TT&T: The Levant Mine
The Failure of the Man Engine
The mine first opened in 1820, it would eventually reach 2000 feet deep and extend 1 mile under the Atlantic Ocean. The mine produced copper, tin and some arsenic.
In the early years the workers used a series of 80 ladders to reach the shaft they were working in. The trip could take upwards of 90 minutes, time for which they weren’t paid.
In 1857 the mine installed a “man-engine.” It was the last times the mine would be updated with new technology.
The Man-Engine
It was certainly an improvement for the men working in the mines as their commutes were now drastically cut. The men would enter the “engine” and stepped alternately from one platform to another as they ascended the mine.
It was powered by a steam engine that moved a rod. The men could be raised and lowered at the rate of 60 feet per minute, drastically reducing their vertical commute time.
They could now 300 fathoms or about 2000 feet in half an hour.It was certainly an improvement over the hour and a half climb.
Except that right around the 1850s primitve elevators began being used in other mines. So while the man engine was an improvement to Levant it was not the height of technology.
