122 COALFIELDS AND COLLIERIES OE AT'STRALIA. 



kept near this curve, in case the rope should get off the 

 sheaves and require to be lifted on again. When the skips ap- 

 proach this curve they are caused to go up a slight incline, so 

 that when the curve is reached they can run down by gravity 

 without requiring any pull from the rope to which they are 

 fastened. With this arrangement there is no occasion to tilt 

 up the inner rail, which would otherwise be necessary to coun 

 teract the pull of the rope, which tends to go in a straight line. 

 When skips approach the pit's bottom, at a given spot each 

 one strikes a lever, which pulls a cord, and rings a cow bell, 

 so as to give the putter-on due notice (Fig. 61). The greaser 

 used for lubricating the axles of the skips consists of a 

 rubber disc with iron cheeks bolted to it. No springs are used 

 as with the ordinary iron greaser, and when the rubber gets 

 worn down the bearings are raised. The skips travelling slowly 

 do not knock the rubber about so much as to wear it unduly. 



Fig. 62. Tension Pulley. 



The district ropes are worked from, the main rope, but the 

 speed is reduced by gearing from 2 to 1. Each district is 

 thrown in and out of gear by a common claw clutch. Working 

 one shift a day, a district rope lasts about four years. The ten- 

 sion pulley is mounted horizontally on a trolly, which runs up 

 and down on a side track, being kept taut by a box of old iron 

 (Fig. 62). At flats the curved rails are made of l^in. square 

 steel; these are more easily shaped than ordinary "T" rails, 

 and they serve for curves to either right or left by simply re- 

 versing them. The rail that crosses the track of the rope has 

 a groove cut through it, so that the rope can circulate without 

 undue wear and tear. As shown in Fig. 63, the* turn-off on 

 the full track is provided with an automatic tongue switch, 

 worked by a weight. The branch from the empty main track 

 crosses over the full main track, and when in use portable 

 loose rails are placed over the latter to make the connection, 

 the loose rails being kept in place by dog spikes on the outside 

 oi rails only. 



