Mills of Fall River.

[Chris Walker]

Fall River.
 
 
 http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll21/id/12599/rv/singleitem/rec/9

Idaho Springs western Yard Limit Board was at Mp 39.17,
Fall River, the Hoosac Mill Spur at M.P 39.39.  

Here are several new pictures of Fall River, some two miles West of Idaho Springs Depot.  While these pictures presented here are not of the knock-your-socks-off, infinite-depth-of-field, glass-plate-variety, they do serve a purpose in delineating this until now, hidden corner of the Colorado Central Railroad/Colorado&Southern Railway.
 
Only Abbott and McLeod's Colorado Central RR book by Sundance showed the Sectionhouse here, both CRRA #10 and Mineral Belt 3 neglected to show the location at all.  Accordingly there is nothing in Poor's DSP&P other than a notation in the Station list, nor in Pict. Supt. to DSP&P. (Abr Ed.)  EDIT:  See page  321 of the Abr. Ed. for an over-looked picture of the SectionHouse.
 
The USGS 1917 lists 3 Mills at the mouth of Fall River, the "Donelson"(sic), "Brighton" and "Hoosac".  
 
Digging deeper into this I identified the 1912 built Mill as the Hoosac leaving the guess as to which of the two others were which?
The Donaldson Mill is listed as having 50 stamps which appears most likely to be the Dover Mill in Muriel Wolle's picture. (2nd to last photo at bottom)

That only leaves the Brighton, the Aerial trams are visible in several of these pictures I present here and so far I haven't yet uncovered any pictures of Fall River showing another mill there.  The Laclan McLean picture of this very same mill is unidentified.
 

from The Mining&Engineering World Dec 14 1907

 
from Duane Smith/Wieler Secure The Shadow Colorado School Mines. pg71


http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15330coll22/id/80208/rec/1

The USGS 1917 made mention of yet a third smaller Mill but this is 1/4 mile up the Fall River.  
 
 
The Mill is at the outlet of Trail Creek and has been shown in Mal Ferrell's South Park Line on Pg351.  Mal lists this Mill as the Hoosac, DPL have no name but note Freeland Mill in the description.   Freeland was a townsite and mining area further up Trail Creek Gulch apparently refered to as Freeland Gulch in the earlydays.
 

http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/38845/rv/singleitem/rec/18
 
However Sanborn in 1891 list Trail Cr. Mill as the Plutus Concentrating Mill.



Flumebox with Mill and Handcar shed, but before the Bunkhouse was constructed apparently Bridge #17, 16ft long was needed to cross this flume to the Mill at the mouth of Trail Cr.  This flume construction served the later Stanley Consolidated Mines Powerhouse downstream (this will be shown in another future installment)
 
 
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15330coll22/id/89251/rec/36
 
Rock Wall opposite the outflow of Fall R.  This is the very spot where W.H. Jackson stood to take the Thread Title picture.
 
http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/74633/rv/singleitem/rec/84
A perfect modelling opportunity hitherto unknown has gone unremarked.


At this location, in the W.HJackson picture enlarged, directly in front of the Locomotive can be seen a turnout.  This as yet unremarked siding may be connected with the light tramway Bridge across Clear Creek to the Dover Mill.  Also this unpublished photo reveals an unseen view of the C&S Section House.


http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll21/id/12599/rv/singleitem/rec/9
 
Downstream of crib abutments looking upstream.
 
 http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15330coll22/id/89248/rec/1 
This clipping may explain the Tramway Bridge, the Sun&Moon referenced was deep inside the Newhouse/Argo tunnel and would require C&S cars to be loaded at the Cribchutes then dragged up to fall River.  Wonderful modelling opportunities of shorthaul traffic abound here.


C&S TT No. 35, Oct 21 1912 Fall River 39.3 *8 car spur connected at North end.
C&S TT No. 56, Jun 6 1920 Fall River 39.39 *8 car spur connected at North end.
C&S 1929 folio book Station and Trackage Map. Fall River. Hoosac Mill Spur P.S. 526ft.
Abbott/McLeod in Colorado Central also list other various length sidings at different times for Fall River.
 
