Saline Valley Salt Tram: March 2010

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Salt Lake with No Name?

Friends of the SALINE VALLEY SALT TRAM

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:
http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/ca/Inyo/state.html
http://www.noehill.com/inyo/nat1974000514.asp

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QUESTION 1: What would it take to give the salt-filled expanse in Saline Valley a real name (it certainly deserves one)? The topo and other maps just say "Salt Lake" (see below - click to enlarge).

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Interesting fact: the Salt Lake in SV does NOT have a name, that I can tell (upon reconsideration, perhaps its name is "Salt Lake"?; its kind of like the lake where I live that is called "Laguna Lake", which in translation from Spanish to English means "Lake Lake"!). I would like to see what it takes to get it named, perhaps something like "White's Salt Lake" in honor of White Smith, longtime Bishop attorney and President of the Saline Valley Salt Company, starting in 1910, and builder of the Saline Valley Salt Tram. Maybe the spring-filled marsh immediately to the west of the Salt Lake could be called Hunter Marsh, since its fed by water from Hunter Canyon and Spring. Also, Probably impossible, but since it does NOT currently have a name, just maybe...

(click on map to enlarge)

Greg Haverstock of Bishop BLM kindly informed me that naming geological formations and structures is done under the auspices of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, and that more information can be found at (click on link): How to Name Stuff

Key information from the link above are these 2 (somewhat conflicting in the case of the Salt Lake) paragraphs:

1. Present Day Local Usage: One of the long-standing principles of the BGN is recognition of present-day local usage. And, as in the above case, local usage may change. The Cascade Dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1948; early maps labeled the reservoir the "Cascade Dam Reservoir." But by the mid-1950s, the name "Cascade Reservoir" had come into common use. Forty years later, with the renaming of an area park Lake Cascade State Park, local usage has evolved so that the name "Lake Cascade" now makes more sense. The Domestic Names Committee agreed and voted to approve the change. Tim's comment: In the case of the Salt Lake, I'm not sure what anybody actually calls it, if they do at all; I have heard it called "The Saline Lake" by some folks in our group, however.

2. Naming After Long Deceased Individuals who were Long Associated with the Feature: Four other cases on the docket illustrated another board principle: naming previously unnamed domestic geographic features after deceased individuals long associated with the site, when such names are recommended by local authorities. Thus the committee approved the naming of a lagoon and a bay in Kachemak Bay State Park in Alaska after two individuals who had long lived in the area. In both cases, the recommendation was originally made by a local citizen, the state park agreed and the Alaska State Board on Geographic Names concurred. And two previously unnamed features in Florida are now officially known as "Barley Basin" and "Shands Key" as a result of the committee's action in June. Tim's Comment: This is a more fitting category for the possible naming of the Salt Lake.

Other information from the link: The 600th meeting of the Domestic Names Committee of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names took place in the summer of 2009. Created in 1947, when the Board on Geographic Names was reorganized, the committee meets monthly and is responsible for standardizing the names of places, features and areas within the 50 states and in other areas under the sovereignty of the United States. The systematic standardization of geographic names in the United States began late in the 19th century. With the surge of mapping and scientific reporting associated with the exploration, mining and settlement of the Western territories following the Civil War, it became clear that mapmakers and scientists needed to have a uniform, nonconflicting geographical nomenclature in place to avoid confusion among places and names.

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click to go to SALT TRAM HOME

Friday, March 26, 2010

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.

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click to go to SALT TRAM HOME

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Historic Salt: Inyo Register 3/11/10

Friends of the SALINE VALLEY SALT TRAM

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Check out the INYO REGISTER

The Inyo Register of Bishop, California ran this article on March 11, 2010 by Eastern California Museum Director Jon Klusmore, former report for the paper. The article was helpful in promoting the Saturday March 13, 2010 Friends of Eastern California Museum Annual Membership Dinner (details to follow).

For more information on the meeting, see also:

March 13, 2010 Friends of ECM Meeting

Click on article so that you can read it in a larger format.

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Presentation to the Eastern California Museum
March 13, 2010
Friends of the Saline Valley Salt Tram
Below: outline notes of slides from Tim's portion of presentation (basically, the beginning and the ending). We will provide photos to go with the slide descriptions when we can. It was requested that
we post our slide show at our website, and we shall! But for now, you get the outline.

