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67-796: Bramhope Tunnel is on the Harrogate Line between Horsforth station and the Arthington Viaduct in West Yorkshire , England. Services through the railway tunnel are operated mainly by Northern . The tunnel was constructed during 1845–1849 by the Leeds and Thirsk Railway . It is notable for its 2.138-mile (3.441 km) length and its Grade II listed , crenellated north portal. The deaths of 24 men who were killed during its construction are commemorated in Otley churchyard by

134-402: A gradient of 1 in 94 (0.01%) falling from just north of Horsforth station towards Arthington . The line enters and leaves the tunnel on a curve. Work was carried out by up to 2,300 navvies and 400 horses were brought in for the work. The workforce included 188 quarrymen , 102 stonemasons , 732 tunnel men, 738 labourers and 18 carpenters . Each day around 2150 wagon loads of rock and earth

201-617: A Grade II listed monument in the shape of the north portal. It was erected by the contractor. The sadness of the harsh conditions of those days is captured by the simple epitaph on the gravestone of James Myers who is buried in the Methodist Cemetery at Yeadon behind the Town Hall. James was a married man just 22 years old who 'died by an accident in the Bramhope Tunnel on the 14th day of April, 1848'. Next to him lies

268-506: A brass and iron founder . Water was taken at first from the town well opposite St Giles' Church, but the excessive demand diminished the supply and spoiled its quality. The tunnellers' water was then pumped from a site near the Dyneley Arms crossroads. At the same time the tunnel was draining away the local farmers' natural water supply and the source of Bramhope town well. Litigation on this subject continued for some years. To mitigate

335-455: A day, between Harrogate and London King's Cross, to six trains each way per day, including weekends. The service will be suitable for an increase in service pattern due to LNER using its bi-mode class 800 Azuma trains that would have previously terminated at Leeds. A siding at the northern end of Harrogate station has been brought back into use to enable the trains to reverse direction. Since 1 March 2020 services have been directly operated by

402-418: A depth of 2991 meters. Along with its twin ventilation shafts, it took ten years to sink and equip. The most visible feature of a traditionally-built mine shaft is the headframe (or winding tower, poppet head or pit head) which stands above the shaft. Depending on the type of hoist (or winder) used, the top of the headframe will either house a hoist motor or a sheave wheel (with the hoist motor mounted on

469-731: A few weeks earlier on 31 May. The railway was opened to the public on 10 July. When built it was the third-longest rail tunnel in the country. The Leeds and Thirsk Company was renamed the Leeds Northern Railway shortly after the line was completed. Since 2016 most services on the line through the tunnel are operated by the Northern franchise on behalf of Rail North which represents the Local Transport Authorities in West and North Yorkshire and other parts of

536-440: A field alongside the offices and workshops, opposite the cemetery, or elsewhere along the line of the tunnel. Day– and night–shift workers lived up to 17 per hut taking turns to use the beds in unsanitary conditions. Workers' children overwhelmed the village school. It had been built by the township copyholders and freeholders on Eastgate in 1790. There were originally 30 children but their number increased fourfold, and with

603-715: A grant of £100 from the railway company the school building was enlarged to accommodate them. The workers and their families used St Ronan's Methodist Chapel in Bramhope and the Methodist Chapel at Pool-in-Wharfedale . The Leeds Mission spread bibles and tracts to families who lived in the bothies. Many navvies had been farm labourers from the Yorkshire Dales , North East England and the Fens , or had come for work from Scotland and Ireland. Drunkenness and fighting

670-479: A junction with the East Coast Main Line north of Northallerton station. This would enable 125 mph (201 km/h) running, reduce journey times and provide an alternative route when the current Leeds to York to Northallerton section is closed. 53°59′38″N 1°32′16″W  /  53.99382°N 1.5377°W  / 53.99382; -1.5377 Shaft mining Shaft sinking is one of

737-442: A line between Ripon and Harrogate railway station would be economically viable, costing £40 million and could initially attract 1,200 passengers a day, rising to 2,700. Campaigners call on MPs to restore Ripon railway link. In the former North Yorkshire County Council 's 'A Strategic Transport Prospectus for North Yorkshire', they propose to build an entirely new railway between Leeds, Harrogate and Ripon which would have

