and draw the end back over the pulley; this is prevented by the weight of the bull-chain. Formerly a flat rope was used for sink

FIG. 139.-Pair of sinking engines.

ing, because round

ropes were so liable to twist round with the hoppet, and would spin round in the shaft like a teetotum ; latterly round ropes have been manufactured which do not twist, and as round ropes are cheaper and lighter than flat ropes, theyare therefore preferred.1 Hoppets. hoppets used are as

The

follows: Fig. 140 is an old-fashioned kind, and it is shown to be wider in the middle than at the top and bottom, like a barrel, and is attached by three chains to a ring at the end of the bull-chain; when the hoppet has to be detached, the three chains are each unhooked from the lugs on the hoppet. This barrel-shaped hoppet has the following advantages: When it is loaded with stone, the stone does not easily tumble out, being jammed in, owing to the

FIG. 143.- Hook for water-barrel.

FIGS. 140, 141.-Sinking-tubs.

FIG. 142.-Water-barrel.

upper parts being of less diameter than the middle. If when being wound up it should come in contact with the sides, it is the widest part that is most likely to touch, and there is nothing there to catch. Fig. 141 shows a hoppet with straight sides; this is also larger and holds a greater weight, and is more easily emptied by the banksmen at the surface. Fig. 142 shows a water-barrel; this is suspended from a snap-hook (Fig. 143) at the end of the bull-chain; the hook is fixed in a ring attached with a swivel-joint to a strong

"Locked-coil" rope, and others.

iron bow, which is fastened by two trunnions to the water barrel just below the middle of its height, so that the barrel, when filled with water, can be very easily upset. To prevent it tipping up there is an upright pin on one side of the top edge, a collar sliding on the bow fits also over this pin; when the barrel is drawn to the surface, the banksman lifts the collar and thus tips the barrel. When dirt is being sent out of the pit, the hoppet is lowered down to the bottom, the rope is unhooked and sent up to the top, and a second hoppet sent down. As soon as the first hoppet is filled, it is sent up, and the sinkers proceed to fill the second hoppet. As it may take some time to empty the hoppet on the bank, especially if the dirt has to be taken some distance away from the pit-top, five or six hoppets may be necessary for each winding-engine. Hoppets of the form of Fig. 142 are now generally used for raising dirt, there being two collars, one on each side of the bow; the hoppet is wider at the top than at the bottom, and is large enough to hold from 1 ton to 3 tons of stone. It is emptied into a tip-waggon without being disconnected from the rope. cases of hoppets used for water winding only, a large valve may be put in the bottom so that it may fill itself if lowered into the

water.

In

Water-Garlands. In sinking a pit through ordinary ground, water is met with, and the amount of this water soon becomes sufficient to cause a good deal of trouble; in order to prevent it splashing about unnecessarily and hindering the men it is collected. For this purpose garlands are fastened on to the bricking-curbs (see Fig. 144). These are generally made of sheet iron about 12 inches wide, nailed all round the shaft, so as to make a ring standing two or three inches out from the brickwork; all the water trickling out of the brickwork FIG. 144.-Section of shaft must run into this ring; at one place a hole is made in the ring out of which the water can run into a pipe, say 2 or 3 inches square inside, sufficient to carry the water. At the curb below is another garland. The pipe delivers its water into this second garland, which also collects fresh springs; a second pipe goes down from the second garland, which may be larger in size than the first one, because it may have to take a larger quantity of water. In this way the water is conducted to the pit-bottom or to some cistern in the shaft-side. If it goes to

wall. 1, water-garlands; 2, water-pipes.

the pit-bottom, the wooden pipe stops at the lower end of the brickwork, and a flexible tube (or simple rope) continues it to the bottom, where it delivers the water into the water-barrel. As soon as this barrel is filled, it is wound up by the engine, and the flexible water-pipe is put into another barrel which is ready at the pit-bottom. In this way small feeders of water can be raised. If there is more than a small supply, such as 50 gallons a minute, a separate winding-engine is necessary to wind the water; and if the quantity of water is more than 200 gallons a minute, pumpingengines are usually employed. Cast-iron water-rings are often used. A good design is made by Needham Bros., of Barnsley, shown in Fig. 144a.

