The furnace was usually at the bottom of the upcast shaft which acted as a chimney, creating airflow throughout the workings.
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Diameter of shaft twelve feet with wooden cage guides. ; Upcast shafts - 1930 ; Platt Pit 440 yards to the decking level, two deck cage, upcast shaft for both the Hesketh and Institute shafts. Diameter of the shaft – sixteen feet. ; Winstanley 240 yards to the decking Ievel, upcast shaft along with the Engine Pit for all the workings in the Middle Pit.
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Upcast, upcast shaft :The upcast is the shaft by which the spent air is expelled after ventilating the mine workings. It may be considered a type of chimney. Upthrow :An upthrow fault has moved a seam to a higher level.
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Diameter of the shaft – sixteen feet with steel rope guides. ; Engine Pit 110 yards to the decking level, upcast shaft along with the Winstanley shaft for all the workings in the Middle pit. Diameter of the shaft – nine feet. ; Steam Raising Boilers Lancashire Boiler ; Middle Pit Range 15 Hand-fired.
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The colliery had two shafts only apart. The downcast shaft was used for access and coal extraction. The upcast shaft was provided with ropes and pulleys for use if the downcast was blocked. The shafts passed through four shallower "mines" that were not worked in 1885 before reaching the Dow, Five-Quarters and Trencherbone mines.
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The colliery had three shafts. The downcast shaft, No 1 was deep and wound coal from the Florida seam. The upcast shaft No 2, wound coal from the Potato Delf and Wigan Four Foot seams and No 3 shaft was used for pumping. The Lyme Pit disaster occurred in February 1930 killing 13 men.
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Sinking continued and the predicted Four Foot and Yard seams were not found. The Six Foot seam was found at 247 yards and limited working started 26 September 1914. Sinking No 1 pit (the upcast shaft) started in July 1913 and terminated on reaching 156 yards at the Ten Foot seam in November 1914.
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The shaft was subsequently used as the upcast shaft by Wilson Wood Colliery. Haulage roads were driven from west to east along the strike of the coal which was worked up-dip by pillar and stall. In 1844 a drift was cut into the Four Foot seam. New Winning Pit was prone to flooding but firedamp was not a problem.
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Large temperature differences between the outside air and the flue gases can create a strong stack effect in chimneys for buildings using a fireplace for heating. Before the development of large volume fans, mines were ventilated using the stack effect. A downcast shaft allowed air into the mine. At the foot of the upcast shaft a furnace was kept continuously burning.
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Linnyshaw Colliery was the first of the Bridgewater Collieries' pits to have shafts exclusively sunk to access the deeper seams of the coalfield. It was sunk to 300 yards and accessed the Binn, Crombouke, Brassey and Seven Foot mines. Ventilation was initially by furnace at the bottom of the No. 2 upcast shaft. This was replaced by a fan made by Walker Brothers of Wigan.
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This activity generated cash which enabled a shaft to be sunk into the Bowen Seam in 1920. In 1921, two vertical shafts were commenced, a winding shaft to a depth of and an upcast shaft to a depth of . They were secured with a masonry collar and mounted with heavy headframe timbers set on the surface. A dam extending was constructed for the mine water supply.
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Aerial view of Ellesmere Colliery, 1947 or earlier Ellesmere Colliery was a coal mine in Walkden, Manchester, England. The pit was located on Manchester Road, a short distance south of Walkden town centre. There were three shafts on the colliery site, with a fourth upcast shaft located a distance to the NNW. No. 1 shaft was sunk to the Five Quarters mine at a depth of .
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The "Eastern District" is at the end of No 1 Right and this is where the explosion occurred. The mine was originally ventilated by return roads to the entrance and a furnace there. By the time of the explosion a new upcast shaft had been sunk over from the surface to the "Shaft district". A furnace at the foot of the shaft drove the ventilation.
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Bowburn Colliery Tub The third and most famous Bowburn Colliery was sunk in 1906 by Bell Bros. Ltd., using the 1840 shaft as the ventilation upcast shaft (and, later, for manriding). Its first coal was drawn in 1908. It merged with Tursdale colliery in 1931 and grew to be one of the largest in the Durham coalfield, working six seams and with over 2,500 employees in the 1950s.
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Later, an enquiry into the explosion was held at the nearby Norton Arms Public House, while at Staffords Assizes the Manager, Edwin Thompson, defended himself against a charge of manslaughter and was acquitted. In an effort to recover lost output, the Middle Pit shaft (formerly the Ragman) was deepened to the Hardmine seam in 1881, and a new upcast shaft to replace the Laura was sunk to the Cockshead seam.
