Seymour,
was erected in 1891. This is a vertical triple-expansion condensing
engine, with cylinders 15-1/2 inches, 23-1/4 inches, and 37 inches in
diameter, and a stroke of 36 inches. The gears for this engine were
made by Fraser & Chalmers, of Chicago, Illinois, and the crank
shafts by Sir J. Whitworth, of Manchester, England, but the main
constructors were James Simpson & Co. Ltd., of London. (See
Appendix III.) With this plant an average of over 12,000 gallons a day
was readily pumped from the mine in the first year after its erection,
and since then there has been no further difficulty in handling the
influx of water into the workings.
Compressed Air
For
all underground service in the mines, in driving sinking engines,
mechanical haulages, rock drills, and any other machinery where power
is necessary, steam has been supplanted by compressed air. Electricity
has also been used for some of these purposes, and is the cheaper and
better power for many of the uses for which steam and compressed air
have been used.
Lighting
For
lighting, the application of electricity has already proved to be
almost indispensable. All tunnels and ladderways throughout the mines
are lighted by electricity. In the stopes and other working faces
candles are used. Electric lights have been found to be of the greatest
assistance in enabling the men to get away from rushes of mud. These
occur at times when some of the galleries are " hung up" (to use a
miner's expression), which means when the tops of some of the galleries
are choked with huge pieces of blue ground. The roof suddenly gives way
from the pressure of mud above, and all open lights, such as candles,
are put out by the force of the concussion of the air, and, were it not
for the electric lights, the tunnels in the vicinity of the mud rush
would be in total darkness.
