Saline Valley Salt Tram: 286 Buckets on the Line!

Friends of the SALINE VALLEY SALT TRAM

www.SaltTram.blogspot.com SalineValleySaltTram@gmail.com
Salt Tram history is rapidly disappearing, and we are striving to rediscover the efforts of our forefathers in order to give proper recognition to their hopes, dreams and abundant sweat from an era that is rapidly fading from our memories. We are actively seeking out information about the mining of Salt in Saline Valley between 1903 and the 1940's, including: documents, photos, articles, stories, artifacts, etc. If you can help us out, please email us at the address above - Thank-you! --Tim and Brian Waag, the Waag brothers (aka E. Clampus Waagus).

Caution (PLEASE READ): Climbing around on the tramway is dangerous because its really old and defnitely unsafe, so don't even think about it. Shoot, just getting to it requires some perilous hiking, and if you don't believe me, just take a look at the Zig Zag Access Trail (or what's left of it). Plus, climbing on it weakens it and endangers your life. Also, the Saline Valley Salt Tram is on the National Register of Historic Places and should be treated with the respect that it deserves. What little remains is of great historic value, and should not be disturbed in any way. Heck, its probably against the law to move parts of the tram around, and certainly a crime to take home some of the few bits of it that remain (though you'd have to ask your friendly local BLM agent for details). So please treat it with the respect it deserves, so that future generations can enjoy whats left, without you messing it up. Really. Please. You can see its listing on the National Register of Historic Places at these web links:
National Register of Historic Places 1 National Register of Historic Places 2

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QUESTION 1: Find all the remaining Salt Tram Carrier Hanger Numbers

QUESTION 2: Check with the Eastern California Museum (Lone Pine, Calif.) to see how many Salt Tram Buckets/Carriers and/or Hangers are in their historical artifact yard; I believe that it is either 4 or 5 buckets withOUT hangers.

QUESTION 3: Note also that the buckets were stenciled with a number on the side, like this historical photo indicates (photo Courtesy Eastern California Museum). It remains to be seen whether the stenciled number (in paint) matches the number stamped on the hanger. We did find 1 bucket that had the original number painted on it (bucket number 109), but we haven't checked for a match with the stamped number on the hanger (yet).

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Saline Valley Salt Tram

Bucket "Carrier" Assembly Components

The Salt Tram Bucket is called a “Carrier”. The thing that attaches the bucket to the “wheels” is called a “hanger”. The thing that allows the bucket to ride on the “track cable” is called the “truck”; the Salt Tram truck consists of 2 metal wheels attached to a triangular piece of metal that itself attachs to the hanger. The round thing in the middle of the hanger is called a “friction grip”, and it allows the bucket to be attached to the “traction rope”, which is the cable that makes the bucket move along the tram line. Got it? Good. Let's take a look (click to enlarge):

Also, there's a little oval "medallion" that was originally issued on all carriers, that is a popular item for vandals, which explains why so many are missing. Its one thing to steal an 800 pound Salt Tram Carrier, and another thing to remove the "Manufactured by Trenton Iron Co., Trenton New Jersey" medallion. I don't know what they are called, so I'm calling them a "medallion" for now (don't have time to look it up, but I will). Here's what it looks like:

If you want to see where the medallion is located on the bucket, here's a good example of a carrier "medallion" that hasn't been vandalized yet, due to its awkward location!

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Saline Valley Salt Tram

In Search of the Original Friction Grips

The original "Friction Grips" on the Salt Tram Carriers were designed to hold an 800 pound bucket filled with 600 pounds of "dry" salt. They wished. Unforunately, most salt transported was of the "wet" variety weighing in at around 50% heavier when laced with water. The original grips did not hold, even though they were specially designed for the Salt Tram and its "extreme" gradients. Sadly, it took 2 years to adequately solve the problem. The new grips were also a new design, of the "Universal Wico" design. Fortunately, we have the May 1917 ASCE article to document these troubles. Having now reviewed the Inyo Register from 1910 to 1913, it remains silent as to the details of the tram problems. It only hints at the problems by indicating at the end of July, 1913, that the tram line was running, but with the buckets only "half full". Here are some excerpts from that ASCE document that explains the scenario (click to enlarge):

