HERE ARE SOME OF THE ANSWERS:
1.The big wheel with the flat outside gives it away. These gears were driven by a belt. This was very common
2.I think there was a mine…and that machine was a part of an elevator in the XIX.century…or a saw mill
3.It looks like the remains of an old gristmill. Those gears would be used to change the speed of a particular apparatus. That would be needed if the gristmill was big enough to have several machines operating at the same time off one water wheel.
4.There are two shafts in this assembly. The primary, or drive-shaft, is powered by a wide belt that turns the large pulley (someone referred to it as a “flat gear” omg. wrong on multiple counts!) The pinion gear on the drive shaft is turning the large bull gear on the second shaft which also includes a large drum feature that is used to spool cable.
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