Virginia City, Nevada, 1992.

Collapse of the road around a shaft in Virginia City, Storey County. A broken water main eroded the cap on top of the mine shaft, which collapsed and swallowed the car of the principal of the local grade school. The car later disappeared out of sight.
🔗Personal-Album-272-Image-45310[linkphoto]Personal-Album-272-Image-45310[/linkphoto][/link]
🔗Personal-Album-272-Image-45309[linkphoto]Personal-Album-272-Image-45309[/linkphoto][/link]

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Hi Mr Carnkie

On my web are some pics of the St Ives Tesco car park collapse 2003.
I was just wondering if you have any local knowledge of this?

I was told that is was chucking it down, someone went into the store with "Someone had better come and look at this" and when they went out you could see the car park gradually sinking down with the rain water running into the ground.

Sorry, here is the link
http://www.iriscom.co.uk/m001/news.htm 

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The old shaft at Nether Liberty mine at Windmill has tried to eat the Bradwell to Tideswell road on a number of occasions... :lol:

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Had a look at your site Roy, very interesting, but I'm afraid I can't add anything to what you have written. I'm sure one or two here probably can.

What I will say is a common denominator in many collapses I've read about and one I know about personally is heavy rain. About four years ago a very large hole appeared in the road about 100 yards from me after a night of torrential rain. I'm told it was about 70ft deep. Not the first to appear in this area as a similar event occurred previously in the garden of the local Post Office about 50 yards away.

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Subsidence is a common problem in the Clinton Road area of Redruth. If you look at the wall of O'Be Joyful's pub (aka the Trefusis Arms) you will see large cracks in the walls surrounding it. The plot next to this in Clinton Road is empty. It used to accommodate a house, but this had to be demolished because of mining related subsidence. The nearby main road at the junction of Clinton Road and Southgate Street has witnessed several episodes of subsidence. A shaft also appeared in the front garden of a bungalow in Sparnon Hill a few years back. Roy Morton will probably know about this and many other 'events' in and around Redruth and St Day; the latter town is not called 'sinking city' for nothing!!!

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What I will say is a common denominator in many collapses I've read about and one I know about personally is heavy rain.

prolonged wet weather was implicated in both instances of trouble with the Nether Liberty mine shaft too! I think part of the problem may be old, failing ginging being pushed beyond its limits when the ground it's holding back gets too water-heavy.

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If heavy rain does act as a catalyst regarding subsidence it could pose one question. Global warming (irrespective of the reason) will almost certainly lead to more frequent periods of intense rainfall in the UK. Does this mean then that the danger of subsidence will increase, particularly in areas already prone to it?

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Looking at the pictures, it appears that they were actually working on the pipe, the line of darker coloured tarmac presumably where the water pipe runs, crosses the hole to a junction. Guess they didn't know the hole was waiting to suck them in. Maybe there is a digger under the car.
Also no one appears to be very concerned, no police guards or police barrier tape, no news helicopters and trucks or firemen or armed response units. You sure this is USA??

I heard gravity was biggest contributor to things falling. duh

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On the 22nd September 1892, a steam locomotive of the Furness railway was lost from the main line at Lindal in Furness by disappearing down a collapsed iron mine.

Technically the engine is still in existance, albeit a long way underground.

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On the 22nd September 1892, a steam locomotive of the Furness railway was lost from the main line at Lindal in Furness by disappearing down a collapsed iron mine.

Technically the engine is still in existance, albeit a long way underground.

Now there's a digging project for someone..... :lol:

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I remember as a child there was a collapse in the playground of the local primary school where ashaft opened up. Luckily on a Sat morning.
If my memory serves me there were a few others capped in various places around the town (Llanelli in South Wales)

Not much (if any ) evidence left now, but I think it was tin mining from way back.

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One I rmember is Mitchells shaft in Pool, Kwik Fit had just taken over the building in front of the national trust operated Whim Engine, they came in one saturday morning to find their car park had dissapeared.

Firstly it was lucky it went overnight as otherwise the chances are some cars would have dissapeared.

Secondly I have never understood how noone realised the shaft was there, with the whim merrily going around in frond of it! I guess it was assumed it had been properly capped - ooops!

On a slightly different note, one of the most comical shaf collapses I have heard about was in Troon, an elderly couple went to bed to find there bed had dissapeared down a hole! I guess if they had been on the job at the time it would have been a truely earh moving experience!

