Riding the High Wire: Aerial Mine Tramways in the West

151 Pages·2001·2.19 MB·English

by  Robert

RR
iiddiinngg
TTHHEE
HHIIGGHH WWIIRREE
A M
ERIAL INE
T
RAMWAYS

IN THE
W
EST
R O B ER T A . T R E N N ER T
Riding
the
High Wire

Riding
the
High Wire
Aerial Mine Tramways in the West
Robert A. Trennert
University Press of Colorado
Copyright © 2001 by the University Press of Colorado
Published by the University Press of Colorado
5589 Arapahoe Avenue, Suite 206C
Boulder, Colorado 80303
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
The University Press of Colorado is a cooperative publishing enterprise supported, in part, by
Adams State College, Colorado State University, Fort Lewis College, Mesa State College, Metro-
politan State College of Denver, University of Colorado, University of Northern Colorado, Univer-
sity of Southern Colorado, and Western State College of Colorado.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National
Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. ANSI
Z39.48-1992
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Trennert, Robert A.
Riding the high wire : aerial mine tramways in the West / Robert A. Trennert.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-87081-630-6 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-87081-631-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Mine haulage—West (U.S.)—History—19th century. 2. Mine haulage—West (U.S.)—
History—20th century. 3. Aerial tramways—West (U.S.)—History—19th century. 4. Aerial
tramways—West (U.S.)—History—20th century. I. Title.
TN332 .T74 2001
622'.66—dc21
2001002382
Cover design by Laura Furney
Text design by Daniel Pratt
10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface vii
Introduction 1
1. Andrew S. Hallidie and the Endless Wire Ropeway 7
2. Bleichert’s Double-Rope System 29
3. Construction and Operation 47
4. Great Western Tramways 65
5. Decline, Obsolescence, and Preservation 91
Notes 109
Glossary of Tramway Terms 123
Bibliography 125
Index 133
v

Preface
This project grew out of a long fascination with mining history. Since my
days in high school, I have visited and photographed ghost towns and min-
ing camps. Much of my interest also focused on railroads and their relation-
ship with mining. In the course of these journeys I took note of the ghostly
remains of several aerial tramway systems, although I really did not appreci-
ate their importance to mining history. In 1997 I became president of the
Mining History Association, and in searching around for a topic to discuss at
the annual conference, I began to explore the history of aerial tramways. As I
investigated the topic, I found that no overall history of these devices had
ever been published despite the fact that during their heyday (1890–1920),
tramways played a significant role in the operation of western mines.
As the history of a piece of technology, a number of limitations need to
be observed. While considerable engineering data on tramways exists, it is
not of much interest to the general reader and will not be detailed—this is
available in several books.
Also, tramways were built for many purposes other than mining and
existed elsewhere around the world. Although an interesting subject in their
own right, tramways located outside the western United States and Canada
or used for purposes such as logging are not discussed in detail. The focus,
then, is on tramways constructed for the purpose of mining in the western
vii
INTPRROEDFAUCCETION
portions of the Northern Hemisphere. Moreover, because literally hundreds
of these devices existed in the West, no attempt is made to provide compre-
hensive coverage of every system.
Once I launched the project, I discovered that many people were inter-
ested in the subject and were willing to share their knowledge with me. I owe
a deep debt of gratitude to many individuals, institutions, and corporations.
Among the manufacturing companies that helped with the research are Inter-
state Equipment Corporation (especially Vice President Leo J. Vogel Jr.);
Williamsport Wirerope Works, Inc.; and USX Corporation (formerly U.S.
Steel). The staffs of many libraries and archives also provided a great deal of
useful material. Of particular note are: Alaska State Library; Arizona Depart-
ment of Mines and Mineral Resources; the Arizona Collection at Arizona
State University Library; Bancroft Library; California Historical Society;
Colorado Historical Society; Denver Public Library; Eastern California Mu-
seum; University of Idaho Library; Kootenay Museum Association; Michi-
gan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Col-
lections; Mohave County Historical Society; San Juan Historical Society;
Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto; Utah State
Historical Society; and Wyoming State Archives. Thanks also go to Gary
Krahenbuhl, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Noel
Stowe, Chair of the Department of History, at Arizona State University for
their support.
Quite a number of individuals went out of their way to provide personal
help or to share information. Special thanks must go to: Bob Spude and Karl
Gurcke of the National Park Service; Douglas R. Thayer, Murray Lundberg,
Noel Kirschenbaum, David F. Myrick, Peter T. Hodge, Roger Burt, H. Mason
Coggin, Ed Hunter, Stan and Sheldon Schwedler, Glen Crandall, Lynn R.
Bailey, and Erik Nordberg. I am also deeply indebted to my graduate assis-
tant, Kathleen L. Howard, and to my good friend and fellow historian, Duane
A. Smith, for all their help.
viii
INTRODUCTION
Riding
the
High Wire
ix