The upcast shaft is the largest of the two shafts sunk at Glyn pits, being 11 feet in diameter, and used for both winding of coal, men, and the pumping of water. The winding of coal and men was done with a single cage similar to the one in this 1905 photo, which worked simultaneously with the cage in the down cast shaft travelling in the opposite direction from a depth of 186 yards. The remaining distance to the 190 yard depth was the sump area where the water from the mine collected, and from where it was pumped. This pump was driven by the Rotative Beam Engine, which drove a connecting rod linked to a bell crank lever at the pit head. A rocking motion caused the pitch pine levers (spears) to the pit bottom to rise and fall driving a lift pump (bucket piston type) sending the water up the pit to a 'Lobby', which was situated at a hundred feet. From the lobby water was pumped higher by means of a 'Ram' type pump, which had a pitch pine piston 12.5 inches diameter, working in a cast iron barrel or cylinder. Pumping was done in two stages through 6 inch pipes - rising mains - to within 85 yards of the surface, where it entered a watercourse 380yards long, which conveyed the water to the valley bottom. This was also the pit where the foul air and gas left the mine after traversing the workings. Approximately 6 ft from the pit head was the mouth of the fan-drift, by which the foul air was extracted by a fan which was around 30 yards away at the end of this fan drift and exhausted to atmosphere.
Below in this later 1910 photograph, taken somewhere in South Wales, is a double tier cage, where one cage is mounted on top of another, allowing for double the amount of coal or men to be lifted from the mine at any one time. Another item of interest in the photo is the safety gate, for as the cages arrives at bank (pit head) so the safety gate is lifted with the cage, and then lowered when the cage descends into the mine again. This pit shaft being big enough contained two sets of cages as can be seen by the double set of tram rails and another safety gate seen in the downward secured position. A further safety feature can be seen in front of the lowered gate between the tram rails. This item with its leavers in the upward position locks against the tram's axle, thus stopping the tram moving any further forward. With the levers in the downward position the tram is free to be loaded into the cage.
