UNDERGROUND WORKINGS OF A WESTERN COLLIERY. LI. 



by horses. The system of haulage is known as the main and tail 

 rope. 



The engine is one of Tangye's 28 h.p. and is supplied with steam 

 from boilers on the surface, it has two coupled cylinders, diameter 

 12 inches, length of stroke 18 inches, the usual speed is about 200 

 strokes per minute, and the ratio of the piston to the spur wheel 

 is 1 to 3J. There are two drums of 54 inches diameter, and they 

 will hold about 2,500 lineal yards of 2 inch rope weighing 4 lbs. 

 to the fathom; the drums one for the main rope and one for the 

 tail rope are fitted with clutches and can be thrown in or out of 

 gear as required, and have separate brakes. The engine plane or 

 road has a grade of about 1 in 60, and is laid with 201b rails to a 

 gauge of 2 feet 1 inch. Rollers for carrying rope are made of 

 steel, main rollers 6 inches diameter, tail sheaves 8 inches diameter, 

 distance apart about 20 feet: sheaves at curves about 3 feet 

 diameter, return wheel at end of plane 5 feet diameter. The 

 main rope draws out the full skips and the tail rope takes back 

 the empties, when the full skips are being drawn out the tail rope 

 drum runs loose on the shaft: when the tail rope is hauling in 

 the empties the main rope drum is thrown out of gear. The total 

 length of the main rope on the plane is about 1,000 yards, and 

 the tail rope 2,000 yards. 



The main rope passes off the drum under a pully into the axis 

 of the road and is attached to the fore end of the first skip, the 

 tail rope is carried along near the roof at the side of the road 

 around a sheave at the end of the plane and attached to the hinder 

 «nd of the last skip of the train. A train consists of 30 skips, 

 and each skip carries 19 cwt., the skip alone weighing 6 J cwt. 

 The time required for a trip out or a trip in is 5 minutes. There 

 is an elevated siding or kip near the shaft up which the full skips 

 are drawn by the rope to stand until they are wanted, from whence 

 they are easily run down by hand on to the cage in the shaft to 

 be taken to the surface; the empties that come down the shaft 

 are pulled out of the cage by hand and run by gravitation to the 

 main plane and made up into trains for return to the workings ; 



