the machine shaft
This shaft was newly constructed during the mining period of the DILLINGER HÜTTE (1824-28) in the years 1824/25 in order to explore the old deep workings and was in operation only during this period.
In the spring of 1825, an 18-inch "fire engine" was installed here to raise water.
The shaft stands about 3 m beside the gallery roadway, has a cross-section of 3.00 x 1.25 m and a depth to the gallery floor of about 16 m, with a total depth of about 41 m. It consisted of three drifts (parts): a winding drift, a pumping drift and a driving drift. It consisted of three drifts (parts): a winding drift, a pumping drift and a driving drift.
After the roadway had been excavated and when it was reached in 1996, it was reinforced with strong squared timbers and grouted at the level of the gallery ridges. Above the Bühnung, the shaft tube was backfilled and only a small pinge was visible above ground.
On the evening of January 2, 2003, due to a water inrush caused by the overflow of the southern stream, the old wooden lining in the shaft broke under the load and the shaft backfill collapsed into the underground workings. The resulting enormous water pressure caused considerable property damage in the mine.
On February 14, an 8.5-meter and 10.5-meter high steel rectangular box girder with a cross-section of 4.00 x 1.45 meters was lowered into the shaft and attached to two steel girders above ground.
In the meantime, the machine shaft has also been rebuilt from the gallery floor with its three shaft trunks and the steel box shoring above has been secured from below.
