This historic drainage feature consists of hollowed-out timber or plank channels laid along the floor of a drift or adit. It captures groundwater seeping from the rock and directs it by gravity toward a sump or portal. Using wood was practical before the advent of cheap plastic or metal piping, especially in heavily timbered mines.
Heard on the job
Check the trogue on the third level, water is backing up behind a cave-in.
Related terms
Adit
A horizontal or near-horizontal tunnel driven from the surface into a mountain or hillside to access an ore body.
Launder
An inclined trough or channel used to transport water, slurry, or crushed ore by gravity.
Trunk
A wooden flume or sluice box used to wash fine ores and separate them from waste mud.