Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31423496-20171104164922

I looked around the Wiki but couldn't find anything about it, so I'd like to ask if there is any solid information about how the lift mechanism at Castle Black operates. Is there a counterweight and, if so, is it inside the Wall or somewhere outside, as I haven't seen it in the show. Also, how does one alert the operator at the bottom to lower it. It appears to move at a very consistent speed; is it physically regulated in any way? And as far as I can see, all the operator does is push or pull a wooden lever to iniate movement; no manual labor on his part at all. So something or someone must be doing a lot of work. There's a tremendous amount of energy required to move such a heavy load up and down 700 feet of wall. Thanks in advance for any info you can provide! 