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SLIDE 1: Saline Valley Salt Tram Research Project
(leave this slide up BEFORE presentation begins)

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SLIDE 2: Good Evening & Thanks for Inviting Us!
• we are Brian and Tim Waag
• Thank-You to ECM and Staff (Jon Klusmire, Beth Porter, Roberta, Donna)
• During our presentation, please feel free to ask questions

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SLIDE 3: Friends of Eastern California Museum
Annual Fundraiser Dinner
March 13, 2010
• basic presentation has 3 parts
•Part I – In the Beginning, there was Salt!
•Part II – Exploring the Salt Tram Route
•Part III – Conclusion, Puzzles & Questions
• hard to cram in anything of interest in an hour
• tim: 1st & 3rd part – Brian has the fun part – our 3 day hike of the salt tram route

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SLIDE 4: All Historical Photos Courtesy of the
Eastern California Museum

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SLIDE 5: The Eastern California Museum Association was Formed in 1928
• formed to: Collect, Protect and Preserve Natural and Historic features in Eastern Calif.
• that sums up our interest in the Salt Tram:
• to protect and preserve a significant piece of Eastern Calif. History: the Salt Tram
• For instance, this photo shows one of 2 Temporary Tramways built to build the Salt Tram and now long gone –but we want it’s existence preserved in history through our efforts

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SLIDE 6: What is the Salt Tram?
• The Saline Valley Salt Tram was constructed between 1911 and 1913 by the Saline Valley Salt Company, with the tramway designed by Trenton Iron Works in Trenton, New Jersey, using a patented Trenton-Bleichart tram design of the Continuous, Bicable variety with 5 independent tram sections
• Salt was collected in evaporative ponds at the Salt Lake in Saline Valley, loaded into carrier buckets, and trammed up the east side of the Inyo Mountains to the summit, then down the west side to the Discharge Station near Swansea near the shore of Owens Lake, running a grand total of 13.5 miles
• It is not the longest tram in the world, or the highest, or with the highest capacity, but it is the largest tramway in the world to start at the bottom of a major mountain range and go up to the summit and down the other side!
• One of the most impressive structures every to have been built in the greater Death Valley area

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SLIDE 7: Caution
Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974
No Climbing and No Taking!
• The usual disclaimers: The existing tram structures are old and dangerous, as well as protected by law, so don’t climb on them or cart them away (enough of that has been done already)
• The Saline Valley Salt Tram was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, as a Structure with Significance in Architecture, Industry, Engineering, and Transportation, and “We Agree”!
• shown (left): parking brake for the salt tram (screw type designed to apply the brakes S-L-O-W-L-Y!
• shown (right) westside tower – still intact
• The usual disclaimers: The existing tram structures are old and dangerous, as well as protected by law, so don’t climb on them or cart them away (enough of that has been done already)
• The Saline Valley Salt Tram was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, as a Structure with Significance in Architecture, Industry, Engineering, and Transportation, and “We Agree”!

Caution (PLEASE READ): Climbing around on the tramway is dangerous because its really old and definetly 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.

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SLIDE 8: Swansea Grade in 2004
• Brian and I first encountered the Salt Tram on a 4x4 trip to the Inyos in 2004; Driving up the Swansea Grade, we encountered something unexpected: huge wood towers, surely old, but STILL towering above our rugged dirt road; Naturally, we were curious, and got out of our vehicles to investigate; little did we know that day would lead to the “Saline Valley Salt Tram Research Project”!
• We would find out that this mammoth endeavor was rich in history and the struggle of man to overcome environmental obstacles at great cost in money, time, engineering and energy

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SLIDE 9: In the Beginning, There Was Salt!
White Smith at the Conn-Trudo Borax Works
Salt Lake
• shown (Left) We don’t know if any of these men at the Salt Lake are White Smith, since we don’t yet know what he looks like! We need your help!
• shown (Right) Saline Valley and its Salt Lake full of water in the winter and spring
• In the 1880’s, Bishop Attorney White Smith began work as a teamster at the Conn-Trudo Borax Works within a stones throw of Saline Valley’s Salt Lake.

