Caplecleugh Low Level

I think that both my above photos were taken on the same trip, same gear, same now long gone youthful good looks etc.
Thee are quite a few of these fans scattered throughout the mines. Also the famous VM lavatory boxes. And thein lies a tale:
Some years ago a person who was quite respected wrote about his Nenthead explorations and described these boxes as used for carrying explosives as he had found withered sticks of gelignite amongst the old newspapers inside.
Dont all choke on your morning coffee!
 
Something else just occured. The photo with the fan is James Hills branch, the ladder beyond is accessible but beware the top section. Up there is another fan. Also, you can squeeze past fallen timber into a shaft with lots and lots of stemple holes. I believe that this is the bottom of Sir Lancelot's Caplecleugh Engine Shaft.
 
Here’s a Windy Billy from Nent you won’t have seen.
It was all metal, rather than wood, and had a separate “fly wheel” with it.
 

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I too this weekend ended up at a place I’ve never been in years of trying, as the air was never good, only dropped to 19% this time.
 
Royfellows said:
Something else just occured. The photo with the fan is James Hills branch, the ladder beyond is accessible but beware the top section. Up there is another fan. Also, you can squeeze past fallen timber into a shaft with lots and lots of stemple holes. I believe that this is the bottom of Sir Lancelot's Caplecleugh Engine Shaft.
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Roy, A couple of years ago, with the assistance of the rest of the MOLES team I climbed the Engine Shaft from the sub-level above High level (remember those big perched rocks & the dodgy staging with one end resting on fresh air?). If you recall, we were sure we could see a way off about 30ft up. Well there is, but it only goes into small badly run-in workings. Strangely the shaft continuing on above is much narrower and is closed off with a wooden frame. I don't know if this was done as the lower part of the shaft was still in use after the collar had collapsed at surface. Sorry about the quality of the picture, but the shaft was pouring with water.IMG_20220806_142229.jpg
 
In answer to Heb - I do remember, it was much modified by VM with ladders etc. I remember the sub level and the candle lamp you found. Happy days

The photos have actually got me going. A lot of stuff has gone, but a lot remaims and I see a mission in getting my DSLR and fancy LED torches into the old difficult places. Realistically, Dowwgand Level needs a lot of work, but I might come up and do a recon now the perpetual rain has somewhat abated.
 
Regarding that ventilator with the fly wheel, there was one in Smallcleugh removed by NCMRS members in the late1960s and restored by J D J Wildridge with children from Kells Secondary School in Whitehaven. I suspect this was from the "Old Fan Flats"

fan.jpg

I believe this ended up at Beamish and I asked to see it a number of years ago, but was told it was stored somewhere "unsafe" and I couldn't !
 
ChrisTwigg said:
Regarding that ventilator with the fly wheel, there was one in Smallcleugh removed by NCMRS members in the late1960s and restored by J D J Wildridge with children from Kells Secondary School in Whitehaven.

I believe this ended up at Beamish and I asked to see it a number of years ago, but was told it was stored somewhere "unsafe" and I couldn't !
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The metalwork on the one we found is identical to that. I must have a read of that NCMRS article again (Memoirs 1968).

Pity you couldn't view the Beamish one Chris, would be nice to have a go with it to see how much air they actually moved.
 
ChrisTwigg said:
Regarding that ventilator with the fly wheel, there was one in Smallcleugh removed by NCMRS members in the late1960s and restored by J D J Wildridge with children from Kells Secondary School in Whitehaven. I suspect this was from the "Old Fan Flats"



I believe this ended up at Beamish and I asked to see it a number of years ago, but was told it was stored somewhere "unsafe" and I couldn't !
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Hi Chris,

The photo and some others relating to the removal were on the AN archive, some of the underground photos were taken by Ken Walls I think, PeteJ may have better info and possibly the photos. As Heb says the article's in the 1968 memoirs but not digitised so possibly NMRS couldn't get the author's permission.

Jim
 
Jim MacPherson said:
Hi Chris,

The photo and some others relating to the removal were on the AN archive, some of the underground photos were taken by Ken Walls I think, PeteJ may have better info and possibly the photos. As Heb says the article's in the 1968 memoirs but not digitised so possibly NMRS couldn't get the author's permission.

Jim
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I have a pdf copy of the article which presumably I got from AN but the site says it's too big to upload here (only 5mb)
 
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