Dear David,
This is an interesting point that I have wondered about for some time. At the Glasshouse Ironstone Mine at Whittington near Chesterfield, a shaft accident occurred in 1865 where a small steam engine was placed in the centre of 16 shafts and one inclined plane. The engine drove a horizontal shaft carrying seven winding ropes and a vertical shaft carrying ten winding ropes. Thus it wound from the 16 shafts and inclined plane simultaneously. For illustrations of the system see Peak District Mines Historical Society publication, Vol 11, No.5, Summer 1992. It is difficult to imagine how any signalling system could have worked. Presumably the engine driver started winding and the banksmen/onsetters had to be ready. But what if they had a tub stuck half in and half out of the cage.... ?
Regards,
Barry Job.
-----Original Message-----
From: David Kitching [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 17 May 2003 07:24
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Winding question
Whilst reading a recently discovered report on the operation of the Poynton Collieries, Cheshire, in 1826 I found myself wondering about control of the winding of coal.
The report states:
"The pits are generally sunk in pairs at from 50 to 150 yards as under - a Winding Engine placed between them draws the coals from both. Two rope drums wrot by spur wheels, work 2 ropes on each pit. The one pit is sunk generally plum rise from the other.
The deep pit is called the Lower Pit the rise pit the Bye Pit."
In such cases as those described how might the communication be effected between the banksmen and hookers-on and the engineman who would necessarily be at some distance from the shaft? Was this system of one winding engine winding on two ropes each from two shafts common practice?
Winding two shafts from the same engine via two drums would introduce considerable complication and seems to me to be that this system was an accident waiting to happen. That said, there are no records of winding accidents at these pits at this time that I have been able to find. I would welcome any comments.
Is the use of the term "Bye Pit" to describe the shaft to the rise common in the industry? Why Bye?
Cheers,
--
fearrmeox adlaž bręgen
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