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You are here: Home / Glossary

Glossary

Winding house

Building where a winding-engine was housed to operate a winding mechanism and the winding drum around which the cable or rope was wound. These would have a boiler house and a chimney as a flue. The winding drum was a specially shaped 'cylinder' or wheel. This had an incised long groove or spiral on which guided the metal cable or rope - so as to stop any overlaps or stoppage, which would cause the jerking or stopping of the load in transit. These were used as part of waggonways and parts of railway inclines. They were also used in the 19th century were pit-cages (which carried the miners up and down the shaft) used controlled by a winding-engine. Before that they had abseil down, use ladders or climb down metal chains.

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