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John J, I did not forget your question: "Speaking of Mines. When was the last time any one has been down in the Tunnels of the old copper Mine? Most of them should have caved in by now maybe?"
I was trying to decide what to do with this question. It seemed best to wait until Shad restored our new forum. We did not have a long wait, did we?
Well, you know me. I don't like to start a thread unless I'm going to go somewhere with it. I am one of those "handful" of MLS members who creates "substantial" threads. Your question warrants more than a single one or two sentence response. And so it will be. Those not interested in history need read no further. You will not learn much about model trains or structures in this thread--although I have some great historic prototypes coming up. After all, I probably have the largest collection of historic Kennecott photos to be found anywhere.
I have written extensively about Kennecott, the Copper River & Northwestern Railway, and my Phase I CRNW layout. But I have not adquately covered the mines themselves.
I have noted that more than once you, John J, have expressed an interest in the old Kennecott minesite(s) that exist here in Alaska, so I will provide you and whoever else might be interested some background on this, one of the most fascinating of historic western mines for any number of reasons.
Some of you will recall that Kennecott was an interior group of mines that was only made possible by the construction of a 195-mile standard gauge railroad. This was the Copper River & Northwestern Railway, which operated concurrent to the mine from 1911 until the mine closing in 1938. The CRNW, while primarily an ore-hauler and supply line to the mill site, also operated as a common-carrier, providing freight and passenger service to the territories it opened up from the port of Cordova through the Bremner gold mining district, to Chitina and McCarthy and a host of other places. It was the first Alaskan railroad to breach the Alaskan interior from an ocean port. And, like the White Pass & Yukon, the narrow gauge which entered the Canadian interior through an Alaskan port, this one was built by the same contractor and overseen by the same engineer. Both represented major engineering achievements, but the CR&NW more so because the obstacles faced by the latter line were far more difficult, even considered impossible by some.
But this is not a railroad thread. It is about the historic mines themselves--the richest high-grade copper ore veins ever found to this day--and the ones which made Kennecott a household name.
The abandoned Kennecott mill site in 1982 with Bonanza Ridge in the background. Click to view this in a much larger size.
I was trying to decide what to do with this question. It seemed best to wait until Shad restored our new forum. We did not have a long wait, did we?
Well, you know me. I don't like to start a thread unless I'm going to go somewhere with it. I am one of those "handful" of MLS members who creates "substantial" threads. Your question warrants more than a single one or two sentence response. And so it will be. Those not interested in history need read no further. You will not learn much about model trains or structures in this thread--although I have some great historic prototypes coming up. After all, I probably have the largest collection of historic Kennecott photos to be found anywhere.
I have written extensively about Kennecott, the Copper River & Northwestern Railway, and my Phase I CRNW layout. But I have not adquately covered the mines themselves.
I have noted that more than once you, John J, have expressed an interest in the old Kennecott minesite(s) that exist here in Alaska, so I will provide you and whoever else might be interested some background on this, one of the most fascinating of historic western mines for any number of reasons.
Some of you will recall that Kennecott was an interior group of mines that was only made possible by the construction of a 195-mile standard gauge railroad. This was the Copper River & Northwestern Railway, which operated concurrent to the mine from 1911 until the mine closing in 1938. The CRNW, while primarily an ore-hauler and supply line to the mill site, also operated as a common-carrier, providing freight and passenger service to the territories it opened up from the port of Cordova through the Bremner gold mining district, to Chitina and McCarthy and a host of other places. It was the first Alaskan railroad to breach the Alaskan interior from an ocean port. And, like the White Pass & Yukon, the narrow gauge which entered the Canadian interior through an Alaskan port, this one was built by the same contractor and overseen by the same engineer. Both represented major engineering achievements, but the CR&NW more so because the obstacles faced by the latter line were far more difficult, even considered impossible by some.
But this is not a railroad thread. It is about the historic mines themselves--the richest high-grade copper ore veins ever found to this day--and the ones which made Kennecott a household name.
