Saviour of Hartley Steam Coals
When in 1854 the British Government opted to cease using coal mined at Hartley in Northumberland for powering its naval ships in favour of Welsh coal, on the grounds that Hartley coal produced too much smoke, Armstrong was instrumental in investigating and disproving these claims.
He formed part of a three-man team in charge of awarding a £500 premium offered by the Steam Collieries Association of Newcastle for the best method of preventing smoke in the combustion of the coal. The experiments carried out in the process proved effective methods for eliminating smoke entirely and the results were published in a series of three reports published from 1857-58. The reputation of Hartley coal was thus saved, which carried significant implications for the local economy at a time when the British Empire was expanding and the merchant steam navies along with it. 13