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SLIDE 10: Saline Valley Salt Company –
Early Milestones (1 of 2)
• In 1903, the Saline Valley Salt Company was incorporated in Arizona with L. Borland as President
• Mr. Borland promptly died in 1905, and SVSC came under the leadership of White Smith

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SLIDE 11: Saline Valley Salt Company –
Early Milestones (1 of 2)
• November, 1910, the first in a series of ads appeared in the Inyo Independent offering Stock for Sale
• March 1911 surveys were run and a route selected
• September, 1911, construction of the tram begins
• July, 1913, the first bucket of Salt is trammed over the Inyos
• Advertisement for Attorney of White Smith, which ran regularly in the Inyo Register

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SLIDE 12:
Salt Tram Route Survey (ASCE 1917)

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SLIDE 13:
Salt Tram – Actual Route (National Geographic Topo Software)

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SLIDE 14 - 36:
Part II: Exploring the Salt Tram Route (Brian's slides).

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SLIDE 37: Part 3 of 3: Conclusions and Questions
• San Lucas Canyon: road believed to have been built in 1926 in conjunction with the Sierra Salt Co. and Inyo County. Believe the road was open only until the 1940’s

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SLIDE 38:
The Salt Tram’s Ultimate Demise
• Delay caused by defective friction grips created a mortal wound
• Tram changed ownership multiple times (always in Financial Difficulty)
• Salt is a cheap commodity, and got cheaper during the depression
• Operation and Maintenance of the Salt Tram just too expensive

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SLIDE 39: Saline Valley Salt Tram Research Project Objectives
• Document the remains “on the ground” for the BLM archaeological GPS database
• Enhance Eastern California Museum’s Salt Tram Photo, History & Artifact set (if its not too late already)
• Identify firsthand recollections and photos that still remain
• Product: Salt Tram book
• Product: Salt Tram Research Database

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SLIDE 40: Puzzles Remaining
Research Puzzles
• 100’s of Small Puzzles (Resolving Historical Inconsistencies)
• Go-Devil Route from Summit to Control Station 2
• Locate Surviving Engineering Plans & Drawings
• Missing Photos (Tramway camp, White Smith, Discharge Station Interior, etc.)
• Identify Electricity Source
• Untangling Station Numbers
• Operation of Failed and Replacement Carrier Grips

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SLIDE 41: Puzzles Solved
Research Puzzles
Numerous Research Puzzles Solved
• Location of “Old Charcoal Road”
• Location of “Horse Camp”
• Pack train trail location on the Roadless Eastern Slope
• Dozen’s of Small Puzzles Solved

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SLIDE 42: There is more Salt Tram History Out There!
• example: Power poles from CS 1 to Salt Lake
• example: John from Keeler (Natural Soda Products Company)

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SLIDE 43:
Share or Donate Salt Tram History
…to the Eastern California Museum
• Continuing to discover Salt Tram history – You Can Help
• Photos (including later photos), Stories, Artifacts,
• Example: Henry Clifton Patterson Diary (Courtesy of Patterson Family, Bishop, Calif.)

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SLIDE 44:
Ongoing Salt Tram Research
• “On-the-Ground” Research Trip: May 2010
• www.SaltTram.blogspot.com

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SLIDE 45: Keep up phone presentation is done
• Station 14

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March 13, 2010 Meeting Report:

The meeting was well attended (see photos below), with about 120 people nearly filling up the meeting room at the local school. Our presentation lasted about an hour, with Tim doing the first 15 minutes, Brian doing the middle half hour, and Tim finishing it up and taking numerous questions from the audience. Unfortunately, the screen was small and somewhat blurry for the large crowd, but we did the best that we could. Tim ran into a problem that he had never encountered before - with my glasses on, I could read the PowerPoint slides on the screen, but not my notes, and vice-versa. That caused my to be off my game initially, but then decided to ignore the notes and follow the screen and it went better. Brian did his usual great job of his half hour of the presentation, where he detailed our 3 day end-to-end hike of the Salt Tram for our first time in October of 2006.

We were honored to have the Patterson family in attendance, including Fred Patterson, son of the Salt Tram Diarist, Henry Clifton "Cliff" Patterson (see Patterson Diary and Patterson Diary Transcription). Tim and Brian presented Jon Klusmire, Director of the Eastern California Museum, with a copy of a printed book of the Salt Tram Diary, at the end of the presentation. As our highlight of the night, we presented Fred Patterson with a copy of his Dad Cliff's diary as well.

