The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #50747   Message #1381476
Posted By: GUEST,John Garst
18-Jan-05 - 01:57 PM
Thread Name: Origin Of John Henry--part TWO
Subject: RE: Origin Of John Henry--part TWO
For a photograph of double-jack steel driving at a contest, 1907, see

http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/photos/rockdrilling.jpg

Other pictures of double-jack steel driving:

http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/shoshoni.jpg
http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/shoshoni08.jpg



For a photograph of triple-jack steel driving, ca 1928, see

http://www.canadianfishing.com/crichton/vc/136-137.jpg

Notice the precarious situation of the shaker.


For a photograph of mechanical drilling, ca 1902, see

http://www3.telus.net/chemelec/Hedley/31.jpg

Other photographs of mechanical drilling:

http://au.geocities.com/bhsilvercity/images/oldMining01.jpg
http://www.alumnifriends.mines.edu/photo_gallery/1959/38.jpg
http://www.alumnifriends.mines.edu/photo_gallery/1955/37.jpg
http://www1.superpit.com.au/images/static/gold_history/Old-Rock-Drill.jpg
http://members.iinet.net.au/~dodd/gail/miners/images/mine4.jpg
(Note "steels" resting against tunnel wall.)

At

http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personalisation/object.cfm?uid=006ZZZ007105E21U000280A0

begins a series of six large, high-quality mining photographs from ca 1893. Some of these show hand or mechanical drilling or both.

Another series of six begins at

http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personalisation/object.cfm?uid=006ZZZ007105E21U000240A0

This set includes a wonderful photograph of a triple-jack team drilling straight up!

Another great series of four begins at

http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personalisation/object.cfm?uid=006ZZZ007105E21U000260A0

In one of these you see the muckers at work along with two triple-jack drilling teams. Another shows muckers and a man breaking rocks with a sledge hammer. In American railroad tunnel building, steel drivers got paid much more than muckers.

The "collectbritain" site may have more drilling photographs. I find it very difficult to navigate. However, I think that if you go to

http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/search/

and put "mine" in the box at the upper right, then search, you will get links to most of them.