Contrast this with conditions in the mid. 19th century.

🔗Levant-Tin-Mine-Archive-Album-Image-016[linkphoto]Levant-Tin-Mine-Archive-Album-Image-016[/linkphoto][/link]

In a PP of 1864 "Medical Report on the Condition of all Miners in West Cornwall" a number of reasons were given for the poor health and early death rate of miners.
One of these was that after working an exhausting shift down a hot and wet mine, followed by, in many cases, an exhausting climb up ladders, the miner suddenly comes up heated and tired into trhe open air in all seasons and weathers. The miner is then exposed to this weather during his passage from the shaft to the changing house or dry. Sometimes this was a considerable distance.

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Hi Carnkie, I have a fair bit of knowledge re enginineering but am new to the Cornish Engineering stuff, .... Surely isn't this the famous Levant Man engine... Can you please tell me all about this please as I am very interested in its engineering as I find this is fascinating... I would love to know how it operated and fitted in to the context of Cornish mining... especially regarding its social conditions it provided.
:thumbup:

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Not trying to be awkward but Spitfire posted the diagram that I was using and believe me he knows far more about this than I do. I'm sure he will be glad to answer your enquiry. Context of Cornish Mining, well............. 🙂

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I will say this about the man engine at Tresavean. In 1841 a man engine was erected for lifting miners to the surface. Its inventor, Michael Loam, won the premium offered by the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society, The " man-engine " was a double rotary engine with a 36-inch cylinder, acting upon two small wheels which act upon larger ones. Men in descending or ascending stood upon small platforms attached to the rods, holding on by long handles. At every stroke they were lifted 12 feet, and stepping on the rods and platforms alternately, soon reached the surface. By 1843 the man engine had been extended to the bottom of the mine. It is said the weekly loss of time previously sustained by workmen in climbing ladders was estimated at 3s. and by the man engine 9d. The estimated cost was £1,670. The Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society contributed £300 for the first 100 fms., and £200 for the second hundred fathoms after a trial of two months.

The social benefits were great, fathers didn't have to put there 10 year old sons on their shoalders because they were too weak to climb the ladders and obviously it had health benefits. It wasn't fitted in all mines for various reasons. Financial, shaft configuration, etc.

But as I said Spitfire knows far more about this than I do.

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There is also a reasonable piece on wikipedia under man engine.

A very nice set of eng house remains are at Sth Caradon's Kittows shaft... and Sth Tincroft.

Built a model of a waterwheel driven one once.... nightmare to balance..... so credit to the builders of the real thing.

😉

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Thanks all

I only know re man engins from the disaster at levant from an old DBB book... I was a kid... hols in Crnwall / devon etc.

How many were built as I get impression not common?

My family worked in pit... did guys uses cages down there?... if so how as I was once told shafts are well crookedd in Cornwall.!

Sos for my naivety but new to this subject... very interested in socio/economic factors relating to technology used... tech advances saving lives etc
:thumbsup:

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The first Man engine was erected at Tresavean in 1842 not 1841 it was driven by a waterwheel not by steam; that was later
The stroke was 6' not twelve and the engine itself was the double rod type.
If you PM me U571 I have more info' for you

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Thankyou... once I have got used to the site I will get busier... I have bought the Bullen books which look great for a start. I get them in post in day or 2 so will prob have many questions...

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There are several good starter boooks for SW... try Moorebooks on site for availability. Will pm you details of usual titles. :thumbsup:

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The first Man engine was erected at Tresavean in 1842 not 1841 it was driven by a waterwheel not by steam; that was later
The stroke was 6' not twelve and the engine itself was the double rod type.
If you PM me U571 I have more info' for you

Of course you are quite right spitfire. Loam came up with the design in 41 and Tresavean installed it in 42. Allen Buckely gives quite a good summary of all this in 'The History of Cornish Mining' pgs 125-128. Why do I get the feeling I'm entering dangerous ground here. 🙂

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Try pit props..... good for dangerous ground.... I'm not even going there!
I originally thought a man engine was a pump with a man on the end...... ::) My head hurts!

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Hi Carnkie, I have a fair bit of knowledge re enginineering but am new to the Cornish Engineering stuff, .... Surely isn't this the famous Levant Man engine... Can you please tell me all about this please as I am very interested in its engineering as I find this is fascinating... I would love to know how it operated and fitted in to the context of Cornish mining... especially regarding its social conditions it provided.
:thumbup:

Basically the one in the diagram (at Levant) was operated via flat rods attached to a balanced beam in a pit. Most were attached to a rotary engine. Both arrangements operated a rod in the shaft with platforms bolted onto it. The stroke of the rod was designed to bring these platforms into alignment with stages in the shaft, so you could step from a stage to the rod and either ascend or descend to the next stage, step off a do the same again.

Not sure how many there were in total in Cornwall. At a guess about 30 or so, but someone might have a more accurate figure.

The remains at levant include the pit which contained the bob, the tunnel connecting it to the dry and the floor of the dry itself, including baths which could fit two miners at a time - cozy!

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As far as I’m aware it wasn’t as many as that. A figure I have most seen used is 16 but Allen Buckley appears to make it slightly more. I assume he is taking the one at Cooks Kitchen to be in the 1860s.

!842 Tresavean
!845 United Mines
1850s Fowey Consols, Dolcoath, Levant and Wheal Vor
!860s Ten more were installed between Devon Great Consuls and Wheal Providence at St. Ives.
1870s Two were erected at Crenver & Abraham and South Caradon Mine.

Total 18.

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Ref Man engine
Carnkie wrote Loam came up with the idea in 1841!
In fact it was 1827 he also constructed a model at this time.
He latter won a prize from the Polytechnic Society in 1834 and it was he that installed the engine at Tresavean.

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I've had a look at my info and my earlier figure of about 30 man-engines was probably a bit too high. Carnkie's got all the ones I have but there was apparently one installed in 1887 at East Pool as well, so 19 so far in total. Any advance?

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The Man engine at East Pool was never installed; some minor work was done at surface and that was all. Also one was installed or partly at Poldice but the mine closed before it was put to work

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Good job you are keeing us on the straight and narrow spitfire. :thumbsup: Do you agree with the total of 18?

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The short answer is no; I make it seventeen and that includes two at Devon Great Consols. they were as follows:
Tresavean, United, Fowey Consols, Dolcoath, Great Wheal Vor,
Levant, Cook's Kitchen, Carn Brea, Tincroft, Wheal Reeth, Par Consols, Devon Great Consols, Wheal mary Ann, Providence Mine, Crenver & Wheal Abraham, South Caradon.
Some mines such as South Caradon moved thier engines to another shaft but the fact remains only sixteen mines installed them making a total of seventeen engines

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Does anyone know which of the united shafts was Man Engine Shaft?

I assume United covers both Consols AND United.

I think I've found the candidate and it's here:-

http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=50.234984&lon=-5.155358&z=18&r=0&src=msa 

Not very logical place but the top of the shaft has a tunnel off it which isn't for a balance bob.

The shaft on United was Hawkes 80 fathoms west of Garlands
now covered over

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