Tim poses with the salt tram diary that was presented at the meeting (click to enlarge):

A few photos from the 3/13/10 presentation.

Longtime Waag Brothers Tim and Brian, ready to give their presentation (click to enlarge):

Tim talking in front of a packed house (click to enlarge):

Tim begins the PowerPoint presentation on the Salt Tram (click to enlarge):

Patterson Family: son Fred at Far Left (click to enlarge):

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click to go to SALT TRAM HOME

Friday, March 5, 2010

Evaluating Utah Tramways: Breakthrough 4/9/10!

Friends of the SALINE VALLEY SALT TRAM

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QUESTION 1: Find the reference in the periodical that indicates that Saline Valley Salt Tram representatives were traveling to Utah to examine Trenton Iron Company tramways, that were likely to be most similar to the Salt Tram, as the tramways are described as being built in mountainous terrain. DONE (see below).

QUESTION 2: Collect historical information on the Utah tramways built by Trenton Iron Company that were most likely to be the ones visited and reviewed by Saline Valley Salt Tram representatives; check and see if these 2 tramways appear in Dr. Trennert's tramway book! Done! (see below).

QUESTION 3: Investigate the Dayton, Nevada tramway that is referenced in the Inyo Register's February 9, 1911 article below. Dr. Trennert, maybe you could help us out on this one?

QUESTION 4: If the Bingham, Utah tramway buckets carried more weight than the Salt Tram (1,220 pounds of ore per bucket vs. 600 for the Salt Tram), and carried it over steeper terrain, then how come the friction grips on the Utah tram held the load, and those on the Salt Tram did not? Remember that when the Salt Tram grips failed, it took TWO FULL YEARS to design a NEW GRIP that would work? Why not use the grips that the Trenton Iron Co. used on the Bingham tramway instead?????

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Salt Tram Engineeers Travel to Utah
In the periodical search, we found a reference to Saline Valley Salt Tram engineers traveling to Utah to look at tramways in operation there that were built by the Trenton Iron Company, the same company that ended up designing and building the Salt Tram.

In Dr. Robert Trennert's famous tramway book, "Riding the High Wire: Aerial Mine Tramways in the West", page 74, (University Press of Colorado, Copyright 2001), he discusses tramways in Utah that were built by Trenton Iron Co. A few quotes from his book (highly recommended, by the way!):

Aerial tramways were not nearly as numerous in Utah, although several notable examples were built...Between 1898 and 1910 [dates contemporaneous to the Salt Trams inception and design evaluation], the Trenton Iron Company built 4 different tramways to move copper ores from the various mines to local smelters. As would be amply demonstrated with these applications, in mountainous country [like where the Salt Tram was built], tramways would prove more economical than surface rail lines [i.e., railroads] which "could only be built along a circuitous route, involving great expense for grading and trestlework."

This last quote was referenced in Dr. Trennert's book to: William Hewitt, "Aerial Tramways of Bingham Canyon, Utah", Mining and Engineering World, (September 7, 1912): page 435.

Here is a photo from a trip we took with Lewis and Mike to Westside Lumber in May 2009. The timbering operation used 3 major trestles for its trains to cross the canyon (and creek) watersheds, which are nowhere near as large or as deep as those of Daisy Canyon and the Inyos:

Bingham, Utah Tramway: According to Dr. Trennert's book, on page 75, "the Bingham Canyon tramway [was the one that] attracted the most attention ... the 1910 line that replaced the original Highland Boy tramway. This mammoth system ran from the Utah Consolidated Mining Company's Highland Boy Mine to the new ... Smelting and Refining ... plant at Tooele, a distance of over 4 miles. Because of its great length, the line was divided into 3 sections [The Saline Valley Salt Tram was divided into 5 sections]. Altogether, the tram system required 80 substantial wooden towers set on concrete piers, 2 control stations, 6 tension stations, and one rail station...Each control station housed a 100 horsepower GE induction motor for starting the line in motion."

Obviously, the Bingham Canyon tramway has much complexity in common with the Saline Valley Salt Tram, and was built in 1910, probably representing Trention Iron Company's state-of-the-art in tramway construction, and would be the best candidate for Saline Valley Salt Tram folks to travel to Utah and take a look at its impressive mountainous operations.

