WESTPORT COAL COMPANY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10719, 6 February 1897, Page 6

WESTPORT COAL COMPANY.

. THE GRANITY CREEK WORKS. For the following description of the Westport Coal Company's -works at Millerton and Granity Creek we are indebted to the Weatpor* Times :— i'^nftc?'! 161'011 mine lies at au elevation ot IXUOit above sea level, the mice inoutti being about one mile and a-quarter back from ths railwoy line which conveys the coal to the port 01 Westport. The idea of bringing the coal jtrom the mine mouth down to the railway line by means of inclines worked by endless rope originated with Mr Thos. J. Waters, M. Am. lost. M.E., the company's late engineer, bat as that gentleman went to America before the works were started, it devolved upon his successor, Mr Ashley-Hunter Asaac. M lost. C.8., to design and carry out the scheme in all its details, with what measure of auccees may be judged by anyone taking a trip to Millerton, and watching the smoothness and regularity with which everything works. ' Starting from the foot of Gravity Creek 7cnn rt the coal b!ns> ca P»ble of storing some IbOO tons, are situated, we ascend the No 1 or lower incline. This incline is 45 chain, long and bas an average gradient of 1 in 4. it is worked by an endless steel wire rope Win in circumference, made by Craddock and Son, and having a breaking strain of over 100 tons. The. coal tabs which weigh 24cwt Salt and /owt empty, and which hive ftU been made at tbo company's workshops, are attached to the rope at intervals ot about 66ft by chain clips, the fuli tubs corning down one line and by their Buperior weight dragging the empty tubs up the other line. Seen from the foot of the incline the | ettect of a succession of black objects spaced 1 £Vvf lnterv»ls creeping slowly down the ; niUaiae while an equal number appears to be : painfully toiling skywards is a striking one, , anu to the observant stranger is suggestive of •black beetles. , : . . L °7«gtftthe great fx.n S s of weight of the j.tuU tubs over the empty ones it is uecestaty to control the travel of the rope, and this is effected jy what is probably one of the most powerful hydraulic brakes i v existence The rope at the top of the incline takes three and n-half turns around a "surging" drum O r | wheel 12ft m diameter; this wheel is al«so provioed with spur gearing and bind brake, the j whole being built up ot numerous castings and { esgmeuts securely bolted together and carried j on- a 12iu vertical steel shaft and weighing j Boma 18 tons. The spur wlißel gears into two j massive pinions, also carried on vertical steel ; acaffcs having cranks at their upper ends con- ] ceding with the piston rods of the hydraulic , bra.ke.B. These brakes consist of two cylinders j with pistons 12in diameter and 3ft stroke • | each cylinder hss a "pass" pipe con- [ nectuig the two ends, and when the | cylinders are full of water it is the proviucs of this pass pipe to allow the water aa it is pushed ■ iv front ot the advancing piston to pass round ;to the other end of the cylinder. A suitable | regulating valve is placed in the centre of the pass pipe, and it is obvious that by partially closing this valve a less or Rreater obstruction is .offered to the passage of the water through it, ! and that when it is wholly closed the piston is I confronted by a solid body of water having no outlet,-and is consequently brought to rest The whole machine may, in fact, be likened to a. steam engine reversed, and where the energy goes m at the flywheel and com^s oat fit the boiler. In addition to the hydraulic brake, a very powerful band brake is also used, the former being used chiefly to regulate the speed of travel of the rope and the latter to stop the rope _.altogether. Tho whole of tbiß brake machinery, &c, was cast and made from Mr ; Hunter s design by Messrs Anderson and Sons, of • Christcuurch. -and the.workraanshiD reßects ths highest credit oa that firm From the top of this first incline, the second incline, starts in a more southerly direction towards tho. mine mouth; its length is about 52 chwns, with an average gradient of 1 ia 14*, the rope used on it being a much lighter one. The .surging and brake wheel and also the hydraulic brakes for this incline, although following the same principles, are of much lighter design than those used on the lower incline. They were construe e<l from the engineer s designs by Messrs A. and T. Burt, of Dunedin. From this brake, up through the mine the tubs are worked in "jigs" by the ordinary tail rope. All tue pulleys for guiding aad carrying the rope at the brows of the inc.raes were made bj Messrs Cable and Co., of WelhDgton. Tbis