A thought struck me about these multiple systems and our interpretation of them. Rather than the rope being attached to a cage/kibble, and simply winding up and down, are we looking at endless ropes which lap the drum a couple of time to get a purchase and then go down the shaft, round a pulley and back up? These could run all the time and loads could (somehow) be fixed to the rope when required. Jack Nadin describes such a system, using endless chains, in the Burnley - Blackburn area. Sorry, I could not find the precise reference, but it is in either:-
Nadin, J. The Coal Mines of East-Lancashire (Keighley: Northern Mine Research Society, British Mining No.58, 1997)
Nadin, J. Coal Mines around Accrington and Blackburn (Keighley: Northern Mine Research Society, British Mining No.64, 1999)
On page 58 of East-Lancs. he has a photograph of a back-to- back winder at the Copy Pit, Cliviger.
Mike Gill
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