During the eighteenth century, gins with two, four and even eight horses were used to transport men and coal. A rope wound round a horizontal drum passes over a pulley wheel and down the shaft. Attached to the drum is a horizontal wooden bar, and a horse is harnessed to this and is then made to walk round in a circle. As it does so, the rope with a basket attached is first lowered into the shaft to be filled and then raised to the surface.