Using the power of the wheel

This is known as line shafting.

This shaft runs under the ceiling in the mill.

Can you see that the wheels are of different sizes? This was to be able to control the speed at which the machines ran.

The belts were made of leather fastened with metal clips.

There was no guard over the belts and they were very dangerous.

To see an animation of how all this worked but run by a steam engine go to

There would have been pulleys and belts like these all over the mill.