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Update: April 9, 2010! Inyo Register comes through!
February 9, 1911 Inyo Register Article:
Click on image below to enlarge:

In regard to the above article, I really liked the little drawing in Chalfant's fine little newspaper of how the tramway stations work. That is, it gives a little insight into how the track cable (or carrying cable) is not a continuous loop cable, and is broken up into many segments, even into segments of different size wire rope! Here's a blow-up of that simple but effective graphic from above (click to enlarge):

W. H. Leffingwell, E. E. Smith (Eugene Smith - White Smith's brother), and N. J. Cooley (incorrectly spelled "Cooely" in the article above) returned from inspecting tramays in Dayton, Nevada and Bingham, Utah. The Utah tram served the Utah Consolidated Mine, which used a tram to transport ore from the mine to the smelter, and was the most like the tramway to be built to transport Salt out of Saline Valley. The Utah tram carried buckets up 1,450 feet of elevation gain in a mere 4,400 feet of length, then upon passing the high point, dropped the buckets 2,700 feet to the smelter at Tooele. This tramway had buckets that carried 1,220 pounds of ore at 3 buckets per minute, while the Salt Tram would only be carrying 600 pounds of salt (not 700 like the article above states), with 1 bucket arriving approximately every minute.

Bingham, Utah Tramway: Since we (correctly) guessed that our Salt Tram schemers visited the Bingham Tramway (as it most resembled what the Salt Tram would be built to tackle), the Bingham tram is described above (from our first post where I guessed correctly). Thanks, Dr. Trennert, for including this tram in your book - to make our job a little easier (maybe you could research the Dayton, Nevada Tramway below - the one where information is scarce?).

Dayton, Nevada Tramway (junk I found on the internet that might be the tramway that is referred to in the article above; there's not much info on the internet about this tram, and even the Inyo Register doesn't talk about it in their article above - only the Bingham, Utah tram): Dayton State Park is located along U.S. Highway 50; 12 miles east of Carson City on what used to be the north edge of Dayton, Nevada. The edge of the Town of Dayton has extended significantly to the north and east. The Park’s 152 acres covers the SE ¼ of Section 14, T16N, R21E along the base of Flowery Ridge. Elevations range from 4323 feet at the Carson River to 4547 feet on the higher areas above the Rock Point Mill Site. The Rock Point mill was often forced into durations of inactivity due to the character of the mining industry. In 1893, the C&C RR removed its spur track. In 1898, Herman Davis of Dayton bought the mill and operated it as the Nevada Reduction Works. Davis’ Mill worked nearly all of the tailings in the vicinity. In the early 1900’s, some of the first ore from the new camp at Tonopah was processed through the mill and reworked in the leaching plant for their remaining values. The reduction works burned down on May 3, 1909. The Lyon County sheriff temporarily took ownership, and in 1912, Mr. Hotaling bought and rebuilt the plant as a 40 stamp mill known as the Nevada Mining, Reduction and Power Company. In addition to necessary buildings, the mill operated an aerial tramway to transport ore for the Hayward Mine in Silver City. A tram has been built to the Hayward mine in Silver City five miles distant. This is the third reincarnation of the Rock Point Mill on the original site of 1861. Unfortunately, Capt. Davis severed his connection with the company in 1910 and removed to Reno. He is a live, progressive man and to him Dayton owes much of its business prosperity for the last twenty years.

About the cast of characters that investigated the tramways in Dayton, Nevada and Bingham, Utah:

W. H. Leffingwell: Am. Soc. C. E. Chief Engineer (Doc02: ASCE 1917), Chief Engineer of the Mono Power Company (4/21/1911 Inyo Independent), Sales Agent for Saline Valley Salt (series of 3 ads in the Inyo Register and Inyo Independent in November, 1910).

E. (Eugene) E. Smith: Smith, E. E. – Director (6/23/1911 Inyo Independent); brother of White Smith.

N. J. Cooley: Director (6/23/1911 Inyo Independent) - Finance and Executive Committee (6/23/1911 Inyo Independent), County Supervisor (Inyo Independent – date?)

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Saline Valley Salt Tram

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Salt Lake with No Name?

Friday, March 26, 2010

286 Buckets on the Line!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Historic Salt: Inyo Register 3/11/10

Friday, March 5, 2010

Evaluating Utah Tramways: Breakthrough 4/9/10!

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