The Man-Engine

In the opening chapter of The Regiment’s Woman I have made reference to the “Man Engine” in the tin mine.

Accidents in mines were common and many happened at the end of an exhausting shift when the men had to climb numerous ladders to get back up the shaft to the surface. It was common for men to fall off the ladders out of shear fatigue.

To solve this problem a “man-engine” was invented and installed in the Tresavean mine in Cornwall in 1842. The Fowey Consols mine (featured in the book) had one installed in 1850.

The man-engine consisted of eight inch square rods of pine strapped together end to end. Every twelve feet there was a one foot square platform and handle. There were similar platforms attached to the sides of the shaft. The rods pumped up and down and a man could jump onto the platform and be lifted, with every up stroke, twelve feet up to the next stationary platform. The rod was powered by a thirty six foot diameter water wheel.

By this method a man could be lifted up a 1680 foot shaft in about 25 minutes. A huge improvement over ladders.