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C.Noall (1989)
Page 70.
At no mine, however, was the struggle to keep the flood at bay fought with more heroism and resolution than that at Mellanear, situated about ¾ mile north east by north of St. Erth. This mine was equipped with one 75-inch engine whose piston rod, on February 16 (1872) attained a speed of 280 feet per minute! Going at 14 strokes a minute, with 19-inch lifts, it raised a constant stream of 1,372 gallons every minute of the 24 hours! Despite this, the water rose to 60, but was then held. At 14 strokes a minute, steam was able to beat water; at 13 strokes the strife was equally waged; but if the engine stopped a short while - to pack the cylinder for instance – water had the advantage. The contest proved such a close run thing that the adventurers, like those at North Treskerby, decided to augment their pumping capacity with a new 80-inch engine. The latter was put to work in March 1878 and christened ‘Ellen’ after a daughter of one of the directors.