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Post by Bullshop on May 13, 2019 7:12:36 GMT -7
Here are a few pictures of an old mine we discovered that is in-route to our firewood cutting area. |
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Post by Bullshop on May 13, 2019 7:33:57 GMT -7
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Post by Bullshop on May 13, 2019 7:34:36 GMT -7
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Post by Bullshop on May 13, 2019 7:35:40 GMT -7
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Post by Bullshop on May 13, 2019 7:36:23 GMT -7
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Post by Bullshop on May 13, 2019 7:52:38 GMT -7
All steam powered equipment. From this site we can see another similar site across the canyon about 1 mile away. We hope to soon explore the newly discovered site. We hiked to this site after making a load of wood but the next site is higher and steeper so will require a dedicated day for the purpose and not in addition to making a load of firewood.
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Post by missionary on May 13, 2019 17:32:13 GMT -7
Greetings Dan
Thank you for the fine exploration photos. I was surprised to see engines, pumps, lift unit and other machines in place. I would be wanting to fire something up and listen to the music.
Down here our sons & I explored numerous old copper / gold mines and never found anything mechanical left behind. A few cement bases was all. Taught "Mine Bible study" with 3 men for a year who were working an old copper mine by hand and doing OK. For Thanks Giving that year Vicky made a huge pot of a Rice meal and chocolate cake. They near ate it all. Then they treated her to a mine walk. I had been in the shafts a couple times but they gave her with me the grand tour. It was great. All three trusted in Christ before they were forced by the government to move on. Mine has never been worked since.
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Post by Bullshop on May 13, 2019 18:39:45 GMT -7
You can see the main shaft in one of the pictures that the original timber gantry has fallen over the shaft. It appears that the guy cables finally rusted through and the gantry fell. About 200 yards down the north side of this hill there is a horizontal shaft that we have not yet explored. I think once they got the vertical shaft to the depth they wanted they then dug the horizontal shaft to more easily move out the ore as it would be much easier to move it on a flat rail system than to lift everything out the vertical shaft on the gantry and winch.
Looking across the canyon about a mile south east we can see another similar site and can see the gantry still standing so we are hoping to eventually get to that site.
There are a couple small test holes started in a vein but then terminated for what ever reason each hole has very visible rich copper veins running through the solid rock. If you look closely at one of the pictures of the main shaft on the far side of the hole near the top you can see part of the green copper vein.
Fun stuff but after putting on a load of firewood I am pretty well played out but my young helpers are game for hiking and exploring these hills. We hope to Lord willing get back to these sites with our metal detectors and do some treasure hunting. Finding a gold coin would be a reward worth the effort.
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Post by missionary on May 13, 2019 18:54:57 GMT -7
Does sound like a great day / picnic future. Old mines are a alot of fun.
We have several plastic containers full of copper ore and quarts we give to visitors. Did find one nice quarts rock that had a few small flakes of the rose colored gold that is abundant down here.
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Post by shootist---Gary on May 14, 2019 18:36:27 GMT -7
Daniel, are these abandoned mines on Federal Land, or maybe at one time claims were filed, then when mining was no longer profitable, the mine owners just walked away?
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Post by Bullshop on May 15, 2019 8:09:11 GMT -7
These mines are on federal land. We have found a few of the old claim markers (rock piled) but the claim papers are absent. When Bill Clinton was president he raised the annual renewal fees on all mining claims on federal land and because so many were not active folks just let them expire. He did the same with grazing rights. Where once water was being pumped for cattle and the overflow kept the coolies green the increased use fees made it less profitable so the pumping stopped and the green turned brown and the wildlife left. I guess they envisioned over flowing coffers filled with money from higher use fees but apparently didn't work as planned.
We should remember when these mines were active gold was worth something like $16.00 per ounce so yea I am sure profitability was marginal on anything other than the richest veins. Today at what like $1,000.00 per ounce even panning the old tailing piles can keep people interested.
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Post by sideswipe on May 15, 2019 15:59:23 GMT -7
Some pretty serious equipment. And I thought rebuilding a flathead V-8 was working on old machinery!
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Post by todddoyka on May 16, 2019 18:53:07 GMT -7
i'm with missionary....it sure would be great to fire them up!!!!!!
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Post by Bullshop on May 16, 2019 19:07:45 GMT -7
Steam power and how to work and manage it I am afraid might be a lost art. Looking these machines over and trying to understand how things worked for me is akin to trying to read a book written in Chinese, I cant ! My best guess is that the very large single piston engine with two large fly wheels was used as a belt drive to power the large belt driven pump shown in the picture outside the building and lying on its side. The steam powered winch has its own dual steam cylinder/piston arrangement one on each side. These are all piped into the two large boilers. Man I bet it got hot in there in the summer!!! My Dad worked on the RR 43 years and started with steam and worked through the transition to diesel. He would be a great help here!!! I miss him immensely!
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Post by missionary on May 17, 2019 5:24:52 GMT -7
An old feller once said, "If it moves it needs greased or oiled". Steam does a good job cleaning and keeping joints wet.
43 years was a good while to be part of the R&R. B&O ran most of the rail that was behind our house in SW Michigan.
Did the winch house have provision for open sides ? Is that area wind swept most the day ? That would carry off a lot of heat.
Did you see any coal pile or did they use wood for fuel ?
Here in Arequipa we live at 8000 and all the mines were up at 10,000 + so the temperatures with the constant breeze was never real hot. Get into shade and 60-65 was about as good as it got. Plus we are only 16 degrees south of the Equator so the permanent freeze line is up around 17,500. Have seen snow as low as 13,500 once on the mountains nearby us. Further back east it gets lower.
Where you are roaming you must be around 36 degrees north. That would make a huge temperature variance from down here.
Down in west Indiana at a small "village" called Steam Corner not far from Danville they have a yearly Steam Show and fire up all sorts of steam engines and tractors.
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Post by shootist---Gary on May 17, 2019 20:13:58 GMT -7
Thanks for the photos & descriptions. In eastern Ohio's Mahoning County, Canfield (near Youngstown) the Canfield fair is held the week ending on Labor Day, & has a Pioneer Village display with many old buildings from the area, & also sets up steam threshing, plowing with steam, & by horses, a stationary baler, an old oil well pump derrick powered by steam, along with many other interesting displays of machinery from years gone by. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been watching postings on the Union Pacific Steam Club, of the rebuilding of the ALCO "Big Boy" Locomotive # 4014, & the trip from Cheyenne, WY to Ogden, UT, for the 150th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike, connecting the railroads from the Atlantic to the Pacific. To successfully tow this engine from Pomona, CA, that had not had fire in the boiler since July 1959, back to Cheyenne, 5 years ago, then to completely didassemble it, make & replace parts, reassemble it, then, a 70 mile test run, then run it to Ogden & return to Cheyenne, proves that America is capable of doing anything that it's people set their mind to. 9 men worked on this project for 5 years. The roads from Cheyenne to Ogden were like a rolling roadblock with steam fans from all over this country, plus many that came from many countries across the pond.
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Post by Bullshop on May 18, 2019 7:55:31 GMT -7
I would very much like to see this equipment salvaged and restored for such historical purposes. It seems such a shame and a waste to allow it to weather to a state of uselessness. Once the remainder of the building falls and is exposed to weather nature will reclaim it not men.
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Post by todddoyka on May 18, 2019 9:35:04 GMT -7
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