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Home Office Report – Micklefield Colliery Explosion, 1896, p.4 Despite seven fatal accidents in nineteen years, Peckfield was considered by miners to be a safe mine.The Leeds Times, Deadly Damp, Saturday 2 May 1896 Ventilation was drawn through the seams by a Waddle fan at the top of the Upcast shaft, and had removed the eleven instances of small escapes of gas since 1891.Home Office Report – Micklefield Colliery Explosion, 1896, p.10 Men worked with picks by the light of tallow candles, whilst the undermanager and five deputies carried safety lamps.Home Office Report – Micklefield Colliery Explosion, 1896, p.4 The Downcast shaft was used to transport coal, supplies, and men, and only went to the Beeston Bed, a depth of 175 yards from the surface. The Upcast shaft was used to transport men and was sunk to both the Beeston and Black Bed, the latter being at a depth of 240 yards from the surface.Home Office Report – Micklefield Colliery Explosion, 1896, p.
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The Downcast shaft had an electric winder which had two 475 H.P. motors. The upcast shaft, which was for men and materials, had two single deck cages, each of which could hold two tubs. The winder had a 180 H.P. motor. Conveyor belts were installed; Wheldale then had the longest single conveyor belt in the world, about one mile in length. Gate roads were 30-inch belts, trunk conveyors were 36 inches in width.
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Although driven with height the pressure from above had closed it to as little as in places. Furthermore, water had collected in it for a distance of and reduced the air space to as little as . Ventilation was provided by a furnace near the upcast shaft on the Trencherbone seam. All air from the Trencherbone mine passed over this furnace, reliance being placed on mixing for reducing the possibility of an explosion.
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In collieries at that time air circulation was induced by a furnace at the base of the upcast pit. Hot air rising up the pit, as if up a chimney, drew the exhausted and contaminated air out of the galleries. Downcast pits let the fresh air in to replace it. The route the air took was carefully controlled by doors and partitions. At Blantyre pit, number 5 was the upcast shaft for pits 1, 2 and 3.
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After closure, the headgears and other machinery at Marley Hill Colliery were scrapped and the buildings levelled. A hole was knocked into the wall of the square building which enclosed the top of the upcast shaft, and the rubble from the rest of the buildings tipped in to backfill it. This process having been completed, the building was demolished and a large concrete cap placed over the mouth of each shaft. There appear to be only two remaining buildings directly associated with the colliery.
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The Platt headgear Unfortunately, just as the company was recovering, it was beset by further misfortunes. In 1880, the oil distillery at Chatterley was destroyed by fire. In an effort to recover lost output, the Middle Pit shaft (formerly the Ragman) was deepened to the Hardmine seam in 1881, and a new upcast shaft to replace the Laura was sunk to the Cockshead seam. The latter shaft was completed in 1883 and named the Platt Pit after one of the Directors of the Company.
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In 1888, production had increased to such an extent that the main winding shaft had reached its maximum capacity. The upcast shaft was then fitted out for coal winding and output continued to climb. By 1890, with output averaging 1000 tons per day, the underground haulage of coal from the North dip workings by ponies had become unsustainable and a 60HP electrically driven underground rope-haulage system - the first of its kind in the world - was installed near the downcast pit bottom to haul coal up the 1 in 12 roadway from the North workings.
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Parsonage's two shafts were sunk to the Arley mine at and the depth including the sump was yards. They were in diameter and lined with brick. Sinking began in 1913 but was halted for two years in early 1914 because of the war. The colliery's winding houses were made of reinforced concrete and its headgear was tall with diameter pulley wheels. Markhams of Chesterfield supplied a winding engine with 40 inch diameter cylinders for the downcast shaft and W & J Galloway & Sons supplied the engine for the upcast shaft. Steam power was supplied by 12 Lancashire boilers.
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The upcast shaft was converted to supply air to Shirebrook’s workings for several years and this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The work involved in filling the downcast shaft, together with the removal of the baths, washery, screens etc. all took time and provided the opportunity for the local authority to have the remains given a preservation listing just as their demolition began in 1986. It then continued in a state of limbo for several more years until 1995 when the preservation group Friends of Pleasley Pit was formed and restoration work began.
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At first fires were burned at the bottom of the "upcast" shaft to create air currents and circulate air, but replaced by fans driven by steam engines. Protection for miners came with the invention of the Davy lamp and Geordie lamp, where any firedamp (or methane) burnt harmlessly within the lamp. It was achieved by preventing the combustion spreading from the light chamber to the outside air with either metal gauze or fine tubes, but the illumination from such lamps was very poor. Great efforts were made to develop better safe lamps, such as the Mueseler produced in the Belgian pits near Liège.
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Looking towards the Lady Ha' tunnel entrance from the site of Ladyha Colliery. The other end of the tunnel is visible. Key to plan; 1 - Downcast shaft & winding engine house; 2 - upcast shaft and winding engine/cum pump house; 3 - engineer's and blacksmith's shops; 4 - winch house; 5 - store; 6 - office; 7 - boiler house and chimney; 8 - screening house; 9 - fan/compressor house; 10 - wagon traverser; 11 - underground band haulage. Ladyha no 2 pit was sunk in 1885 to a depth of and closed in May 1934, having struggled since its main customer, the Eglinton Iron Company, closed in 1928.
