Leslie Curnow
Exeter (2)
Paul Barlow
Exeter
Bill Elston
taken on 20th June 1998.
Take care, Bill Elston.
Steve Martin
Best regards, Steve
An appeal
One part of the project is to build the Engine House that controlled the drawing of the ore wagons up and down the incline.
One item of detail that we would like to obtain some information on is the configuration of the winding arrangement at the top of the incline. How would the rope/wire from the winding drums at the engine house be located such that they could be attached to the wagons without obstructing the rails. It maybe that there would be located beneath the rails a pulley arrangement driven from the engine house but I am not certain if this is correct.
I was wondering if your Society would have any detailed information on this area of the incline. Any information or any details of where such details could be found would be very much appreciated.
I hope you do not mind me contacting you in this manner but hopefully you may be able to help in this matter.
Thanking you in advance
David Booth
Any other help would be much appreciated.
Alan Harris is spot on with his advice: the article is by Roger Carpenter and is beautifully researched and illustrated.ISSN 0265 4105.
However, the article, despite showing photos of the engine from the 1930s, does not explain that this was the second engine at Portreath Incline. A glance at the engine building shows that it is much too big for the apparatus within - in fact it resembles a traditional Cornish engine house. This is because it began life housing a beam engine with large flywheel and drum for the rope. The engine was known as the 'Lady Bassett'.
The beam engine was replaced by the smaller, rotary affair around 1895 (no date seems to be recorded). Any model depiction would therefore depend on the period to be represented.The building was much modified over the years, most notably the addition of a water tank on the roof in the 1890s.
Roy