The topomap (undated)Pg304-305 in MinBelt3 shows the siding as connected from the Northern end (TT direction) on the Southside of ClearCreek.  
 
The Sanborn maps of 1891, Plutus Con. at Trail Creek and corelates with this orientation but doesn't show the end of the siding track nearest Idaho Springs..  
 
Colorado Central RR, Pg321,  1918C&S Rly  Valuation Map shows the same but the siding is double-ended.
 
Colorado Central RR, Pg327,  1918 C&S Rly Valuation Map shows a siding crossing Clear Creek to a Mill noted Hoosac siding 526ft.
 
 from Abbott/McLeod  Colorado Central Rail Road pg327  Sundance Pub.


 from The Mining Investor Dec 1910

The Mining Investor of March 1913 yeilded this view of the new Hoosac Mill.
 
 and of the Hoosac Tunnel.
 
References to Mill concentrates being handled directly by the C&S.
 
 
Further West on the Southside of Cl.Cr. was the Rockford tunnel in Turkey Creek Gulch, the Freeland mines exported their ore out through the Rockford via a mule-drawn tramway  and around the bluff for an unknown distance closer to Fall River to this Chute OreBin alongside the C&S tracks.  



I have however found reference to a siding being built here at Mp40.39 at 324ft servicing the Silver King Mill on the C&S 1929 Folio and Trackage Map.  I haven't yet found anymore on this but suspect that there are several pictures possibly in the Laclan McLean Collection in the Norlin Library.  I base that idea on many of the McLean pictures were used in the Mining Investor of the times.  Maybe even the USGS has pics in some repository.

1895 Sanborn
 
Dover Mill, the Stone Foundation walls can still be seen today at #44 Fall River Road.  This view is looking up Fall R.


http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/2760/rv/singleitem/rec/125

Dover Mine buildings,  this is the Pennsylvania Tunnel


http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/2772/rv/singleitem
 
The Bins and the small building on the right can be seen today.

[Darel Leedy]

Thanks, this is great stuff Chris! More please
I once planned a proto-lanced branch line layout from Fall River up to Alice. I even had started building the Fall River section. It looked allot like Forks Creek. Lol.

[John Schapekahm]

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[John Schapekahm]

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[John Schapekahm]

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[Darel Leedy]

Thanks for the additional info John. I'm sure the grade from Fall River to Alice was the reason to plan a route from Russell Gulch. But in my miniature world it would have worked just fine.
Moving on upstream to the next town; My daughter competed in the "Oh My Gawd Rodeo" tonight in Dumont. The Fairgrounds are about a quarter mile east of where the depot sits today. There is an extremely large and toxic looking tailings pile on west end of this site. Here is your homework Chris: Which mill was this? Google earth is your friend
PS: I have no idea how old these workings are.

[Chris Walker]

Darel,

You will have to refer to this previous thread and have a read....I hope to revisit this area "soon" with some new information.  
http://c-sn3-discussion-forum.41377.n7.nabble.com/Mill-at-Dumont-td1713.html

The "tailings pile" to which you refer, may be nothing more than a wasterock pile from one of the Clear Creek and Gilpin Tunnels, currently I'm only part way through compiling that stuff....

Stay Thirsty

[Chris Walker]

http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/23826/rv/singleitem/rec/7


http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/7575/rv/singleitem/rec/1


http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/80079/rv/singleitem/rec/54

 Lachlan McLean photo

EDIT: This July-1905 clipping allows a date to be considered for Lachlan's undated image of the coal-fired Powerhouse alongside Clear Creek.


More information unearthed regards the C&S Siding and Hoosac Mill.  These may help date those Lachlan images of the C&S63 and coalcar(just for you, Jim)







from the Mining Investor  19 December 1910


from the Mining Investor   8th May 1911




from the Mining & Engineering World  20th September  1913



Sanborn 1908


USGS 1917

from the Mining World   17 August 1907


Dover Mine buildings,  this is the Pennsylvania Tunnel

http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/2818/rv/singleitem/rec/69

Sanborn 1908

[Darel Leedy]

Thanks Chris. How quickly I forgot about that thread. It was late, I was tired and she didn't win any money either
I will move this Dumont topic to the proper thread: http://c-sn3-discussion-forum.41377.n7.nabble.com/Mill-at-Dumont-td1713.html

[Chris Walker]

Not to worry, Dumont is just an extension of Fall River isn't it ?   One minute we're in Idaho Springs, then passing through the Stanley Area which merges into Fall River which in turn reaches around to Spring Creek and then you're in Dumont proper.  A drive past at highway speed on I-70 soon reinforces that aspect.