firm alto cast the cylinders and made the fittings for the hydraulic crane We may mention that there are four tunnels on these inclines, having an aggregate length of 35 chains. There are also numerous bridges and trestles, all pf a substantial character, and looking as though they bad " come to stay " At the entrance to the mine there has beea erected a powerful air-compressiug plant, the compreassd air being used to works Stanley heading machine in the mine, the air being eunveyed.thereto by 4-inch piping. The air pressure is also used to work a " Leyner " coalcutting machine, which is at present on its trial ! mv m whloh great tbin Ss are expected ! The mine itself is now well opened out, and the coal, which near the mouth waa at firat ! somewhat soft and crashed, has now improved vastly both in appearance and hardness. As to its actual quality both &a a steam and gas coal ! thare has never been the slightest doubt, Mr Brown, the district manager of the mines being, of. opinion that in most respects it is I equal, and in some respect 3 superior, to the ! Coalbrookdale coal. . . . .. ' Two large masonry water dams have been 1 built near the inclines. One supplies water to the large hydraulic brake, whilst from the other water i» taken to the coal bins at the ln« the avallable bead in the latter ct»e bein" 600 ft. This water pressure works a Si-ton" hydraulic crane of unique and special'design, tuns a «t Foltou wheel, which works all the machinery m the smithy and fitting shop, und also opens arid closes the 80 or 80 bin doors through which the c%\ ia delivered -from the storage bins into the railway trucks. It is also intended to utilise this head of water to drive threa shaking or screening machines, all the ironwork for which hus been supplied by the •Anchor Foundry to the engineer's designs. The coal bins themselves are very substantially built over five iines cf railway sidings. The structure ij erected on six rows of ironbark piles, 102 in all, driven between the Jincs of sidings'; the top floor, covered with jin flat sheets, is 32ft above rail level, whilut the roof cf the building is carried on wrought iron roof trusses in a single spsnof 56ft; this leaves a clearflour space over which to run the mine tubs co that they may be empbierf at the different " tipplere " into the storage biosi, or delivered direct into the trucks or over the screens »3 occasion requires. iSr H. H. Lange was the contractor for the coustructioa of the bins. Duplicate electric signalling wires are carried right up the inclines, whilst a complete telephone (system connects the bios, bratoliauiei, | office, manager's house, mine, and tlie officss at Wesfcport and iDenniston. By the aid of these electric signal wires tho brakesmao cm be signalled from any point on tho iodines, and the rope and tuba brought to an immediate standstill. The capacity of the inclines, tseumic.s the speed of the rope not to exeesd two miles and s-half an hour, is about 1400 tons ie the eight hours. The eamp&ny is to be congratulated upon the j unqualified success of tho work as a whole, I whilst it must be a aource of gratification to the company's engineer, Ssr Hunter, aud in fact to everyone who has had anything to do with the prosecution of the works either as contractor, overseer, fitter, or in any other capacity, to j know that everything has worked smoothly and! ■without a Bingle hitch of sny kind ever siiice the inclines were first started, six or seven months ago. Hie work inside tie niiue towarde the development of the great property is on the same substantial lines as obtains outside. The I mine is worked on the bord and pillar nystem, the ventilation is perfect., aud wailu the highest ' skill is brought to be*r in the direction of cpsl- | getting the safety and comfort of the employees in one /f tbe first considerations with Mr • Brown. \ One ia&tter which is worth special racord is *vat ths company have all their pitiut constructed in the colony that can poHsibiy bo j done. They have large workshops at their j paines, where they make their own coal tubs, importing the raw material only, and this they find is more satisfactory than having them Brought out manufactured from Eome, besiuee enabling them to rfo the most of their cwn work ' at tho mines. ' So much has been mitten in our columns \t i thrt'erent times descriptive of the company's j other mine at Coalbrookdalfi that we need not enlarge on that subject, except to express a oope that before m&ny years are past the company may see its w»y towards adopting the sasae nyßtem of endless rope haulage for their 1 Wanes at Denniston as they have so succcbsiullj introduced at Grsßity Creek. [