blackburn49
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Copper Center, Alaska
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 | | 08/23/2008 9:31 PM |
| Posted By sschaer on 08/23/2008 5:27 AM Posted By blackburn49 on 08/21/2008 4:51 PM In that same year (1999) I had one of the very last surviving CRNW lineshacks moved from Chitina to this location.
isn't that the shack i slept in when i visited you in 2004 ?
That's the one. Still haven't replaced that roof, either.
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John J
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| | 08/24/2008 5:24 AM |
| | Another thought on crossing the driveway. Maybe go half under and half on top. IE If you going to build a 10 inch tall tunnel Put fine under and five on top. Also you could put a steel plate or grate for the roof. That way you could easlily retireve de railments and clean out unwanted guest or debirs/excessive moisture . | |
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blackburn49
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| | 08/24/2008 11:56 AM |
| Posted By John J on 08/24/2008 5:24 AM
Another thought on crossing the driveway. Maybe go half under and half on top. IE If you going to build a 10 inch tall tunnel Put fine under and five on top. Also you could put a steel plate or grate for the roof. That way you could easlily retireve de railments and clean out unwanted guest or debirs/excessive moisture .
Another possibility. This is a project that could be put into action as soon as the next two years (assuming the economy up here does not drop off the earth). | |
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blackburn49
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| | 08/24/2008 1:29 PM |
| Here is the ideal finalized layout, showing all six phases:
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blackburn49
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| | 08/24/2008 1:54 PM |
| These lines represent the long-term possiblities, should I ever choose to expand the line that far. As you can see, those possibilities, for all intents and purposes, are almost unlimited.
Some elements of the above will undoubtedly be built in the next two years since I look at the idea of crossing my driveway as a challenge worthy of the taking.
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blackburn49
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| | 08/24/2008 5:42 PM |
| Before / After:
2001:
The land had been cleared of old trailers
2008:
And replaced with overnight accommodations resembling a mining camp / small western frontier town (still in progress).
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ThinkerT
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| | 08/24/2008 5:54 PM |
| Given the cost of track these days - not to mention the cost of the supporting structure - you might be looking at taking out a second mortgage to finish phase VI. (1000+ feet of track?!?)
Also, if I'm reading the maps right, some of your future expansion would put the track literally right next to what I assume are tenant occupied dwellings.
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Given the space you have available, you might want to look into a 'larger' option - something along the lines of a 7.5 or 12 inch guage deal. Remember the old ride on train at the Palmer fairgrounds? It ended up down here on the Kenai Peninsula. | | | |
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blackburn49
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| | 08/24/2008 6:06 PM |
| Posted By ThinkerT on 08/24/2008 5:54 PM
if I'm reading the maps right, some of your future expansion would put the track literally right next to what I assume are tenant occupied dwellings.
Correct. The track closely hugs the front of the buildings, going under a ramp and two sets of stairs. Mostly it will be out of the way or otherwise almost unnoticeable. You can see the path below. Remember, all of this is quite some time off. As for the cost of track by then, I don't really want to know.
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blackburn49
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| | 08/24/2008 7:50 PM |
| The track will pass under this porch as well as the stair and ramp in the distance, carefully hugging the periphery of the building fronts. Since access to each of these structures is by means of one of these three points, this arrangement presents no particular difficulty.
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sschaer
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| | 08/25/2008 12:00 AM |
| | just out of curiousity... your overnight accommodations... guess with the current fuel prices they stay empty most of the time. | | | |
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blackburn49
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| | 08/25/2008 12:01 PM |
| The dike strongly resembles an abandoned railroad bed. It is the roughly the same width and very level except where the elements have conspired against it. Over the years, much like any unused railway right-of-way, it has become overgrown. Before it can be used for running garden track I will have to do some considerable clearing of brush.
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blackburn49
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| | 08/25/2008 4:32 PM |
| Check this out:
Historic locomotive back in Juneau
MINING: It was used in Alaska nearly a century ago, then sold.
By ERIC MORRISON Juneau Empire
Published: August 25th, 2008 01:10 AM Anchorage Daily News Last Modified: August 25th, 2008 01:38 AM
JUNEAU -- A rare electric locomotive used to extract ore from the Alaska-Gastineau mine in the early 20th century has been acquired by the Alaska State Museum. Mining historian David Stone said it is rare to have a piece of Alaska's mining history still intact after all these years.
"That fact that they weren't scrapped, thrown away or for that matter really modified where it would have taken away the historical significance of them, is just an amazing thing," he said.
"For the most part, Alaska's mining history, the equipment was scrapped and salvaged. So it's just amazing."
The locomotive was an innovative piece of technology when it was built, Stone said. "It was part of an operation that changed the course of mining history," he said.
