Deepstore

This is not the usual look of a working mineshaft, but Winsford Rock Salt Mine No.4 Shaft presents this plain functional aspect. It is the main downcast shaft and has two large fans at the bottom which draw in around 135 cubic metres of fresh air per second. The shaft is 4.88m in diameter and 189m deep, with a two-tier lift consisting of a cargo compartment and a personnel carrier. The cargo compartment is 7 metres high, 2.4 metres wide and 4 metres deep and brings all the materials and engineering equipment underground. It can carry 15 tonnes. In addition to use by Salt Union this is also the access for the Deepstore record storage facility which uses the vast worked-out spaces.