Guides. As a general rule, the sinking hoppet is not attached to guides. After it has been lifted off the bottom, one of the sinkers steadies it, and when it has stopped swinging, it is wound up, and it swings but little on its way.

Some engineers, however, prefer to have the sinking hoppet guided. Amongst such methods one designed and patented by Mr. Galloway has been used in South Wales and elsewhere. It is shown in Fig. 145. This system of guiding may be described as follows: Two wire guide-ropes are stretched from the pit-frame on the top to a platform fixed at the bottom of the brickwork in the shaft (see Fig. 145). The cross-bar A, with a collar at each end,

fits on to these guides; in the centre of the cross-bar is a hole through which the winding-rope passes; beneath the cross-bar is attached the hoppet. When the hoppet is raised, a rubber buffer at the lower end of the winding-rope comes in contact with the cross-bar, so that it also is lifted. As the cross-bar is connected with the wire guides, it cannot swing, and the hoppet is also steadied. In lowering the hoppet to the bottom, the cross-bar is arrested by some buffers on the guides just above the platform, but the hoppet continues to descend through an opening in the platform to the bottom of the pit. The wire guides are generally attached to capstans, by means of which they can be raised or lowered, and the platform is used for the masons in walling the shaft. In large pits there may be two hoppets and two sets of guides; in this case there is only one capstan rope for each set of guides (see Fig. 145). One end of each wire guide is fastened to

A

FIG. 146.-Galloway's guides: levers for opening doors.

the pit-frame at D; it passes down and under the pulleys C in the pit, then up to the top again over the pulleys B, and thence to the capstan.

The pit-top is covered over, and there is a pair of doors through which the hoppet can be raised (see Fig. 146). These doors are lifted by means of the lever A and the balance-weights B. When they are open they form a fence for the shaft, the other two sides of the opening having permanent fences. After the hoppet has been raised, the trap-doors are closed, and a bridge run over them, into which the hoppet is lowered.

Sinking-Pumps. The pumps most commonly employed in

sinking pits are shown in Fig. 138. On the crank-shaft of the steam engine is a small spur-wheel or pinion, which gears into another spur-wheel three or four times the diameter of the pinion. On the same shaft as the large wheel is a crank or disc, with three holes for a crank-pin, which can be placed in either hole to make a long or short stroke as required. A connecting-rod from the crank-pin gives movement to beams shaped like the letter T inverted, or the letter L, at the pit-top. The pump-rods are attached to these beams by the method shown in Fig. 147. The beam is made of two sides, a pin, A, passing through both; this pin also holds a saddle, B, which can turn upon the pin. By means of clamps C C, this saddle is fastened to the pump-rod.

d

CNB

END OF

PUMP BEAM

and saddle.

These pump-rods are of wood, and from 4 to 12 inches square, according to the size of the pumps, 6 inches square being a suitable size for pumps 14 inches in diameter working from a depth of 50 yards. The pump shown in Figs. 148 and 149 is that kind usually called a bucket-lift. The pipes are all made of cast iron. The bottom pipe has a rounded end perforated with holes, called a wind-bore; this rests on the ground, standing in the water; if the water should not be deep enough to cover all the holes, those above the water may be plugged, so as to prevent air from drawing in. Above the wind-bore is the clack-piece; the clack-valve FIG. 147.- Pumping-beam is shown also in Fig. 148 (1). The shell, or valve-seating, is of cast iron, tapered on the outside to fit into a tapered recess in the clack-piece. There are two openings for the water, both of which are covered by a wrought-iron plate, which is the valve. This wrought-iron plate is riveted on to a piece of tough leather, which covers the whole surface of the shell, and is fastened down by a collar on the hook a, which passes through the shell; this leather forms the hinge, and also makes a soft bed for the valve, which would not otherwise be water-tight. A hook or bow is used for the purpose of lowering or raising the clack. The cast-iron door can be taken off when it is necessary to change the clack. It has sometimes happened that the door has been taken off, and could not be put on again before the water had risen up, so that the clack was useless. There is often another clack-seating above the door, where the clack could be placed in case the lower clack was rendered useless in any way. To avoid the risk of not having the clack-door on or properly tight, there is sometimes no