We are in search of both the "original" grip, and the replacement "Universal Wico" grip. We have seen many examples of the Wico grip, as that is what is on the buckets out on the line (still) today. Harder to find is an example of the "original" grip, as we don't know what they look like - however, they probably don't say "Wico" on them like the replacements do (see photo below). It is likely that the old grips are out there in the field somewhere, as we know from the Patterson Diary that many buckets fell off the line, often from great heights. It is that great height that caused them to crush upon impact, (assumedly) to be left where they fell. We need to find where they fell, and see if we can photograph the original grip.

One clue that the bucket is original is the existence of bullet holes in the bottom of the carrier. In order to facilitate draining of liquid from the wet salt, one or more holes were created in the bottom of the buckets, apparently from the dishcarge of a 45 caliber hand gun. Buckets with the "original" grips probably don't have the bullet holes in them. Here is the replacement "Universal Wico" grip:

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We recently discovered that each of the Salt Tram Buckets were numbered with a hand-stamped number. Brian and Tim decided to record as many of the numbers as possible, and where they are located. Although the number of Buckets (aka Carriers) was officially listed for the Salt Tram as 286, we know that the original friction grips failed, and new ones were designed and replaced over a 2 year time period, roughly from 1913 to 1916. We believe that the grip mechanism could be replaced without replacing the bucket and bucket hanger. However, we believe that many buckets fell off the line and smashed on the distant rocks below, thus effectively ending their lives, and requiring replacements. It is likely that the Saline Valley Salt Company anticipated such a failure, and ordered more than the 286 that ran on the line, though we have no way of knowing this without the original orders for Buckets from Trenton Iron Co. However, when the tram appears to be operational in historical photos, it seems that there are buckets offline and waiting in the wings, as in this photo below, where the young boy is repairing a bucket (offline, it would seem). Historical photo (below) Courtesy Eastern Sierra Museum (click to enlarge).

Note also that the buckets were stenciled with a painted number on the side. It remains to be seen whether the stenciled number (in paint) matches the number stamped on the hanger. We did find one bucket that had the original number painted on it (bucket number 109), but we haven't checked for a match with the stamped number on it's hanger (yet). Bucket number 47 on the line near the Discharge Station (near Swansea). Historical photo (below) Courtesy Eastern Sierra Museum (click to enlarge).

Update: April, 2010:
A friend recently trekked out to Saline Valley, and found this bucket, only the second carrier that has been found with the number still stenciled on it. Ironically, it appears that it MAY be the bucket that is shown in the photo above, though our friend bets that the bucket below is numbered 17, and not 47. Pretty cool find!

Wide angle view of the bucket:

Close up of same bucket: Number 47 or 17?

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Below is a photo of a carrier hanger located around Control Station 4, numbered 194 (click on photo to enlarge).

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Below is the start of our bucket numbering and tracking table. In our May "Discovery Trip" (not a Research, oh no) of the Saline Valley Salt Tram, we will endeavor to add to this (rather meager) list.

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Numbered Hanger/Bucket No. - Location
• 107 - Southern Inyo Museum yard (Lone Pine, Calif.)
• 194 - Control Station 4

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• 107 - Southern Inyo Museum yard (Lone Pine, Calif.)

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• 194 - Control Station 4

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Alas, there are buckets/carriers without hangers (where the bucket numbers are located), and hangers with illegible numbers, as well as bucket trucks (trucks are what the 2 wheels that run on the track cable are called) without hangers or buckets/carriers, so we'll keep track of those also. We'll start with some easy ones that we recently discovered.

Bucket Parts Location - What's There?
• Eastern California Museum (Lone Pine, Calif.) - 4 or 5 buckets withOUT hangers (I'll have to check on this one for sure)
• Maturango Museum yard (Ridgecrest, Calif.) - 1 bucket/carrier with no hanger (need to get a photo of this one)

Below is a piece of a hanger that is misshapen (perhaps from impact with the ground from falling off the tramway?), and an example of the type of bucket parts that are tracked in this section. It is approximately located below (west) of Control Station 4.