312 COALFIELDS AND COLLIERIES OF AUSTRALIA. 



The main winding engine was made by the Grange Iron 

 Company Limited, of Durham, England, and is worked on the 

 first motion. The cylinders are 24in., and it has a 5ft. stroke. 

 The valves are of the Cornish type, as they act quicker, and 

 are easier 011 the hand than slide valves for large engines. 

 There is only one drum, 12ft. in diameter, but two ropes are 

 used on it. There is a band brake, the brake-path being lined 

 with wood. 



The present air compressor has duplex air and duplex 

 steam cylinders; the former have spring valves, and are water- 

 jacketed. This machine was also made by the Grange Iron 

 Company, and is used for compressing air for the Ingersoll 

 punching machine. There is 110 air receiver at the surface, 

 as there is a great length of main piping, at first 8in. cast 

 iron, and later 6in. diameter spiral riveted pipe, made by Me- 

 phan Ferguson, of Eootscray, Victoria. 



Some difficulty was experienced in sinking the two shafts, 

 on account of quick-sand having been encountered. The 

 downcast shaft, which is 430 feet in depth, had to have its 

 upper GO feet tubbed in consequence, while the upcast was 

 tubbed for about 80 feet. There was trouble with the upcast 

 shaft, for the tubbing got out of plumb, and also collapsed, 

 when down a certain distance, so that a second tubbing had 

 to be telescoped inside it, which made the diameter of the 

 lowest portion of the shaft somewhat smaller than was ori- 

 ginally intended. The inner tubbing was allowed to come 

 above water level when finished, and the joint between the 

 two was cemented up. The tubbing was built up on the sur- 

 face, the different sections being bolted together on the in- 

 side, so that the outside was smooth to slip doAvn. A shoe 

 was fastened to the bottom ring of the drum, and the cast- 

 iron lining was weighted on the top with sand bags. On pas- 

 sing through the watery strata, a seating was made in solid 

 rock, which was carefully levelled and cemented for the wedg- 

 ing crib to rest on. The space at the back of this wedging 

 crib was filled with blocks of wood and wedges driven in till 

 a watertight joint was made, and the crib was in the proper 

 position for the tubbing to connect up with it. The vertical 

 and horizontal joints of the tubbing were then wedged up, 

 and that section of the shaft was complete. 



Each shaft has a 20ft. well hole, which is connected by a 

 drift; that serves as a water lodgment. The water is raised to 

 the surface by a Tangye steam pump with double 5-inch dia- 

 meter plungers, which is located in a chamber at the foot of 

 the upcast shaft. 



At the bottom of the downcast shaft the brick walling 

 reaches to the floor of the roadway. A by-pass is made on one 



