Dram

nounStandard termMining

A small, wheeled cart or tram historically used to transport coal from the working face to the shaft.

A traditional underground haulage vehicle, typically made of wood or iron, designed to run on narrow-gauge rails. Miners loaded broken coal into the dram by hand, and it was then pushed by workers or pulled by pit ponies to the main haulage roads.

Heard on the job

Tell the hauliers we need twenty empty drams sent up to the new face immediately.

Also heard as

  • tram
  • tub