An underground tour at Lerche shaft !

An underground tour at Lerche shaft - part 1 !

For March 10th in 2008 I received an invitation from Oliver Thol for an underground tour at Ost colliery (Germany), more exactly at Lerche shaft. Lerche shaft is the main shaft for the infrastructure of the Monopol coal field of Ost colliery, where the hard coal is extracted in a depth of about 1.500 metres. During this underground tour we had the opportunity to visit the shaft's onset about 1.370 metres under the city of Hamm (Germany) and the roadways close to the shaft. The photos I took underground and at the surface during this tour can be seen on this page and on the following one.

Thank you very much to Oliver Thol, who can be found on the web at http://www.abenteuer-ruhrpott.de.vu, for the invitation and to our friendly companions at Ost colliery for the lots of good explanations.

Please click on the photos' small versions in order to enlarge them and to get the corresponding background information. ATTENTION: The pictures' explanations can now be found UNDER the large versions.


In the gatekeeper's lodge of Ost colliery.	More and more participants arrive.	Oliver Thol, the organizer of the tour.	Two more participants.


That looks like real miners, doesn't it ? ;-).	The group in the correct clothes.	The helmet is very important, as well.	The explanation of the CO-filter.


Three miners in the colliery's lamps' room.	Oliver, Stephen and me in the lamps' room.	Everybody listens to the expla-nations.	Oliver and Stephen in the car.


Lerche shaft of Ost colliery in the city of Hamm.	Lerche shaft and me.	Silos for something like concrete.	The large refrigerating plant.


The impressioning winding tower.	The group of visitors at the pit bank.	A miner at the pit bank of Lerche shaft.	In the pit cage on the way down the shaft...


...you can nearly only see the miner's lamps.	Me in the large pit cage of Lerche shaft.	A first impression of the dimensions underground.	A suspension railway.


The material is transported here.	Me in front of a large panel underground.	Now there is some shadow ;-).	An "energy train" for a conveyor.


Stephen in front of the "energy train".	Really everything was explained to the group.	The visitors are deeply impressed.	The stairs to the bridge for the miners.


Oliver and me underground.	Oliver Thol.	Two people underground at Lerche shaft.	Stephen Zimmermann from quite close.