primarily in British pits, to push or haul loaded tubs and wagons from the coal face to the main haulage roads. The work was physically demanding and repetitive: a putter would move dozens of heavy cars per shift along rails or tramways, sometimes for distances of several hundred yards through narrow seams. The job required strength and navigational knowledge of the mine's layout, since putters had to work in darkness (or with primitive lighting) and memorize their routes.

Putters occupied a specific rung in the mine's labor hierarchy, sitting below the getters (those who actually extracted coal with pick and shovel) and above the trappers (children who opened and closed ventilation doors). The division of labor meant a getter might extract coal all shift while one or more putters hauled away the spoil. In very productive seams, a single getter could keep multiple putters busy. Payment structures often tied the putter's wage directly to the getter's output, creating economic pressure to work faster regardless of conditions.

Seams, roads, and the work pattern

In thin seams (sometimes as little as 2 to 3 feet high), a putter had to crouch or crawl while pushing heavy tubs, compressing work into exhausting postures for eight to ten hours. Thicker seams allowed more upright movement but typically meant longer distances to the surface or to pit-bottom collection points. Tubs themselves weighed 8 to 15 hundredweight when loaded, and the rails they ran on were often uneven or obstructed by coal dust and debris, making the push slow and injury-prone.

The role of putter gradually declined through the twentieth century as mechanical conveyor systems and locomotive haulage replaced human-powered tub movement. By the mid-1900s, larger mines had nearly eliminated the position in favor of continuous haulage equipment. The term survived longest in smaller, older, or less modernized pits in Wales, Scotland, and northern England, but mechanization ultimately made the job obsolete. Contemporary mining still requires material movement underground, but it is now performed by diesel vehicles, belt conveyors, and dedicated haulage crews rather than individuals pushing individual tubs.

The word itself comes from the verb put, meaning to push or move. Putters were sometimes also called hurriers in certain regional contexts, reflecting the constant pressure to maintain speed. The occupation is now primarily of historical interest, but it remains important to understanding the social and physical structure of underground coal mining before mechanization.