[Jeff Ramsey]

Have this postcard, titled  "Freighting on the Mountain Roads of Colorado." sent to my great-grandfather being post dated 1907 showing the "highway" crossing of the railroad and Clear Creek and a 13 team boiler outfit. Location must be between the Pluto Concentrator and the Hossac Mill/Tunnel. See Chris's image from theThe Minning Investor, Dec, 1910.

 

[Chris Walker]

Now That's a Whoo-Hoo Moment !!

Awesome, Jeff, simply awesome ......




from The MiningInvestor 19Dec 1910  


Supposedly near Dumont.  Every Mine needed a Boiler, and there were a lot of Mines in "them thar Hills", note the two spans that are Pushers on the rear..  


http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/73994/rv/singleitem/rec/2

[Chris Walker]

I never thought that through my research, I would ever get to provide some clarification of the work of the great Mac Poor.

In the fabulous Pictorial Supt. to D.S.P.&P. by Mac Poor, there appears this picture taken at Fall River that provides us with yet another view of the SectionHouse(and environs), the fledgling Rising Sun(later part of Hoosac Tunnel) Mine in the rear and foremost the UP's Piledriver in action inserting new Piles for the new 16ft long Bridge # 17.

Mac Poor speculates in the caption that there was need put in a drainage culvert at this location.


from Mac Poor's Pictorial Supplement to D.S.P.&P.  Rocky Mountain Railroad Club Abr. Edition. pg321.

Lachlan McLean took several unremarked photographs of construction of the Wooden Stave Conduit to the Stanley Consolidated Mines Powerhouse, two of those appear in the above posts, of these pictures only a few are dated by the DPL at 1894, one more specifically at 1894 October, more will appear in the Stanley Consolidated Mine (installment).

Just downstream of the Plutus Concentrator Mill this busy scene shows the UPD&G trackage in the background, unfortunately there is no sign of the Plutus Con. siding.  On the North bank of Clear Cr. can be seen a small Mine that also shows in Jeff Ramsey's Postcard view above.


from http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/80207/rv/singleitem/rec/23

Still further downstream the Conduit passes under the siding to the Stanley Mines opposite the Lincoln Mines.  This undertaking must have been some really hard work digging that trench by hand through the gravelbed.


http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/80204/rv/singleitem/rec/625

[Jeff Young]

Anyone know more about the UP pile driver?  It appears to have a steam dome.  Is that just a reservoir, or does it have it’s own boiler?

And I love the way they set the batter of the pile: hang a guy off the guy wire.  He he… maybe that’s the origin of the term “guy wire”.

[Robert McFarland]

Check back in the 8-wheel caboose posts- there should be the Utah Rails photo of the pile driver on the U&N among the photos that were posted there.

[Jeff Young]

Link to picture Robert mentioned: http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm/ref/collection/USHS_Class/id/10718 

It would appear to be a different pile driver: no steam dome visible, but a prominent stack in a raised roof section.  

Still, that would indicate that at least some of them had their own boilers….

[rdmstr]

  Jeff, there appears to be a steam line running across the tender of the 100. I wonder if the stack is the
exhaust from the engine inside the driver? Note the flex coupling between the tender and the driver.
keith

[Keith Hayes]

Well, Chris, that is pretty doggone cool to see how they made that wood conduit. I trust the two large 'U' shape forms are simply that--forms. Eventually you slip a bunch of hoops with ties over the works and tighten up the bolts to hold the form in place? No doubt that is hard work, digging or just setting the conduit. Hard work!

[Jeff Young]

Hi Keith,

Indeed, I did miss the steam line.  That leaves me thoroughly confused, though.  Why have a boiler inside the driver and a steam line going to it?

Jeff.

[Robert McFarland]

Something like a "fireless cooker"?