I've been in many (we call them lifts over here) in coal mines in the UK and elsewhere. There are some substantial engineering feats there, including double-decker cars.

Some descend more than 2,000 feet, and as they do not have proper doors, only mesh screens, the air pressure is immense as you rush down. The head house that contains the machinery is usually the tallest structure for miles around.

I've also had to go in ones which are not yet completed, where we were let down the mine shaft in a bucket. Going down 2,000 feet in one of those, with no lights (we had out miners lamps on our helmets, of course) is something else. So is getting in/out of the bucket at the top, with the 2,000 foot drop beneath you as you clamber across.