Thanks for all the comments! These are just some of those things that are on the top of your tongue, but ya can’t quite place them.
To clear up a bit of speculation; the smaller, older one does indeed have a kind of break. The partial gear was at one point moveable, it has a pin fastening it to the right arm of the T. Indeed makes me thing that a rope or cable passed through it, similar to one-way cleats on a sailboat.
The cable could have passed Down through the centre As that part looks to be hollow. Right now it’s clogged up.
However, The larger one I can’t see how a cable could have passed down through the centre as the shaft of the upper T part is solid. The grease a few people mentioned is actually just dirt and rotten wood I think. It looks pretty greasy as it was just rinsed in that photo. When we found it we suspected that it was mounted onto a wooden shaft with an iron rivet, as there was some rust in there also. Either that or attached to a rope or cable, the debris inside is far gone and hard to be sure what it once was.
As for where they were found. They were found separately but not too far apart. Along a main river, maybe a 10-15min walk between.
That area had some old homesteads (1881 penny found nearby the older T), a 1910s amusement park and some dumps dating late 1800s-1950s. A pretty unhelpful variety!
To clear up a bit of speculation; the smaller, older one does indeed have a kind of break. The partial gear was at one point moveable, it has a pin fastening it to the right arm of the T. Indeed makes me thing that a rope or cable passed through it, similar to one-way cleats on a sailboat.
The cable could have passed Down through the centre As that part looks to be hollow. Right now it’s clogged up.
However, The larger one I can’t see how a cable could have passed down through the centre as the shaft of the upper T part is solid. The grease a few people mentioned is actually just dirt and rotten wood I think. It looks pretty greasy as it was just rinsed in that photo. When we found it we suspected that it was mounted onto a wooden shaft with an iron rivet, as there was some rust in there also. Either that or attached to a rope or cable, the debris inside is far gone and hard to be sure what it once was.
As for where they were found. They were found separately but not too far apart. Along a main river, maybe a 10-15min walk between.
That area had some old homesteads (1881 penny found nearby the older T), a 1910s amusement park and some dumps dating late 1800s-1950s. A pretty unhelpful variety!