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804-477: A major event on at Headingley Stadium such as an international cricket test match . The services run between Leeds and Horsforth stations to cater for a large usage at Headingley and Burley Park railway stations, and tickets are sold by Revenue Protection staff at the entrances to the platforms. This is to reduce the queue for tickets at Leeds station. Extra services have also been run on the Harrogate line for

871-466: A monument that is a replica of the tunnel's north portal. Thomas Grainger was the engineer for the line and James Bray the contractor. Two sighting towers were erected and 20 shafts sunk along the tunnel's line. Men excavated rock from the shaft faces until the shafts were connected and the tunnel was completed in 1848. Thousands of navvies lived locally in temporary bothies with their families, and worked in dangerous and wet conditions to facilitate

938-511: A pilot engine left Arthington station on 19 September 1854 heading for Leeds. A pilot engine had travelled northbound through the tunnel earlier the same day with no problems but this time the train ran into a pile of stone debris and was derailed when it was three-quarters of the way into the tunnel. The debris was from a roof fall that affected both tracks. The train engine collided with the pilot engine tender causing considerable damage. Trains have been cancelled or delayed because of flooding in

1005-403: A shaft project to follow a learning curve as the project team repeats the same series of activities over and over in what is called "the sinking cycle", eventually approaching the theoretical maximum rate for that sinking set up over time. The use of experienced shaft sinkers is necessary to reduce the length of this learning curve and thus the duration of the project as much as possible. Key to

1072-437: A sinking shaft is known as the "shaft bottom". Shaft projects differ from some other forms of mine development in that all activities that take place on the shaft bottom become part of the critical path for the project schedule. The infrastructure required to sink a shaft is referred to as "the sinking set-up". It is typical for progress (the "sinking rate") in the sinking phase (that is excavation, ground support and lining) of

1139-400: A successful shaft sinking project are: Although significant emphasis is placed on the rate of progress of a project sinking cycle by shaft sinkers, sinking is only one of a number of phases in the conventional construction of a new shaft, as follows; As with the depth and design of shafts, significant variations may exist in this sequence depending on local conditions. For example, shafts in

1206-458: A while by railway workers. It is built of rock–faced sandstone and has three side towers with turrets . The keystone on its horseshoe–shaped archway features a portrait of a bearded man thought to be Rhodes. Its crenellated parapet has a carved cartouche in the centre featuring a wheatsheaf, fleece and fish – the heraldic device of the Leeds and Thirsk Railway. A southbound passenger train and

1273-420: Is 240 feet deep, the one behind Park House is 239 feet, Camp House Farm 204 feet and the one nearest to Horsforth station is 175 feet deep. The ventilation shafts measure 40 feet (12 m) by 30 feet (9.1 m) – wider than the tunnel. The finished tunnel is 2 miles, 243 yd or 2.138 miles (3.441 km) long; 25.5 feet (7.8 m) wide by 25 feet (7.6 m) high. It is a double track tunnel, with

1340-462: Is among the most physically challenging parts of the shaft sinking cycle as bolts must be installed using pneumatic powered rock drills. For this reason, and to minimise the number of persons on the shaft bottom a number of projects have successfully switched to shotcrete for this temporary lining. Research and development in this area is focusing on the robotic application of shotcrete and the commercialisation of thin sprayed polymer liners. Where

1407-480: Is first and foremost a safety feature preventing loose or unstable rock from falling into the shaft, then a place for shaft sets to bolt into, and lastly a smooth surface to minimise resistance to airflow for ventilation. Final choice of shaft lining is dependent on the geology of the rock which the shaft passes through, some shafts have several liners sections as required Where shafts are sunk in very competent rock there may be no requirement for lining at all, or just

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1474-504: Is gradually shifting further towards greater mechanisation. Recent innovations in the form of full-face shaft boring (akin to a vertical tunnel boring machine ) have shown promise but the use of this method is, as of 2019, not widespread. Mine shafts are vertical or near-vertical tunnels , which are "sunk" as a means of accessing an underground ore body, during the development of an underground mine. The shape (in plan view ), dimensions and depth of mine shafts vary greatly in response to

1541-426: Is typically used for the mine cage , a conveyance used for moving workers and supplies below the surface, which is suspended from the hoist on steel wire rope. It functions in a similar manner to an elevator . Cages may be single-, double-, or rarely triple-deck, always having multiple redundant safety systems in case of unexpected failure. The second compartment is used for one or more skips , used to hoist ore to

1608-728: The Leeds Northern Railway and the East and West Yorkshire Junction Railway . At the time of the 1923 Grouping the Harrogate area formed the junction for five routes: the main line was that of the Leeds-Northallerton railway ; the other lines were to: The Leeds station at the time was Leeds Central station , jointly owned by the NER and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway . The line terminated in Harrogate at

1675-533: The Arthington Viaduct . At a shareholders meeting in September 1848 it was reported that only 100 yards of new ground were left to be penetrated and Bray stated it would be possible to run a locomotive through the tunnel in the following May. Work on the tunnel cost the lives of 24 men. The grand opening was 9 July 1849, a week later than intended, but the first train, full of Leeds and Thirsk railway officials, pulled by Bray's locomotive Stephenson , went through

1742-458: The Brunswick station which was opened in 1848 but closed in 1862 when a new and more central station was opened. The 39-mile (62 km) line is composed of all or part of the following Network Rail routes: Currently open stations are shown in bold font. In addition to the regular services on the Harrogate line, there is occasionally an increased service which runs prior to and after

1809-565: The Canadian Shield generally do not need a deep and complex shaft collar since the bedrock is both strong and close to the surface. This reduces the amount of time required to establish the shaft collar. Traditionally, sinking contractors would build a temporary headframe for the sinking set-up, which would then be dismantled to make way for a permanent headframe. With the growth in complexity and duration of shaft sinking projects over time it has become more common to incorporate more of

1876-669: The Department for Transport (DfT) under the brand name Northern Trains , with an objective of "stabilising performance and restoring reliability for passengers". The city was previously served by Ripon railway station on the Leeds–Northallerton line that ran between Leeds and Northallerton . It was once part of the North Eastern Railway and then LNER . The Ripon line was closed to passengers on 6 March 1967 and to freight on 5 September 1969 as part of

1943-599: The Great Yorkshire Show . In July 2014, the Tour de France Grand Depart 2014 was held in Yorkshire with stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate and thousands of spectators were expected. Extra trains were operated in this occasion. In addition to the local trains which were run at increased capacity, two locomotive hauled services ran between Leeds and Harrogate during the day. Passengers wishing to travel between

2010-468: The North East and access lower Wharfedale . Among the several major obstacles on the route was the ridge between Airedale and Wharfedale requiring a long tunnel between Horsforth and Arthington under Bramhope village. The company appointed Thomas Grainger as engineer for the project and James Bray was the contractor for the Bramhope contract. Bray, of Black Bull Street in Leeds, was originally

2077-437: The Harrogate line of £93 million with a projected cost-benefit ratio of 1/3.60. No date has been set however. From December 2017, additional services on Sundays began with an extra hourly service from Leeds to Knaresborough during the day. This means trains between Knaresborough/Harrogate and Leeds are now every 30 minutes during the daytime on Sundays. Funding has been secured for signalling and infrastructure upgrades on

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2144-532: The Horsforth end is a plain sandstone horseshoe-shaped arch with rusticated voussoirs below a cornice and a parapet . It is approached by a slightly curved 300-metre cutting faced with sandstone retaining walls. They have a concave batter , slightly projecting piers at regular intervals and are topped with square coping stones . During the Railway Mania period in which the tunnel was constructed,

2211-601: The North of England. Two sighting towers were built at a cost of £140 for the surveyors to keep the line true, then from 20 October 1845 twenty shafts were sunk to enable tunnelling. Tunnelling started after the foundation stone was laid at the bottom of No. 1 airshaft in July 1846. The separate working faces were joined into a single tunnel on 27 November 1848, and work was completed in summer 1849. The four shafts retained for ventilation cost £35,000. The shaft north of Otley Road

2278-518: The body of his 3 years old daughter who died two weeks later of some unspecified illness. Notes Citations Bibliography 53°53′23″N 1°36′45″W  /  53.88972°N 1.61250°W  / 53.88972; -1.61250  ( Bramhope Tunnel ) Harrogate Line The Harrogate line is a passenger rail line through parts of North Yorkshire and the West Yorkshire area of northern England connecting Leeds to York by way of Harrogate and Knaresborough . Service on

2345-405: The bottom of the shaft during sinking, but lags behind by a fixed distance. This distance is determined by the methodology of excavation and the design thickness of the permanent liner. To ensure the safety of persons working on the shaft bottom temporary ground support is installed, usually consisting of welded mesh and rock bolts . The installation of the temporary ground support (called bolting )

2412-490: The depart at Leeds and first day finishing at Harrogate were required to wait separately outside Leeds station rather than proceed through the barriers, given the limited capacity through the station. The route is served by Northern Trains rolling stock; the most common seen on the line is the Class 170 Turbostar , and Class 150 Sprinters , Class 155 Super Sprinters and Class 158 Express Sprinters often make appearances on

2479-541: The excavated material from the works was recycled to shore up the railway embankment near Castley . Records of death and injury were kept from 1847 to 1849, and grants were made to the Leeds Infirmary and a special sprung handcart was provided to transport the injured to hospital. Five men died in 1846, twelve died in 1847 and seven more had died by 1849. The 24 men who died are commemorated in Otley churchyard by

2546-454: The grand opening in 1849. In the mid-1840s Railway Mania was taking hold and railway companies competed with each other to bring forward schemes to access Wharfedale . Most of these schemes did not come to fruition but the Leeds and Thirsk Railway Company's proposal, a counter to George Hudson 's "megalomania", to build a line from Leeds to Thirsk received approval in an Act of Parliament in 1845. The line would open up trade in Leeds to

2613-591: The ground). The headframe will also typically contain bins for storing ore being transferred to the processing facility. At ground level beneath and around the headframe is the Shaft Collar (also called the Bank or Deck), which provides the foundation necessary to support the weight of the headframe and provides a means for workers, materials and services to enter and exit the shaft. Collars are usually massive reinforced concrete structures with more than one level. If

2680-438: The guides in a similar way to how a steel roller coaster runs on its rails, both having wheels which keep them securely in place. Some shafts do not use guide beams but instead utilize steel wire rope (called guide rope ) kept in tension by massive weights at shaft bottom called cheese weights (because of their resemblance to a truckle or wheel of cheese) as these are easier to maintain and replace. The largest compartment

2747-561: The horizontal), although most modern mine shafts are vertical. If access exists at the bottom of the proposed shaft, and ground conditions allow, then raise boring may be used to excavate the shaft from the bottom up; such shafts are called borehole shafts . Following the Hartley Colliery disaster where the single shaft at the mine became blocked, the United Kingdom made single shaft mines illegal in 1862, establishing

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2814-620: The installation of welded mesh and rock bolts . The material of choice for shaft lining is mass concrete which is poured behind shaft forms in lifts of 6 m as the shaft advances (gets deeper). Shotcrete , fibrecrete, brick , cast iron tubing, and precast concrete segments have all been used at one time or another. Additionally, the use of materials like bitumen and even squash balls have been required by specific circumstances. In extreme cases, particularly when sinking through halite , composite liners consisting of two or more materials may be required. The shaft liner does not reach right to

2881-529: The line as well. London North Eastern Railway services use the Class 800 Azuma . In July 2011, Harrogate Chamber of Commerce proposed electrifying the line with 750 V DC third rail, using D Stock of the London Underground , to substantially increase capacity. The D stock's replacement by S Stock on the District line in 2015 has made them available for other locations. It is proposed that

2948-411: The line is operated by Northern , with a few additional workings by London North Eastern Railway starting and terminating at Harrogate. West Yorkshire Metro 's bus and rail MetroCard ticket is available for journeys between Leeds and Harrogate . The routes over which the Harrogate line trains now run were opened in 1848 by two of the railways which came to be part of the North Eastern Railway :

3015-697: The line to be electrified at 25 kV AC overhead power lines which could be in use by 2019. This would mean that there would be two electric lines to York from Leeds, the other being Leeds to York via Cross Gates which will soon be electrified. On 5 March 2015, the Harrogate line, amongst others in the area including the Leeds–Bradford Interchange–Halifax line, the Selby–Hull line and the Northallerton–Middlesbrough line were named top priority for electrification; with an estimated cost for

3082-571: The most difficult of all mining development methods: restricted space, gravity, groundwater and specialized procedures make the task quite formidable. Shafts may be sunk by conventional drill and blast or mechanised means. Historically, mine shaft sinking has been among the most dangerous of all the mining occupations and the preserve of mining contractors called sinkers . Today shaft sinking contractors are concentrated in Canada , Germany , China and South Africa . The modern shaft sinking industry

3149-420: The movement of: When the top of the excavation is the ground surface, it is referred to as a shaft ; when the top of the excavation is underground, it is called a winze or a sub-shaft . Small shafts may be excavated upwards from within an existing mine as long as there is access at the bottom, in which case they are called raises . A shaft may be either vertical or inclined (between 80 and 90 degrees to

3216-422: The permanent shaft set-up into the sinking phase. This results in a reduced overall project duration, as for example, if the service piping used to sink the shaft does not need to be stripped out to make way for permanent piping. With the advancements made in raise boring technology, raise borers have been used to create a pilot hole for shaft sinking, where access exists at the bottom of the new shaft, in this case

3283-406: The powerful landowners often had a strong influence on the railways being built on their land, and it was due to the demands of William Rhodes of the adjoining Bramhope and Creskeld Halls that the north portal is to an intricate Gothic revival castellated design; it was not simply an entrance and exit for trains, but a fantasy medieval gatehouse garden feature. After it was finished, was lived in for

3350-509: The practice that all underground mines must have a " a second means of egress ". Many other global mining jurisdictions have adopted this rule and shafts are therefore often found in pairs (although there are multiple alternative methods of providing a second means of egress). Currently, the deepest continuous single-lift mine shaft in the world is the main shaft at South Deep Mine in South Africa, owned by Gold Fields Limited , which has

3417-463: The rock near the centre point. The work was dangerous because the rock at the Horsforth end was difficult to blast , and there was frequent flooding and subsidence . About 1,563,480,000 gallons (7,107,580,080 litres) of water were pumped out of the workings between 1845 and 1849. Metal sheets had to be used to divert water inside the tunnel. For four years the workmen, some of whom brought their families, lived in 300 temporary wooden bothies either in

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3484-555: The section of line between Knaresborough and York. This will allow an enhanced passenger service of two trains per hour. However, the proposal to re-open Goldsborough railway station to serve a new housing estate, would jeopardise reliable timings on the train service. The £13 million scheme will be carried out over the summer and autumn of 2020 with improved signalling. This will allow two services an hour between York, Knaresborough and Harrogate. In December 2019, London North Eastern Railway (LNER), intend to increase their one train

3551-492: The shaft continues on for some distance; this area is referred to as the shaft bottom . A tunnel called a ramp typically connects the bottom of the shaft with the rest of the mine. This ramp often contains the mine's water handling facility, called the sump , as water will naturally flow to the lowest point in the mine. Many (although not all) shafts are lined following excavation and the installation of temporary ground support . The shaft lining performs several functions; it

3618-424: The shaft is for ventilation . One or more of the compartments discussed above may be used for air intake, while others may be used for exhaust. Where this is the case a steel or concrete wall called a brattice is installed between the two compartments to separate the air flow. At many mines there are one or more complete additional separate auxiliary shafts with separate head gear and cages. The lowest point in

3685-534: The shaft is to be used for hoisting it is frequently split into multiple compartments by shaft sets , these may be made of either timber or steel . Vertical members in a shaft set are called guides , horizontal members are called buntons . For steel shaft guides, the main two options are hollow structural sections and top hat sections. Top hat sections offer a number of advantages over hollow structural sections including simpler installation, improved corrosion resistance and increased stiffness. Mine conveyances run on

3752-426: The shaft is used for mine ventilation , a plenum space or casing is incorporated into the collar to ensure the proper flow of air into and out of the mine. Beneath the collar the part of the shaft which continues into the ground is called the shaft barrel . At locations where the shaft barrel meets horizontal workings there is a shaft station (or inset) which allows men, materials and services to enter and exit

3819-400: The shaft. From the station tunnels (drifts, galleries or levels) extend towards the ore body , sometimes for many kilometers. The lowest shaft station is most often the point where rock leaves the mine levels and is transferred to the shaft, if so a loading pocket is excavated on one side of the shaft at this location to allow transfer facilities to be built. Beneath the lowest shaft station

3886-489: The situation, a public waterworks scheme with a reservoir and an aqueduct was proposed but not implemented. The tunnel was planned to be 3,344 yards in length but during construction it was extended to 3,743 yards. The cost of building the whole line was estimated to be £800,000 but the final total rose to £2,150,313 (equivalent to £281,750,000 in 2023) by 1849 because of costs incurred for labour, unforeseen extra costs for tunnelling at Bramhope and work in Leeds and on

3953-411: The specific needs of the mine they are part of and the geology they are sunk through. For example, in North and South America, smaller shafts are designed to be rectangular in plan view with timber supports. Larger shafts are round in plan and are concrete lined. Mine shafts may be used for a variety of purposes, including as a means of escape in the event of an emergency underground and allowing for

4020-595: The stock will be converted to use the bottom-contact third rail system. The scheme never gained support from Metro, Northern Rail or National Rail, generally overhead electrification is favoured and is the only method used in the region. Furthermore, the D stock is older than current stock using the line and runs on a fourth rail system, although D Stock units have successfully been converted to 3rd rail operation as Class 484s . Several new stations have also been proposed, including at Flaxby and Knaresborough East. In November 2013 Rail Magazine reported on plans for

4087-458: The surface. Smaller mining operations use a skip mounted underneath the cage, rather than a separate device, while some large mines have separate shafts for the cage and skips. The third compartment is used for an emergency exit; it may house an auxiliary cage or a system of ladders. An additional compartment houses mine services such as high voltage cables and pipes for transfer of water, compressed air or diesel fuel . A second reason to divide

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4154-493: The tunnel. One of the tips is in an area around the scout hut north of Otley Road through to the Knoll, another is south of Breary Lane, one is in a field opposite the cemetery and another near None Go Bye Farm. The sandstone sighting tower, the north and south portals and the retaining walls to the south portal are all Grade II listed structures . The portals are on Network Rail land with no public access. The southern portal at

4221-459: The tunnel. Water still runs fast into the tunnel, and in the 1960s a train was derailed by a 3-ton (3.3 tonne) icicle. Major repair work was done in 2003 and 2006, when the Victorian drainage culvert was replaced and the track lowered to allow access for larger passenger and freight stock at a cost of £10 million. The 16 closed airshafts were deteriorating and had to be re-capped. In 2003

4288-399: The two sighting towers, a tall, cylindrical sandstone structure, two metres in diameter with four vertical slits near the top and flat coping stones is still standing in the field opposite Bramhope cemetery. The other one, now demolished, was behind Dyneley Hall. About 250,000 cubic yards (190,000 m) of sandstone and shale spoil was tipped close to the ventilation shafts along the line of

4355-413: The wider Beeching Axe , despite a vigorous campaign by local campaigners, including the city's MP. Today much of the route of the line through the city is now a relief road and although the former station still stands, it is now surrounded by a new housing development. The issue remains a significant one in local politics and there are movements wanting to restore the line. Reports suggest the reopening of

4422-542: Was removed from the workings to be tipped on the Wharfe embankment leading to the Arthington Viaduct . Men were lowered by bucket down the airshafts to dig by candlelight . They were paid £1.50 per week to shovel 20 tons (20.32 tonnes) of rock and earth per 12–hour shift, seven days a week. Conditions were constantly wet, with foul air and gunpowder fumes and the danger of roof–collapse. The tunnel cuts through hard sandstone, shale and clay, and there are seven major faults in

4489-480: Was such that Jos Midgeley, a railway police inspector, was hired for £1.25 per week to keep order. At one time he was attacked by a group of men, and at Wescoe Hill, two miles away on the opposite side of the River Wharfe, a riot occurred when the contractors tried to cut off the beer supply to keep the men sober enough to work. Four of the twenty construction shafts were retained as ventilation shafts . One of

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