The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1914-11-19


some points, picturesque private rail- /
road in the United States is 2O-mile I
line from Bingham canyon in the
Oquirrh mountains in Utah, to Car /
field. a smelter town on the shores OF
the Great Salt Lake. The cost of that
short piece of line was over $S,OOO,OOO.
One-half mile alone called for s5OO,OOO
expenditure.
ANY description of this railroad
would be unjust and inadequate with
out the use of superlatives. 1t was
built by the Utah Copper company TO
carry ore from the greatest open mine
/ in the world-not even excepting that
at Kimberly, in South Afrlca-to the
greatest copper smelter in the United
States. 1t brings down over 25,0oo
tons of porphyry ore every day, from
which is recovered 200 ounces of gold,
1000 ounces of silver and 100000
ipounds of copper, all having an ag-
gregate value of $4,000. That is the
daily average.
/ WHEN lIlC IOdu was III 81 CPNANNSN
1.-THE locomotives were the heaviest, and
most powerful ever built for any rail-
road in the country They are Mallet
articulated compounds, 80 feet s
inches long, $4,000 pounds in total
weight, with weight on the drivers OF
100000 pounds. They have two cylin-
ders on each side, high and low press
ure, each coupled to four driving
Wheels-16 in all.
The southern terminus of the road
lis without parallel in the country
, being over 1000 feet up the side of one
J of the steepest, ruggedest, widest
J mountains in the intermountain re-
! gion. The town of Bingham lies al
; the base of that mountain, and al
/ passengers have to reach the station
> by an inclined electric railway OF
) climb $500 wooden steps.
0 Greatest Open Mine.
. Railroads through mountain can
( Iyons are not uncommon in the ia
5 west, as canyons are chosen becaus
y they are the natural openings acros
q and over stupendous ranges. But thi
0 road across the OQuirrh mountains i
Q different The mining operations a
2 Bingham consist in demolishing
i 20OO-foo mountain; stripping off tn
2 or feet of surface debris, blastin
y down the gigantic masses of ore an
y steam shovelling it onto cars whic
run on tracks terraced around tina
10 mountain There are 81 such terrace
" and the total length of standard gaug
"a tracks on them is over so miles
20 The steam shovels are, and hav
20 been operating at 1900 feet above tn
~ level of the canyon bed. Furthermor
;S If the road had been built along ths
DO canyon It would have had to follow in
DO direct windings and some wicke
9V grades, and it's length would hay
"a been 80 miles. But the managing er
so gineer, Daniel C. lacking, said: 1--WE
~ do our loading 600 or 500 feet up tt
"a mountaniside, thus getting a bett'
90 down grade for the loaded cars a
so along the trip. Well ignore the car
W yon; we'll run along the sides of Il
90 mountains when we can; tunn
25 through when we have to and brids
rs the cross canyons and gulches if v
90 must"
81 Grade, Curves, Tunnels, Bridges.
90 In carrying out this audacious pr
o. ject it was found that there was n
go 100 yards of level ground in the 2
70 mile stretch. The grade for most
90 the way is rs or 1872 feet in a mi
$50 although there are several poin
25 where the grade runs to 4 per Ger
az There are horseshoe curves, cor
o. screw curves, and just plain curve
rs ranging from 20 per cent down to
90 per cent There are four tunnels
40 6S2, 754, 2079 and 1880 feet in lengt
90 and there are numerous steel viaduc
so the longest being $50 feet and t
NY highest 245 feet.
he The ore cars are handled around t
lrt mountain by switching engines, sor
he of the Shay geared engines being us
ne and the trains are made up on t
TO- 1000-foot level, above the canyon. T
ng cars are of steel, self dumping, of 6
ton capacity, and 40 cars-sometim
- 60 make the train, a load of "a
: At tons. Yet, with that great load, t
throttle is scarcely open except
the start and the pull-in at the gre
crushing mills; the steady down gra
Dr. carrying that ore for the full 20 mil
we by gravity. The steam monsters a
* necessary only to haul the empti
er back to the mine.
I'VE At the Bingham station two ca
counter balancing each other are o
ry Grated by an electric cable system
-- the inclined railway, for the use
passengers and express. Hea
freight. provisions and supplies, a
err carried a mile beyond the station
eir where the road meets the sharply q
,Ile cending canyon bed, and are there u
AZ oaded onto wagons for delivery,
hat A Spectacular Ride.
~, -, It Is most spectacular ride oN
ax this road; across, around and throu
De- those 20 miles of rugged hoary mou
,r tains, rearing 1000, 5000 and 1000 f,
and at most points crowding each OF
nv. err so close that many gulches a