I have been wondering about the haulage used at Alderley Edge, Cheshire where
the haulage from the main mining sites was by incline direct to the crusher
plant. I do not know whether they would have used steel or (?)hemp ropes or
chains in the 1860s-1870s. I am also curious whether the system would have used
a main and tail or just a main rope (gravity would probably have enabled the
tubs to return under their own weight). Evidence on the ground points to
ropes rather than chains, given the scour marks where the passages turn, and there
is a hint of a roof level set of pulleys to carry a tail rope. The latter
could of course have been for signalling. Can anyone point me at a text which
might give me some historical context for these ideas? The only pictorial
evidence is for a second mining phase in the 1910-1919 period where rollers are
visible in the track bed but as the pictures were taken after closure, they do
not show the ropes in situ. We have found a piece of steel cable in the mine
but this could date from either period of have had some other use.
Any help would be appreciated on or off list.
Regards,
Nigel Dibben
|