The Napoleon (BML) gold mine (1932) was located near McDougall Road, Golden Gully, between Martin and Hattam Street. It had a depth of 921 feet. It was one of the latest and most lavish of Bendigo's mines. Plant and equipment were electrically driven. The four-compartment shaft, extra large by goldfield's standards, measured 17 feet 6 inches by 5 feet 2 inches and was cement lined below 900 feet instead of being red gum boxed as was the usual practice. The workshop was equipped to carry out all repairs for the equally lavish BML mines on the Nell Gwynne and Carshalton reefs. (The Gold Mines of Bendigo, Book 2, Arthur Victor Palmer) 'Napoleon BML Mines No Liability have issued a report for the fortnight ended September 5, where it states that the development scheme has been formulated and necessary equipment is being ordered. The Napoleon main shaft, (about 1700 feet south of the old Napoleon shaft) will be a four compartment shaft (17ft 6 inches by ft 2 inches inside the timber). aLevels will be opened at approximately 100 ft vertical intervals and cross-cuts extended approximately 125 ft each side of centre country to explore a cross-section across the anticline opposite to the shaft. At every fifth level, main drives will be extended north to connect with the old Napoleon shaft and south approximately 1800 ft. At the latter point, another cross-section of the anticline will be explored by rising and cross-cutting. The old Napoleon will be unwatered and on the 500ft and 1000 ft levels main drives will be driven to connect with main levels from the Napoleon main shaft to the south as well as being driven north 1800 ft where another cross-section of the anticline will be explored. Cross-sections further north and south may be developed as desired and also at intermediate points if necessary. Clearing and grading of the main shaft site are now in progress and the erection of the office and store building is proceeding. The design of engine room, change house and machine shops is now in hand and erection will proceed as soon as working plans and specifications are prepared.' The main shaft has been commenced at 3ft and advanced 10 ft. to 13 ft. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/10975478?searchTerm=napoleon%20bml (The Argus, 8th. September 1934, 'Mining' page 18) Significant to mining history of Bendigo.Black and white photograph of a stamper head being lowered into position on the battery site of the Napoleon Reef Gold Mine. A wooden gantry supports the battery head as it being lowered. Three large concrete foundations are visible in immediate background, two of which have stampers already in position, the third stamper is being lowered onto the final foundation. In immediate foreground, 'boxing' is erected for future concrete pours. napoleon gold mine, napoleon reef gold mine

This model was found in the collection of Bay Steamers Maritime Museum. It is not knowt who created it but it is supposed that it was constructed to educate the many masters of the Wattle in the operation of a steam engine - a not so common mode of power these days. A Bay Steamers Maritime Museum examined the model in March 2012 and discovered that is was in poor repair. Using his existing knowledge, and with reference to some historic texts, he made some repairs and returned the model to working order. Here is his anaylsis of the situation as an excerpt from the Bay Steamers Maritime Museum newsletter Steamlines May 2012 "I was confronted with a model of a steam engine used years ago as a training aid for hopeful steam engineers. Already having a knowledge of steam operations, I considered a museum write-up for that model a ‘piece of cake’. However, on turning the model’s crankshaft, the valve timing seemed ‘out of kilter’ with the movement of the piston. Problem was that the two eccentrics on the crankshaft were not properly secured to it. Eventually I fastened the two eccentrics to the crankshaft where I felt that they should be and then realized that one of them had a chain-driven valve-timing device attached. This would be adjusted while an engine was running to achieve best performance and fuel economy whilst in operation by accurately controlling the period of time during which steam under pressure from the boiler would be admitted to the cylinder and give greater time for the steam to expand in the cylinder, move the piston and turn the crankshaft and thus, drive the attached apparatus. When the valves were correctly set up it was then possible to get the model to function properly.The model comprises a green section, which is the actual the model mounted on a brown painted board. There are two parts of the model, painted white representing the steam passages, and black representing the cast- iron portions of the cylinder-block casting, and of the main valve sliding between the cylinder a second sliding valve. Of the black portions, one slides back and forth being connected to a rod which is connected to an eccentric clamped to the crankshaft and is the nearer to the flywheel of two eccentrics. This eccentric is attached to the crankshaft at an angle of 90 degrees to the crank-pin attached to the flywheel. To operate the model simply turn the flywheel by means of the handle attached to its crank-pin. A second eccentric is also attached to the crankshaft, further away from the first eccentric, and it is adjusted to operate 90 degrees from the first eccentric (that is, 180 degrees from the crank-pin) A piston (painted silver) is located in a plastic cylinder and has a piston rod which passes through one end of the cylinder, (in actual practice a steam-proof gland seals the cylinder against loss of steam) terminating in a cross-head slide between four rails guiding it. From this cross-head, a connecting rod joins the piston-rod to the flywheel via the crank-pin attached to the flywheel which is part of the crankshaft. (In actual practice, a flywheel may not be used, particularly in a multi-cylinder engine.) The white portions of the model painted nearest to the cylinder represent the two steam ports cast into the main cylinder block, whilst one section painted in between those two represents the exhaust outlet (which may be connected to a condenser to conserve water, or to the open air). The main slide valve has three white-painted portions painted thereon. It has two white-painted marks representing the steam passages to the steam ports into the cylinder, and a third section in between the other two, being that part of the valve through which exhaust steam passes in line with the ports in the cylinder block. By rotating the flywheel, the operations of an engine will be observed as steam is admitted to the main valve via the gap between the two jaws of two moveable portions of a second sliding valve which is operated by the second eccentric attached to the crank-shaft. This eccentric is used to finely tune the valve timing of this model to obtain best running results of an engine. There are various methods used for reversing a steam engine. model compound steam engine, steam engine, model, crankshaft, valve, flywheel, wattle, engineer, eccentrics

