South Crofty Mine Inside 2: This is the second page of internal photographs, all reprinted in the darkroom.
The images here are of: The Blacksmiths Shop, the Dry and the Foundry Storage Shed. Once again all these were taken when the mine was still operating. South Crofty Mine Inside 2.1 – With the new was the old. This is the interior of the blacksmiths shop at Cooks Shaft the building dates from during the 1920’s. The blacksmith would sharpen the drill steels used by the miners when drilling the rock 3000ft underground. All the tools are hanging on the wall on the right hand side. South Crofty Mine Inside 2.2 – A view of the whole of the workshop. The piece of equipment on the left is a pneumatic hammer made by Alldays and Onions, it probably dates back to the 1930’s. South Crofty Mine Inside 2.3 – Several tools of the blacksmith’s trade, forge, hammer and anvil. South Crofty Mine Inside 2.4 – Carefully stacked newly sharpened drill steels waiting to be collected. The next set of images were taken in and around the miners Dry. This was where the men got changed before and after their shifts. These were usually 8 hour shifts. So far underground, sometimes it must have been a huge challenge . South Crofty Mine Inside 2.5 – The passage which led to the Miners Dry at Cooks.On the right of the image are the hooks where the miner going underground would hang his Tag. South Crofty Mine Inside 2.6 – The interior of the Miner’s Dry. Also the floor is still wet and muddy from the shift that had changed earlier that morning. South Crofty Mine Inside 2.7 – In the roof were the large heating pipes. The Dry was always hot so the miner would not get cold and the wet gear would quickly dry. Cornish Mine Images 2.8 – The entrance to the showers in the dry. Obviously I waited for it to empty before I could take a photograph. Cornish Mine Images 2.9 – Looking out the dry door towards the Administration Area, the heating pipes in the roof can be seen clearly. Cornish Mine Images 2.10 – Another image from a lower angle adds a different perspective. Cornish Mine Images 2.11 – The black boards on the left were where the miners would hang his tags, indicating he was underground and the level he was working on. Also a second tag would be handed in to the banks man before dropping the shaft. On the right of the corridor was a room containing the washing machines where the underground kit was cleaned, this was also the hangout of Lewis, the Dry Manager Cornish Mine Images 2.12 – Walking up the passage, the Administration area was behind the windows coming up on the left. Cornish Mine Images 2.13 – One of the lamp charging racks in the Admin Area of the Miner’s Dry. Each miner had his own numbered lamp to take underground. Moving outside, the remaining photographs on this page were taken in some of the storage sheds used at the mine. Cornish Mine Images 2.14 – A disused underground winch in one of the store houses at South Crofty. Cornish Mine Images 2.15 – Another image of the winch from the front. Cornish Mine Images 2.16 – A redundant underground transformer in the storage area. Cornish Mine Images 2.17 – The interior of one of the storage sheds at South Crofty. This was originally used by the foundry on the site during the early years. Cornish Mine Images 2.18 – The interior of the foundry shed at South Crofty, in the centre is the rear of the mobile crane kept on site to maintain the winders and headgear. Parked along the left hand wall is an underground scoop tram that worked on the Tuckingmill Incline. Cornish Mine Images 2.19 – Looking at the crane from within the building. Sadly that is the last of the images I managed to take when the mine was open. Its so sad that I did not take more when I had the chance.
South Crofty Mine Surface 2016
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