THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN AND JOURNAL OF THE COAL AND IRON TRADES. Vol. CXII. FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 1916. No. 2903. Electric Winding in South Yorkshire. THE NEW INSTALLATION AT STAINDROP COLLIERY. Messrs. Newton, Chambers and Company Limited, of the Thorncliffe and Rockingham collieries and iron works, near Sheffield, have just introduced an electric- ally-driven winding engine (the first of its kind to be installed in the district) at their Staindrop pit, Skiers Spring, near Wentworth Station. The shaft is an accommodation one, which is being sunk in order to reduce considerably the distance (up to two miles) travelled underground by the miners employed at the Rockingham and Thorncliffe Parkgate collieries. The engine, which has been supplied by the British Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing Company Limited, has two steel winding drums, 10 ft. diameter by 4 ft. 3 in. wide between the cheeks, and gear-driven by a 220 B.h.p. slip-ring induction motor. Controller and auxiliary gear have also been supplied. The drums are capable of holding 420 yds. of rope in one layer. One drum is loose on the shaft, and connected thereto by means of a clutch, the clutch and brake gear being suit- ably interlocked. The engine is designed to raise and lower men from a depth of 350 yds., the assumed duty being : Weight of cage and chains, two tons; weight of men per wind, 3,4001b.; circumference of rope, 3'14 in.; wind- ing time, 60 seconds; decking time, 30 seconds; distance between headgear sheaves, 5 ft.; distance between centre of drum and centre of headgear sheaves, not less than 80 ft. The equipment can also be used for sinking, with a total unbalanced load, including the weight of the rope, of 5,2201b., and for coal winding, with a total unbal- anced load not exceeding 5,2201b. At present, the winder is being employed for sinking purposes, and is fitted with a single drum only; but as soon as the shaft is completed, the second drum will be fitted, and the winder will enter into ordinary service. running in two bearings, and is coupled to the motor by means of a flexible coupling. The brakes are of the post type, and lagged with Ferodo. Each post brake is controlled by means of an air brake engine of the floating lever type, so that the driver, when operating the brake by means of the lever on the platform, has perfect con- trol. The brakes are weight-applied, and the arrangement , •• l!s V,' ? . ■f « I® S > Winding Drum and Accessories. Company for automatically putting on the brakes in ease of emergency. In the case of overwind, difficulty in the past was generally experienced in the setting of the gears after an overwind had taken place, owing to the mechanical arrangement which was then used for tripping the main circuit breaker. The patent device referred to above eliminates this difficulty, and should the driver accidentally start the drums in the wrong direction after one overwind has taken place, the brakes will again be brought into action. An auxiliary motor-driven air compressor, with receiver piping and fittings, is also provided. The depth - JI MU r ■ ■ : ;JU ■; ; »•«. a ■ I «• uwy. 'X'X/A* .•’1 I Winding Motor and Reduction Gear. There are two brake paths, arranged one on each drum. The drum shaft is 13 in. in diameter, and runs in three 12 in. by 15 in. bearings, supported on a continuous channel iron bedplate, which is extended to carry the motor. The pinion is mounted on an independent shaft, n :J • < ’N... is such that they come into operation automatically in the case of overwind, overload on the motor, or failure of supply voltage, and also by a switch on the platform, which can be operated by the driver in case of emer- gency. A leading feature with regard to this equip- ment is the patent device of the British Westinghouse indicator is of the vertical screw type, gear driven from the drum shaft, and fitted with an overwinding trip. The gearing is of the machine-cut double helical type, enclosed in an oil-tight gear ease. The driver’s platform is sufficiently elevated to give the driver a full view of the winding engine. It carries the necessary control and brake levers, with quadrants and latches. The motor is nominally rated at 220 horse-power, and runs at a speed of 360 r.p.m., taking three-phase current at 50 peir 3,000 volts. It is arranged with the shaft extended to take a flexible coupling. A trifurcating box is fitted for the stator connections. The controller is of the liquid type, with motor-driven circulating pumps and mechanically operated reversing switches of ample capacity. The primary connections are fitted with trifurcating boxes. The controller consists essentially of two wrought iron tanks, one mounted on top of the other, a motor-driven circulating pump, electrodes for the rotor circuit, and two oil- immersed reversing switches. The bottom wrought iron tank contains the solution, and is fitted with a cooling system. The solution is pumped from the bottom tank into the top one, flowing past the electrodes. The height of the solution in this tank, and therefore the area of the electrodes immersed, is governed by the height of the weir over which the solution has to fall before flowing back into the bottom tank. The weir is arranged for operation with the same lever as the reversing switches. The rate at which the top tank fills, and there- fore the rate of acceleration of the motor, is adjustable by means of a stop valve on the delivery side of the pump. The cooling system is of the condenser type, with straight tubes, arranged so that the latter can be cleaned by removing one end-plate of the system, or the whole system may be removed from the controller for this purpose. Any tube is easily replaceable if necessary. The main switch pillar is of the totally enclosed Westinghouse type “ S ” design. It is fitted with a three-pole oil circuit breaker, with one no-volt and two