Mohave County miner., 1910-02-19
The Masootte Tunnel, Utah.

in use now, is query that arises each winter season. It is no small problem for the Belt line, with its grades and the winter snows to contend with, to take care of that camp. There are half dozen sites that could be reach ed by tunnels, through which the ore could be transported to the railway and then to the valley smelters. Looking into the future, and doubtless with the idea of affOrding a sure, con- stant and cheaper transportation for the properties which will be tapped, the Mascotte and the Utah Metals Co. tunnels are projected.
 The Masco,te tunnel is owned and operated by the Bingham Central Railway Co.,, and primarily was built to afford transportation of the Ohio Copper Co.'S ore to it's new mill, and without which, it is doubtful if the Ohio could operate at a satisfactory profit. The portal Of this tunnel is on the Lark side of the range. In addi- tiOn 10 being a transportation tunnel it drains the territory it taps, furnish ing ample water for the full operation of the Ohio Copper Co.'S mill. Being so closely identified with the Ohio, the tunnel or railway controlling same, has scarcely been considered apart from the mining company, and its management is under the same local supervision as that of the Ohio Colin Mcintosh.
 The tunnel is single tracked, and this fact has caused a belief that 1t could not take care of additional traffic, aud even In some quarters, that it could not take care of all of the re- euirements of the Ohio. If require ments warrant, parallel tunnel can be driven more quickly, and with less expense than to enlarge the present one to a double track.
 The tunnel is about 14, 800 it. long, it being completed to a point about 300 1t. beyond the collar of the Ohio shaft. From the portal to the grade summit the distance is about 2 ,5OO It., and to this point grade of l-2 of per cent. is maintained. From this grade point to the prop sed terminal of the tun- nel, which is on the TOoele side of the range, the same grade is to be main- tained. The proposed terminal will be within one half mile of the Inter- national Shelter, now building at Tooele City. The elevation of the ter minal Portal D) will be about 5572 ft., which will be about 66 it. higher than that of the ore bins of the I. s. Ky. Co.,, at the shelter. Tapping as the tunnel does such a vast area of the inning country of the camp, and being close to much other valuable territory, it can be readily seen what an advan- tage could be secured by operating through it, and the absolute certainty of regular transportation of ores. in all seasons, to this shelter, by those companies who have or may have con- tracts with 1t.
 The tunnel is equipped with a splen- did electric haulage system, and the trains are operated on a schedule in the same manner as if it were a sur face railroad, IS round trips being made per day. At present a train consists of one IO-ton General Electric locomotive, with l5 fve-ton cars. This gives a daily haulage capacity of 1910 tons per train. Four trains per day can be easily operated to the ore bins of the Onio inside the mines at the tunnel level. As many more trains to other properties could be handled by starting them say two min utes apart after the Ohio trains, and these could be switched to their re- spective destinations at the points where the properties connect with the Mascotte tunnel. The company has already planned to double the carry ing capacity by making trains of 30 cars, carrying l50 tons per trip, and for the equipment of these trains have ordered from the Westinghouse Co. tandem electric locomotive, each "tandem" of a 2O-ton capacity. This will, with two trains per day enable the Ohio to deliver 54OO tons to its mill. It will also be seen what the haulage capacity per day, through a single track tunnel, can be brought up to. It is not overstating to say that, under the system of operation as