This is one of the few coal mines we visited during our summer trip westward. It is part of a sprawling complex of mines in the Rhineland/Saarland area. This one was one of the smaller ones - it had a headframe, but the shaft didn't go as far down. It used to lift stuff in and out of the mine, but only until another, deeper shaft was built. Since then, it has been used as a ventilation shaft. That is reflected in the machinery present. The mine was closed in the 2010s, around the same time as all the other mines in the area. The only things left now are the substation, the building with all the ventilation stuff, and the winding machine. The rest of the buildings were repurposed or demolished.
The main hall had old converters and multiple ventilators. The mounting points on the floor suggest that there used to be more in the convertor section, but all that was left were two old but intact converters and one half-dismantled AEG converter. One of the ventilators was old and was marked as decommissioned in the diagrams on the fuse boxes. The other two seemed to be newer, but weirdly, only one was placed in the intake enclosure - the other was just chilling in the hall. I wondered if it was just a backup that would get swapped using the crane and the rails on the floor, but according to the diagrams it had its permanent place in the machine hall. Not sure - maybe someone else knows what's going on. There was also a winding engine in a well-lit hall, which is always a nice discovery.
We didn't have any info about the entry, so we tried two approaches that seemed reasonable to us. The first one ended prematurely due to copious amounts of overgrowth, which was impossible to get through, and the second one due to a busy-ish road plus a very nosy secca from the factory next door. We gave up and went for a coffee (very reasonably priced for Germany) and messaged our friend for more info. We had to drive deeper into France that day, so we couldn't spend too much time trying to find a way in. Luckily, our friend came in clutch, and the entry he sent us worked. The rest of the explore was uneventful - in and out without any excitement.
On with the photos!
The winding engine, or - as the Germans call it - a fördermaschine! It sounds better in German for sure.
The old ventilator, seemingly out of use for a while. Ignore the moiré, blame the compression.
The two newer ventilators. The one in the hole has a concrete intake above it, but the second one is just hanging out in the hall. Note the second set of rails on the right - probably for maintenance?
The two old converters. You can kind of see the AEG one peeking out in the background.
Thanks for reading!
The main hall had old converters and multiple ventilators. The mounting points on the floor suggest that there used to be more in the convertor section, but all that was left were two old but intact converters and one half-dismantled AEG converter. One of the ventilators was old and was marked as decommissioned in the diagrams on the fuse boxes. The other two seemed to be newer, but weirdly, only one was placed in the intake enclosure - the other was just chilling in the hall. I wondered if it was just a backup that would get swapped using the crane and the rails on the floor, but according to the diagrams it had its permanent place in the machine hall. Not sure - maybe someone else knows what's going on. There was also a winding engine in a well-lit hall, which is always a nice discovery.
We didn't have any info about the entry, so we tried two approaches that seemed reasonable to us. The first one ended prematurely due to copious amounts of overgrowth, which was impossible to get through, and the second one due to a busy-ish road plus a very nosy secca from the factory next door. We gave up and went for a coffee (very reasonably priced for Germany) and messaged our friend for more info. We had to drive deeper into France that day, so we couldn't spend too much time trying to find a way in. Luckily, our friend came in clutch, and the entry he sent us worked. The rest of the explore was uneventful - in and out without any excitement.
On with the photos!
The winding engine, or - as the Germans call it - a fördermaschine! It sounds better in German for sure.
The old ventilator, seemingly out of use for a while. Ignore the moiré, blame the compression.
The two newer ventilators. The one in the hole has a concrete intake above it, but the second one is just hanging out in the hall. Note the second set of rails on the right - probably for maintenance?
The two old converters. You can kind of see the AEG one peeking out in the background.
Thanks for reading!
