Review by Ed Quillen
Mining history – November 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine
Riding the High Wire – Aerial Mine Tramways in the West
by Robert A. Trennert
Published in 2001 by University Press of Colorado
ISBN 0-87081-631-4
EVERY SO OFTEN, when you’re wandering around the mountains where there are old mines, you see the remnants of towers. The ruins aren’t mere poles for power lines, but are instead substantial timbers, and they’re in a row down the hillside.
Those are the remains of aerial tramways — the ancestors of modern ski lifts. Instead of hauling skiers up the hillside, these generally hauled ore down in buckets while carrying dynamite and timbers (and people) up the hill.
As author Robert A. Trennert explains, mining is about moving rock, and profitable mining means cutting the cost of getting ore from mine to mill. Ore had to be shoveled into and out of wagons, which meant substantial labor expense, as well as the tending of draft animals.
Railroads can move heavy stuff cheaply, but the construction costs are substantial (especially on a steep mountainside requiring switchbacks), and the tracks can be blocked by snow and rockslides.
Thus the development of the aerial tramway, with the buckets riding on steel cables well above the ground, beyond the reach of snow and minor rockslides. The tramways weren’t perfect — cables could break or jump their sheaves, and the towers required constant inspection and maintenance.
But once they were working, they worked pretty well, and some provided a useful byproduct — electricity generated by the force of the descending ore.
Riding the High Wire traces these transportation systems from the invention of wire rope in the 1830s and the development of aerial trams in the 1870s to serve the mines of the Sierras in California and Nevada.
THE TECHNOLOGY quickly moved to Colorado, primarily the rugged San Juans, and entrepreneurs continued to improve it, as with twin-cable systems to handle heavier loads, and auto-dump buckets.
Trennert writes with a scholarly yet accessible style; the book seemed a bit dry, but it was always clear, and it’s well-illustrated with period drawings and photographs. His research is thorough, and it’s punctuated with anecdotes:
“In a more humorous situation regarding the Shenandoah Dives tramway, a prostitute from nearby Silverton managed to jump in a bucket and head for the mine and its nearby bunkhouse, where many single miners awaited her arrival. Fearing a riot among his workers, the mine superintendent, who learned what was happening, arranged for the brakes to be applied as the lady neared the top, dumping her into a snowbank. She was picked up by mine officials, dusted off, and put on a return bucket, literally ridden out of town on a wire.”
Tramways thrived from 1900 to the 1920s when low metal prices forced many mines to close, and those that stayed in operation often switched to trucks or conveyor systems. Tramways worked well for high-grade ores, but weren’t economical for the large low-grade deposits that dominate modern mining.
Even so, some were built as late as the 1950s, including one at the Grand Canyon to haul bat guano up to the rim from a cave near the river. The guano was used to make fertilizer.
This book won’t add much to the lore of mining in Central Colorado because it doesn’t specifically mention any tramways in our part of the world. One reason is that our biggest mining district, Leadville, was so well served by railroads that aerial trams were never a major factor there.
However, I’ve seen the ruins of an old tramway above Garfield, I’ve heard about one that ran over the ridge to haul ore from Bonanza to a railhead spur from the Marshall Pass railroad line, and on a hike last summer I saw the tramway cables still suspended from the bullwheel on the banks of Silver Creek to the old Kismuth Mine high on the hillside.
So they’re around this area, even though, as Trennert observes, they’re decaying and nobody makes much of an effort at historic preservation.
That’s one reason why a book like this is needed, and we’re fortunate that it’s a solid and interesting work. If you’ve ever been curious about those old towers, or if you want to add to your knowledge of Western mining, you’ll enjoy this book. –Ed Quillen
