20* 



COALFIELDS AND COLLIERIES OF AUSTRALIA 



to run into the side track by the carriage spring (g), rocker 

 (h), and rod (e). If the clip is properly fastened to the rope, 

 before leaving the brow of the incline, it strikes the vertical 

 arm (d), which, through a system of levers, forces the points 

 back so as to leave the main track clear; (i) is a piece of iron 

 so arranged as to prevent the coupling chain fronn knocking 

 against (d), which if it did would cause the skip to pass into 

 the main track, whether it was clipped to the rope or not. 

 The clip, if properly fastened, pushes (i) on one side, but if 



Fig. 129 Runaway Switch. 



loose it slides over (i) in the same manner as the coupling 

 chain, anc^iiot coming into contact with the arm (d) does not 

 alter the position of the points: consequently the skip runs 

 on to the turn-out. 



A knocker off is arranged at the top of the incline on the 

 empty side, for automatically disconnecting the skip from the 

 rope. This consists of a forked lever mounted on an axle, and 

 placed at an angle of 60 degrees from the vertical; it is kept 

 in this position by a spiral spring. The rope circulates 

 through the forked portion of the knocker, and when a clip 

 conies along, the top of the knocker strikes the lower part of 

 the collar on each side, and pushes it up, thus allowing the 

 jaws of the clip to disconnect from the rope. The skip pushes 

 the knocker forward as it passes over it, after which the latter 

 returns to its original position, being pulled back by a spring. 



The axles of the skips are lubricated by a chain greaser 

 worked by the endless rope (Fig. 130). The endless rope 

 passes over a sheave (a) in the centre of the track, and causes 

 it to revolve by friction. At either end of the axle passing 

 through this sheave, 18in. apart, is a 6in. pulley (b). Four 

 and a half feet away on a parallel axle are two 12in. pulleys 

 (c), in line with the smaller ones, and connected to them by 

 chains (d). The pulleys are made out of a pair of old skip 

 wheels, with the treads towards each other, bolted together 

 through the flanges with fin. bolts and nuts. These bolts 



