Lovely pic that, MrRL :)
[img]http://www.aditnow.co.uk/showimage?f=/community/Oakeley-Slate-Quarry-22-07-2007-Image-002/[/img]
The crane/winder is an oddity to say the least. Has anyone come across anything similar elsewhere?
The only thing I can think of is the winder for the E-G (?) inline in the chamber to the left of the bottom of the back vein incline in Cwmorthin, although if I recall correctly, that had the winch on a concrete base rather than attached to the uprights.
Miles - I think - reckons it could have been a bastardised tripod crane?
The only other thought I've had is to wonder why it's still there - I'm not aware of many other winches lying about in the depths of Oakeley / Cwmorthin, although I suspect most were rounded up in the late 70s and put on display in Gloddfa Ganol!
Hello again darkness, my old friend...