Stone noted that the Alaska-Gastineau mine was known for its innovation in the industry and was one of the largest gold mining operations of its era. The low-cost and efficient locomotives helped the mine become a model for the industry, he said.
The locomotive hauled the ore from the mine's 13 underground levels to its processing facilities in Thane. The 18-ton locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1914 was donated by the California State Railroad Museum and arrived back in Juneau this week.
"One of the things that was very exciting about it, the locomotives that were used here are no longer in Juneau so it was a wonderful opportunity to bring back a piece of mining history," said Bruce Kato, chief curator for the Alaska State Museum.
The acquired locomotive was one of two that the Alaska-Gastineau mine sold to the Santa Cruz Portland Cement Co. in California in 1924 after a decade of use at the mine in the Sheep Creek valley south of Juneau.
They remained in operation in California until the 1970s, when they were donated to the railroad museum. "It was an innovative new locomotive in its day," he said. "It ran off electricity. It's a trolley locomotive and it pulled 40 10-ton ore cars. So it was the big ore train."
Also amazing is the amount of documentation on the electric locomotives that remains today, Stone said. Blueprints, photographs, maintenance records and other information has been preserved and will likely be on display with the locomotive at some point in the future, he said.
"They are the most well documented locomotives in the history of the state in terms of mining locomotives," Stone said.
The locomotive will be put in storage until it is decided where to display it, possibly in a planned expansion of the state museum, Kato said. The Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums recently received $7.5 million for planning and design of a new facility where the train may end up on display, he said.
"The first thing we needed to do is take the opportunity to acquire the artifact," he said.
Getting the locomotive to Alaska was no easy task, Kato and Stone each said. Lynden Transportation and Alaska Marine Lines donated shipping costs of getting the 18-ton train back to Alaska.
"We're very fortunate to have it back in Alaska," Stone said.
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blackburn49
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| | 08/25/2008 5:13 PM |
| | I would think that the above would be of some interest to somebody--enough to make a comment or several. The Gastineau was quite a mine--one of four major gold mines in the Juneau-Douglas area. This is quite a development. A few years ago, when a new operation took over the Kensington Mine--not all that far from Juneau, a locomotive was found intact underground. This, too, was shipped off to Juneau. | |
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Semper Vaporo
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Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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| | 08/25/2008 5:19 PM |
| I don't know much about mines or mining locomotives, but I fear that if somebody facing east sneezes, that loco will just be some rusty colored dust all over Canada.
At any rate, I am glad that some historical fabric is still intact and will be preserved for future generations to learn from. | |
 C. T. McCullough
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
SA #37469
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blackburn49
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| | 08/25/2008 6:02 PM |
| Posted By Semper Vaporo on 08/25/2008 5:19 PM
I don't know much about mines or mining locomotives, but I fear that if somebody facing east sneezes, that loco will just be some rusty colored dust all over Canada. At any rate, I am glad that some historical fabric is still intact and will be preserved for future generations to learn from.
Now there's a scary thought. It is an unusual-looking beast, isn't it? Anyone know anything about these electric locos? | |
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blackburn49
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Copper Center, Alaska
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| | 08/25/2008 9:06 PM |
| Posted By sschaer on 08/25/2008 12:00 AM
just out of curiousity... your overnight accommodations... guess with the current fuel prices they stay empty most of the time.
First of all, my location is off the beaten path. I have seven rooms plus the cabin, but mostly they sit empty--especially once king salmon fishing season ends. I expect the high price of gas to negatively influence tourist business even more next year because there is usually a lag time (most the trips for this last tourist season had already been planned in advance of the big jump in gasoline prices). | |
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blackburn49
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| | 08/26/2008 12:06 AM |
| Now, where was I? Oh yes. I was discussing my ongoing need for a shop, mainly for scale model (structure) construction. This one would have been ideal except it was too expensive to insulate, build a floor and add a heating system. I tried working out a deal with someone else as a joint venture on this potential shop, but to no avail. In the end the space below the Kennecott model to this day remains a 16 X 36 foot cold storage.
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blackburn49
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| | 08/26/2008 12:25 AM |
| During 2002 I used unit #6 for the shop. That year there were no buildings between it and unit #1 in the distance where I live.
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blackburn49
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| | 08/26/2008 12:31 AM |
| That was the year we built a large number of structures, some for the Chitina model, some for the McCarthy model and the entire layout for the Mother Lode mine.
Regrettably, this room was needed for other purposes. By 2003 it was no longer available. Although the space under the Kennecott model was temporarily used to do some model assembly, effectively as of 2003 I had no shop on the grounds at all. However, by that time I was tired of building models and had moved on to other things. . .
Until recently . . .
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blackburn49
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| | 08/26/2008 12:34 AM |
| Meanwhile, I should probably bump this topic back up to the top:
Has anyone any knowledge of this electric Baldwin? Any comments on the story related to it (above)?
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