On a slightly different note, one of the most comical shaf collapses I have heard about was in Troon, an elderly couple went to bed to find there bed had dissapeared down a hole! I guess if they had been on the job at the time it would have been a truely earh moving experience!

:lol: At least the stereotype question would have been superfluous. 🙂

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The St Ives Tesco car park shaft is probably part of the Wheal Margery workings which lie between Teascos and the cliffs near Carbis Bay. Could also be part of Wheal Providence too.

Actually managed to look into the so-called 'shaft' at the time. It was not a shaft as such but probably lode-back or serface workings. Raises an interesting inacuracy that any depression or sinking is automatically assumed to be a shaft. Part of this is due to the media generally being ignorant of mine workings in general - if it is part of a mine then it MUST be shaft (makes more sensationalist press). In Cornwall it was very rare for houses built before the 20th c to be built on or near shafts - they were no fools then. However today most shaft collapses associated with houses are those where house were built on 'cheap' land and often after shafts were filled but not capped. Plenty more to come in the future me thinks but aga 😢 :oops: in more stope workings than actual shafts.

Around 10 years ago Higgs or Dunstans shaft of Wheal Providence collar collapsed in a most spectacular fashion nearby in Carbis Bay. This time in the middle of a modern estate. Only a drive disappeared this time but to a depth of several hundred feet. Incidentally, according to Cyrill Noall in The Mines of St Ives Vol 1, Dunstans shaft was lined with dressed granite with arches at the levels for 90 fathoms due to soft ground. This shaft housed a Man-Engine.
In the same book he relates another shaft - again assumed to be Wheal Providence collapsing in 1906 and the rubbish filling forcing the water out through the adit and flooding the Carbis Valley and a Mr Williams's Picnic Garden!

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Around 10 years ago Higgs or Dunstans shaft of Wheal Providence collar collapsed in a most spectacular fashion nearby in Carbis Bay. This time in the middle of a modern estate. Only a drive disappeared this time but to a depth of several hundred feet.

I was considering buying a property in the area of 'Ros Lyn' which is in the vacinity of this collapse, so would appreciate any more information regarding this incident. Thanks.

On the 22nd September 1892, a steam locomotive of the Furness railway was lost from the main line at Lindal in Furness by disappearing down a collapsed iron mine.

Technically the engine is still in existance, albeit a long way underground.

There's another steam loco plus a number of coal trucks that went down a shaft in the Wigan area. Unfortunately the driver was still in the cab & he's down there too.
Don't know how to post links but it can be found, along with photo's, on the Wiganworld website.

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Virginia City, Nevada, 1992.

Collapse of the road around a shaft in Virginia City, Storey County. A broken water main eroded the cap on top of the mine shaft, which collapsed and swallowed the car of the principal of the local grade school. The car later disappeared out of sight.
🔗Personal-Album-272-Image-45310[linkphoto]Personal-Album-272-Image-45310[/linkphoto][/link]

My daughter and I visited Virginia City a few weeks ago and got to tour the Catholic church seen in the background of the photo. It was neat to read the history of the church during the mining years. As I understand it, only a few of the mines are accessible and are privately owned so getting permission is nearly impossible.

Joanne

Virginia City, Nevada, 1992.

Collapse of the road around a shaft in Virginia City, Storey County. A broken water main eroded the cap on top of the mine shaft, which collapsed and swallowed the car of the principal of the local grade school. The car later disappeared out of sight.
🔗Personal-Album-272-Image-45310[linkphoto]Personal-Album-272-Image-45310[/linkphoto][/link]

My daughter and I visited Virginia City a few weeks ago and got to tour the Catholic church seen in the background of the photo. It was neat to read the history of the church during the mining years. As I understand it, only a few of the mines are accessible and are privately owned so getting permission is nearly impossible.

Joanne

I don't understand. What this "permission". Business is?

I don't understand. What this "permission". Business is?

"Permission". Don't you guys have that word over there? It means sneaking in when no one is looking.

As an example, "Of course I have permission to explore this mine, but hurry up before anyone see us."

We probably need an English / American translation guide.

Joanne

I don't understand. What this "permission". Business is?

"Permission". Don't you guys have that word over there? It means sneaking in when no one is looking.

As an example, "Of course I have permission to explore this mine, but hurry up before anyone see us."

We probably need an English / American translation guide.

Joanne

is permission similar to danger ,do not enter in the us too :lol: