Steam Winch and Electric Winch in the Meiji (1968-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) Eras
February 1967
Meiji, Taisho Joki Maki to Denki Maki
[Steam Winch and Electric Winch in the Meiji (1968-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) Eras]
37.7 x 53.8 cm Painting in Watercolors and Ink
Text at the Bottom Right
At the end of the Meiji era, coal pits run by Mitsubishi in Namazuda (Kasamatsu Village, Fukuoka Prefecture, which changed to Iizuka Town in 1909 and Iizuka City in 1932) started using electric winches. These were introduced to small and middle-scale coal mines in the late Taisho era, but steam winches were still widely used. It was in the beginning of the Showa era (1926-1989) that most coal mines changed their steam winches with electric winches which relieved fears of blackouts but made operation noisy.
Then chimneys for steam winches, which had accompanied pits for so long, finally left the stage. However, large-scale coal mines had their own power plants, and their big smokestacks were still seen standing against the blue sky.
The centrifugal lubricator shown left was used as the lubricator for the crank pin.
Text at the Top Right
Steam winch engines had double cylinders, but were not the compound type which used both high and low pressures. When winch operators wanted mine cars to "go ahead'' or "go astern,'' they controlled steering wheels, and the slide valves opened or closed automatically to change mine-car direction. No winch used at coal mines had a drum on the center of the machine.
Text at the Top Left
Denki Maki (Electric Winch)
Each of the main electric winches at large-scale coal mines had an automatic switch. When such a machine was turned on, it made clanking noises for some time before it started its basic spinning motion. When it was turned off, it stopped with only a single noise. It also had a perfect rheostat (variable resistor).
Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro
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