Just a warning that the shale that periodically comes down in Smallcleugh on the first squeeze after gypsum corner is on the move again.. Its easily passable but I'd take a small shovel if I was doing the Capelcleugh thru trip just in case....

She's getting mobile in a few places...

How much had come down?

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A tonne of loose stuff? plus two medium slabs...the squeeze is clear, just a warning in case more appears magically from above....

So quite a lot then.

I gather that it always used to be like that. Maybe some timber and scaff would be sensible.

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yes..i think so....the slab just off the horse-level before the first squeeze on the main route in could use a little support too...its delaminating with a few inches of nothing visible behind it...

This area of Second Sun Vein has been on the move for years!
Almost the whole length from Cow Hill Cross Vein, to junction with Smallcleugh Vein at Gypsum Corner.
I noted that the actual ginging in the section coming up,to Carr's Cross Vein, seems to subject to pressure, in the limit I would imagine it could 'keyhole'.
I think that it would be a reasonable precaution if you are visiting this part of the mine to take at least a small spade, and if you want to be untra cautious, a steel bar.

So quite a lot then.

I gather that it always used to be like that. Maybe some timber and scaff would be sensible.

Maybe treat the timber if your putting in any there to stop the stuff rotting , air flow a little stagnant there 😉

I would love to help but busy re-railing Caplecleugh! :tongue:

MARK

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The dry rot gets the treated timber as well unfortunately, just a bit slower.
The fun bit will be carrying stuff in - suddenly everyone will be elsewhere....

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Nick, you Might be able to push it through on the main level, rather than dragging it through Hethers!
It is years since I went directly up the main level, and it was tight then, and with the movement on Smallcleugh Vein, this might be just a non starter.

thanks all, I'll try and get a posse together in the next two weeks....

Nick, you Might be able to push it through on the main level, rather than dragging it through Hethers!
It is years since I went directly up the main level, and it was tight then, and with the movement on Smallcleugh Vein, this might be just a non starter.

Giving the crawls a bit of a clear out is on the job list. Not helped by the currently unpleasantly mobile ground around Luke Hall's Sump.

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The dry rot gets the treated timber as well unfortunately, just a bit slower.
The fun bit will be carrying stuff in - suddenly everyone will be elsewhere....

Mix creosote and engine oil 50:50 and paint it on...
That will dent the rots teeth 😉

Dry rot was the creeping death of the access shaft at Talybont.

In the end I stripped out all, well nearly all of the timber and concreted it all. A big job but will last beyond my lifetime.

Going back recently 12 months on I find nothing changed as expected. However the wooden ladders different story.

A complete new ladder which was pre treated with ethylene glycol before installation is perfect. Two others that were already in but treated in situ are showing slight signs of being affected. This is the appearance of the wood 'shrinking' inwards.

One old ladder was unfit for purpose and was destroyed. It was on a sloping section so I have replaced it with concrete steps.

Other timber; when the shaft was sunk through the debris we used treated 4 X 2 carcassing for speed. I was aware at the time this would have to be replaced, but project success was not certain.

Old fence posts that had originally been treated with creosote fared best of all. After being in there years failure rate was only about 10%. A new modern fence corner post of impressive size lasted 2 years only!

The place is so dry that bare steel never rusts. Its a very dry dusty old place and a lot of the dust must be from the rotted timber. In the end I logically concluded that the rot was actually feeding itself, so the more timber I put in the worse the situation would become.

Now all steel mesh and concrete.

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So what I need it a pressure treatment tank and an industrial volume of ethylene glycol...

Or just use steel. Making a frame from scaff bar and filling the sides with sandbags and covering the top with concrete canvas (http://www.concretecanvas.com/ ) and a layer of sandbags should do the job...

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When I was upgrading Talybont I hit a supply of 7 ft by 3 ft 5mm galvanised steel mesh at £12 a piece. I used about 5 of them. They do turn up and could be useful to people. I hit my supply on Ebay.

My glycol was an almost full 5 gallon container left over from the old motor company, and it was just painted on with a brush.

I am about to make a little ladder from steel angle with rungs of galvanised steel cut from old tent poles and fitted with allthread side to side.

All ideas and grist for the mill.

Thing about Talybont, there is that much concrete in there if there ever was a nuclear war...............

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Thoughts just occurred, you could probably get gallons of glycol from a breakers yard for next to nothing, they would probably thank you to take it away.
I have never had to top up my car at all in years, hence having the stuff lying about.

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We used to take shed-loads of samples of MEG (Mono-ethylene glycol as it were known to us, rather than the IUPAC name of ethane 1,2 diol) when I worked for SGS at Billingham.

Now might be a good time to see if they still have a disposal headache with the damn stuff. Shy kids get no sweets ;)

MARK

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Legend rider, the reason it is called M.E.G. is simple, you can get this compound to join to itself, many times, so you can get di, tri, tetra, etc.
I can only assume that glycol, which is toxic to us, since it is oxidised to oxalic acid, in our bodies, and which causes death by forming insoluble calcium oxalate, which blocks your kidneys!
Does the same thing for the rot, I.e glycol oxidise to oxalic acid and this does the killing of the fungus.
No I do not assume fungi have kidneys!
However if are going use this stuff, wear gloves, and make sure that it isn't going to in contact with your skin.

Ha, and what was the old way of testing a car to see if it had antifreeze.

Stick your finger in the radiator and taste it.

I once worked at a plating factory and we use to sit on drums of potassium cyanide to eat our lunch.
:lol:

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