a. . Handdrawn copy of Snob's Hill Mines by Caleb Thomas (Long Section) 1885. Top drawing show mines and the distance between them. Lower drawing shows leases at a scale of 8 chains to 1 inch. Dams and sand heaps are included. The second page shows x-sections of the poppet legs and their heights. Shaft numbers are included. Two of the pulley diameters are also shown. b. Document headed Caleb Thomas cross sections 10.10.1884. South Catherine, engine east of shaft legs 44 ft high Ellenborough engine east of shaft, legs 40 feet Belmont and Saxby, engine and wheel west of shaft, legs 27 feet York and Durham, engine and wheel west of shaft legs 27 feet Snobs Hill , Old Williams, engine east of shaft legs 53 feet, L. Brace 21ft. 1884 Acadia Catherine engine west. Legs 44 feet, L.brace 11 ft.map, bendigo, goldfields, snob's hill, plan of snob's hill mines, caleb thomas, c reef united, catherine reef shaft, william's main, acadia, william's old main, gt northern, york & durham, snob's hill, belmont & saxby, ellenborough, st mungo, golden pyke, united c'holders, compy, snowdon & co, sth catherine coy, princess alice, saunders, williams & coy, acadia co, wearon & co, snob's hill, nelson trib, kneebone tribute, la belle co, york & durham, north st mungo, saxby & devonshire trib, n? trib, belmont co, durham c'land, kitti trib, sadowa trib, ran?eu co, nth devonshire co, lady barkly, devonshire reef trib, central devonshire co, j c macartney, catherine united

The 1st edition of this famous work, giving an excellent account of the machinery used in late 19th century metal mining in the UK and overseas is very rare. It covers a wide range of equipment - pumps, steam engines, drills, winding engines, stamps & concentration mills, aerial ropeways, tramways and early uses of electricity etc. Brown hard cloth covered book. xvi 564 pages with additional advertisements, with over 300 illustrations and drawings, some fold out. Chapters include Water as a motive power, Wind engines and ventilating machinery, Steam boilers/engines and oil engines, hoisting machinery, draining of Mines, pumping engines, rock drilling machinery, boring machinery, concentration machinery, sizing and classifications trommels, joggers and jigging, fine concentration, milling of gold ores, milling of silver ores, amalgamation plates and machinery, dry and roasting machinery, chlorination and cyandide processes for the extraction of gold, electricity as a motive power for mining, electric lighting and blasting, aerial wire ropeways, transport by rail and road. There a a number of lovely line illustrations in the book including: Poncelot's undershot waterwheel; Fromont furnace;Victor turbine; Pelton waterwheel; Root's positive blower;Cross section and front elevation of Lancashire boiler; Robey's Compound Mill Engine; Portable Winding Plant; Iron Pit Head Gear ; Loading Arrangement in an Incline Shaft; kibble; Worthington Pump; California Pump; Scram's Air Compressor; Rock drill Bits; Special Sharpening tools; Boring tools;Rotating Picking table; Ore Feeder; roller crusher; stamp battery; round buddle; slime table; vanner; amalgamating plant; belt elevator;roasting furnace;splicing wire rope; capel; tipping waggon;mining, cornish pump, linkenbach table, water wheel, ventilation, oil engine, california, america, water, steam boilers, steam engines, oil engines, pumpimg, rock drilling, boring, jiggers, milling, silver, gold, drying and roasting, chlorination, cyaniding, lead, zinc, copper, electricity, electric lighting, wire ropes, transport, wind engine, poppet head