Going in a roughly easterly direction from the sheave wheel at the end of 9 adit, one can enter the compressor room where bases for the compressor can be seen. At this point, I was curious about a cool draft coming from a small chamber or cavity containing water, leading from the back of the compressor area. I had a feeling this lead somewhere significant, hence the passage of air. But it probably it now only leads into the great fall itself at its western extremity, and the draft was just passing through cavities and gaps in an avalanche of fallen boulders. Can anyone confirm where this goes, if anywhere, and is this theory correct?
Secondly was wondering about the inclines in the eastern workings -
For example the presence of at least 2 inclines: -floor 6 down to 7 in I east and 7 down to 8 in G east in different chambers and going down only one floor each, seem to indicate an attempt to win good rock, or take out fallen material in the eastern workings after the great fall. It looks as if they had to fit the inclines in where they could,
in order to salvage what they could: - at this point the quarry was struggling to survive.
Significantly, and in support of the above theory, these inclines show no evidence of the more sophisicated technology employed on the main established inclines in the west, thus suggesting they where makeshift affairs installed after the fall, the inclines that have so far been discovered here employing wooden winding drums of a double winding type. Oddly however, although this was an important part of the quarry before the fall, inclines like those in the western workings with their associated equipment have not so far come to light here, unless they are buried without trace. This is pure speculation, and probably unlikeley, as I have come across nothing in the available literature to suggest they were originally here.
'I wonder how many breakfasts, and other meals we have missed inside that nasty clockless, timeless hole?'
'The Hobbit'
J R R Tolkien.