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Nook Colliery was a coal mine operating on the Manchester Coalfield after 1866 in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. The colliery's first shaft was sunk to the Rams mine at 455 yards in 1866 by Astley and Tyldesley Coal and Salt Company to exploit the Middle Coal Measures of the Manchester Coalfield. The colliery expanded and eventually had five shafts and became one of the largest pits on the coalfield. No.2 upcast shaft was sunk in 1873 and deepened to the Arley mine, a hot mine where temperatures reached 100 Fahrenheit, at 935 yards.
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Andrew Knowles and Sons bought the underlease in 1852. The company developed the colliery by sinking new shafts on the east side of the canal in 1857 to access the Rams mine at 1,545 feet and the shafts on the west side of the canal were abandoned. As the coal was worked from coal seams that dipped at 1-in-3, Pendleton became the deepest coal mine in the country when the workings reached 3,600 feet where the temperature at the coal face reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Andrew Knowles and Sons relined the upcast shaft in 1872 reducing its diameter to 7 feet 2 inches, giving Pendleton the record for the narrowest shaft.
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By 1899, despite having encountered a 25 ft. fault and an extensive washout in the workings to the West, output was such that the winding capacity had been reached at the upcast shaft and it was decided to install a more powerful winder and boilers whilst at the same time replacing the old wooden headstock which was now in a poor condition. This work was carried out in 1900, with all production temporarily shifted to the downcast shaft by means of two shift working. The following year, owing to the very poor condition of the old timber frame, the headstock at the downcast shaft was also replaced, although this time it was pre-erected on the pit-top and then winched into position.
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Pendlebury Colliery, usually called Wheatsheaf Colliery after the adjacent public house, was a coal mine operating on the Manchester Coalfield after 1846 in Pendlebury near Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. The colliery, sunk in 1846, was owned by Andrew Knowles and Sons and had two ten foot diameter shafts 24 yards apart.> The colliery originally had pitch pine timber headgear and a winding engine supplied by John Musgrave & Sons of Bolton that operated until 1944. The colliery was ventilated by furnace until the 20th century when ventilation fans were installed. Wrought iron boilers to raise steam for powering pumps, air compressors and haulage were originally sited near the bottom of No.2 shaft, the upcast shaft.
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In his report Haldane stated: Report to the Home Secretary on the Circumstances attending the Underground Fire at the Snaefell Lead Mine in the Month of May 1897, by C. Le Neve Foster, Esq., D.Sc., F.R.S., one of H.M. Inspectors of mines The reason for the continued presence of the gas in the lower parts of the mine was found during a further investigation by Sir Clement Le Neve Foster. Snaefell Mine consisted of a single working shaft mine, and in addition there was a wooden upcast shaft which followed the slope of Snaefell Mountain in order to assist ventilation. The current of air to this shaft, so as to clear the bottom (171 fathom) level, was arranged by closing of doors opening on to shafts from the higher levels.
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It is (for unknown reasons) sometimes referred to locally as "the butterfly chambers" and fell out of use some time before the colliery closed, with one former Marley Hill miner recalling playing in it as a child. A new explosives store was built to replace it, this building being situated near the pit head baths. The land on which the original village and the pit itself stood (along with the site of the cokeworks, Andrews House Colliery and Bowes Bridge MPD) has lain empty since the colliery was demolished, although the foundations of a number of buildings, a few old concrete lamp-posts, some of the tub lines, and the concrete caps covering the backfilled shafts are still clearly visible. The upcast shaft is on top of the hill overlooking the yard of the Tanfield Railway, and the two caps covering the coal-drawing shafts can be found in a gully just to the north of it, hidden among the trees.
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The extracted coal was sent to the Chanois Mine, where adequate infrastructure existed, and the Notre-Dame mine served two purposes: pumping 7,000 tons of water per month and serving as the downcast shaft by which air entered the underground, the Sainte-Marie shaft, with its powerful ventilators, serving as the upcast shaft. In 1944, the battles for liberation brought about the stoppage of the pumps of the Éboulet shaft and the build-up of water in the galleries. In 1945, water pumping began again at the rate of 6,400 m³ per month, and coal extraction resumed. Upon the nationalization of French coal mines in 1946, under the provisional post-war government, initially led by Charles de Gaulle, Ronchamp Mining District was placed under the authority of Électricité de France (EDF), because it was too distant from the other large mining districts of France, and it included a major thermal power plant.
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When the shift had finished work on Saturday 8 May, all the doors on the higher levels should have been closed, so that the fresh air entering should have been sent through the bottom level of the mine. Initially Foster was at a loss to understand why with the aid of the closed doors the atmospheric current, which should have run into the bottom level, had not cleared the shaft so as to make descent below the 115 fathom level possible. On making another descent on 15 May Dr Le Neve Foster examined all levels as far down as the 74 fathom level, where he found that a doorway had been left wide open. This proved to him that the entire volume of clean air entering the mine turned away at the 74 fathom level, and through that and the levels above returned by the upcast shaft and vented back into the atmosphere.
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