Hi all, some bad news Im afraid

There has been a collapse into the engine shaft on surface and the situation as reported before is looking worse with the looming complete collapse of the remains of the 60 inch engine house into the shaft. The bob wall is now clearly undermined and much of the stonework was built on timber which is rapidly rotting no doubt exacerbated by the upcast of warm moist air from the mine.
I went into the mine to check the situation underground and found my 1995 dig blocked. This section was timbered through the bad ground and it appears that some of the timber had collapsed under the attle you crawl up over and filled the hole at the back. It should be easy to dig and possibly be more roomy than before now after the collapse.
I don’t know what the state of the engine shaft is underground though until this is cleared. There is also a small collapse in the adit further outbye close to where the Wemyss adit breaks in, but you just step over this.

When I originally broke through to the engine shaft in 1995 I could look down it through clear water about 6 feet down, the top at adit level was partially timbered. If the timber goes the mess should self clear, but whether it will take the collapse of the engine house would be another matter.

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I have come back on this following further consideration. There was some sign of disturbance in the mine generally as though water had been flowing in abundance, not possible from an influx after the work by the Environment Agency.
I think that there may have been an upsurge following material coming down the shaft. This raises safety issues for anyone in the mine as in the event the engine house bobwall falls down the shaft this will in all likelihood create a massive blast of air akin to an explosion.

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I have decided that safety must be paramount and to this end i am leaving the colllapse at my 1995 dig as it is in order to keep people out of the engine shaft chamber. This area has to be regarded as highly dangerous.

When the catestrophic collapse of the bob wall has happened I can reopen the dig and take stock.
In the meantime I am going to put some extra timber in the adit just inbye of the laddershaft where there are roofpacks and loose ground.
I think that when it all happens that there will be a bit of a shock running through the place.
As far as NAMHO goes, I need to think some more on this.

Frankly, what with one thing and another I could do with some good news.

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Me again
On Saturday I was able to get some informed opinions and it seems that my appraisal of the situation may have been somewhat coloured by work done near the shaft collar by contractors erecting a safety fence.

I think in the circumstances I shall leave the underground fall alone for the time being until the contractors have finished due to risk of stuff falling down the shaft, but regard the rest of the mine as reasonably stable.
Unless some new developments in the meantime, it will remain on the NAMHO meets list.

The bobwall will go sometime. but I dont now feel that its imminent.

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Good to hear things may not be as dire as they first seemed!

Good to hear things may not be as dire as they first seemed!

Well yes.
It was my reading of the situation, but without access to the engine shaft at adit level its impossible to make an accurate assessment.

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Hi Roy,

Never been to the place, but if contractors are messing about on surface and it is danger of imment collapse, keep away from underground as long as possible in order to let the whole thing stabalise.
Once things have been left a month or so then reassess the situation and make a new entrance into the shaft.
You do not want to be in a situation where things are falling above and round about you.