Winding tower

Winding tower

A winding tower also known as a headframe [Howard L. Hartman and Seeley W. Mudd, [http://books.google.com/books?id=DsSmPKEOWDcC SME mining engineering handbook: Vol.2] , Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, 1992, page 1572.] , poppet head or pit head is a construction from steel and concrete, built over a vertical mine shaft. Winding towers are used for the quick transportation of material and miners from the pit head to the core of the mine and back again. The main use of the winding tower was to winch a large 'cage' lift to allow miners to get into the mine directly rather than the workers walking large distances to reach the seams. Winding towers were established during the industrial era, originally from wood and later as steel structures.

Strictly speaking a winding tower can only be called so if the hoisting engine is accommodated within the tower; otherwise the structure is a winding scaffold. The winding towers hoisting engine should be on the same level as in the turbine house. From there the cage cables run over the quadrants in the stand into the pit inside.

As iconic symbols

The distinctive design of winding towers has come to represent certain regions and countries whose landscape were changed by these structures during industrial eras. The Ruhr district of Germany and the South Wales Valleys in Britain are both famous examples of regions which are now associated with the winding tower. This was due to the large number of towers erected during the discovery of rich coal deposits during the industrial era. These towers have now been dismantled as the coal mining industry of Western Europe faded in the later 20th century, though both regions have turned a disused mine with winding tower into national museums; the German Mining Museum in Bochum and Big Pit National Coal Museum in Blaenavon.

Several sporting teams from the former coal mining regions have winding towers represented in their club badges; Llanharan RFC and Cilfynydd RFC are both examples of this.

Winding tower types

*English support
*Malakow towers
*Tomson supports
*Prop stands
*Hammer head tower
*Salient winding tower

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Tower defense — Part of a series on …   Wikipedia

  • Tower of Hallbar — Infobox Military Structure name=Tower of Hallbar location=Braidwood, South Lanarkshire caption=The Tower of Hallbar, seen from the west. type=Tower house built=Mid 16th century used=Until 1984 condition=Restored from 1998 ownership=Vivat TrustThe …   Wikipedia

  • Observation tower — in Auersberg, Saxony, Germany. An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision. They are usually at least 20 metres (65.6 ft) tall and made from stone, iron, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Blackpool Tower — Infobox Skyscraper building name=Blackpool Tower location=Blackpool, England, UK roof=158 m (518 ft) built=1894 engineer=Heenan and Froude architect=Maxwell and Tuke use=Observation towerBlackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool,… …   Wikipedia

  • The Winding Stair and Other Poems — The Winding Stair is a volume of poems by William Butler Yeats, published in 1933. It was the next new volume after 1928 s The Tower . (The title poem was originally published in 1929 by Fountain Press in a signed/limited edition, which is… …   Wikipedia

  • Wardenclyffe Tower — (1901 ndash; 1917) also known as the Tesla Tower, was an early wireless telecommunications aerial tower designed by Nikola Tesla and intended for commercial trans Atlantic wireless telephony, broadcasting, and to demonstrate the transmission of… …   Wikipedia

  • St Augustine's Tower Hackney — Infobox church name = St. Augustine s Tower Hackney fullname = color = imagesize = caption = The tower, the only part of the original church remaining and Hackney s oldest building. landscape = denomination = Church of England diocese = parish =… …   Wikipedia

  • Burana Tower — The Burana Tower is a large minaret in the Chui Valley in northern Kyrgyzstan. It is located about 80 km east of the country s capital Bishkek, near the town of Tokmok. The tower, along with grave markers, some earthworks and the remnants of a… …   Wikipedia

  • Büchenbronn Observation Tower — Büchenbronn Observation Tower, built in 1883, is situated on the Buechenbronn height (608.50 m.ue.N.N.) in the proximity of Pforzheim in the state of Baden Württemberg, south west Germany. The client was the adornment association of Pforzheim.… …   Wikipedia

  • Hochfirst Tower — is a 25 metre tall lattice observation tower on the Hochfirst mountain near Titisee Neustadt at 47°54 04 N and 8°11 03 E.It was built in 1890 as the replacement to a wooden observation tower. Several observation decks may be accessed by the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”