Red Mountain Panorama, CW Cross, 1900
This September 15, 1900 U.S.G.S. image describes the geology of the landslide surface below Red Mountain No.2, and the multitude of small slide blocks with intervening trenches or depressions. The slide area extends across ridge from Red Mountain No. 2 into Corkscrew Gulch. Below the small knoll, left center, lies the Paymaster mine. White Cloud and American Girl mines are in the foreground left of center. This image is the combination of two large format U.S.G.S. plates which, although meant to be panoramic, were dissimilar enough to require hours of retouching to become reasonably seamless.
The mining activity denuded the valley sides of trees. The forests have regrown over the century so and that makes landmark location here rough. And there is a multitude of discoveries to be made here.
Our primary interest is the rails, easily visible in this view, they show how the Silverton RR bravely ignored all the landslide activity but improved the lot of all mines in the district as it wound up, down and around. The Corkscrew Gulch Turntable is around the hill to the left where the two levels would logically connect. There was barely room for a turntable in the gulch that could not even accept a switchback laid with rails. Many of the mining ventures are gone from the hills by 1900, Their wood was proabably picked clean for firewood. Some of the biggest strikes in this district were valuable silver ores and the demonetization of silver in 1893 wrecked the economics of many of these mines and caused a nationwide recession.
Here is one of the oddest sections of Mountain Railroading anywhere in the world. Otto Mears, a pint-sized Russian immigrant with enormous energy, was known as the "San Juan Pathfinder" started his Colorado empire with a grain mill at Saguache and made contracts for wheat with the western cavalry posts. Soon, he was delivering to the newly minted mining camps but found all the roads needed improving. Not a problem, he became a road builder through the San Juans. That was no mean feat. With his pockets were full, he expanded into mining largely in the Old Congress Town, Red Mountain Town, Red Mountain and Ironton areas. His mining interests soon needed better transportation because the mineral profits were only so good as the transportation systems in and outward bound. Mears expanded into railroads and what the Silverton area needed was three distict railroads radiating from Silverton itself, at the end of the Denver and Rio Grande right of way. Now this may astound folks who have traveled the Durango and Silverton Scenic Route who could not imagine that three routes left Silverton and climbed into the three principle gulches north into the Red Mountain Range stronghold.
This image views some of Mears' great works up the canyon above Ironton toward Red Mountain atop the Pass with the same name at 11,110 feet in altitude.
Red Mountain Panorama, CW Cross, 1900
This September 15, 1900 U.S.G.S. image describes the geology of the landslide surface below Red Mountain No.2, and the multitude of small slide blocks with intervening trenches or depressions. The slide area extends across ridge from Red Mountain No. 2 into Corkscrew Gulch. Below the small knoll, left center, lies the Paymaster mine. White Cloud and American Girl mines are in the foreground left of center. This image is the combination of two large format U.S.G.S. plates which, although meant to be panoramic, were dissimilar enough to require hours of retouching to become reasonably seamless.
The mining activity denuded the valley sides of trees. The forests have regrown over the century so and that makes landmark location here rough. And there is a multitude of discoveries to be made here.
Our primary interest is the rails, easily visible in this view, they show how the Silverton RR bravely ignored all the landslide activity but improved the lot of all mines in the district as it wound up, down and around. The Corkscrew Gulch Turntable is around the hill to the left where the two levels would logically connect. There was barely room for a turntable in the gulch that could not even accept a switchback laid with rails. Many of the mining ventures are gone from the hills by 1900, Their wood was proabably picked clean for firewood. Some of the biggest strikes in this district were valuable silver ores and the demonetization of silver in 1893 wrecked the economics of many of these mines and caused a nationwide recession.
Here is one of the oddest sections of Mountain Railroading anywhere in the world. Otto Mears, a pint-sized Russian immigrant with enormous energy, was known as the "San Juan Pathfinder" started his Colorado empire with a grain mill at Saguache and made contracts for wheat with the western cavalry posts. Soon, he was delivering to the newly minted mining camps but found all the roads needed improving. Not a problem, he became a road builder through the San Juans. That was no mean feat. With his pockets were full, he expanded into mining largely in the Old Congress Town, Red Mountain Town, Red Mountain and Ironton areas. His mining interests soon needed better transportation because the mineral profits were only so good as the transportation systems in and outward bound. Mears expanded into railroads and what the Silverton area needed was three distict railroads radiating from Silverton itself, at the end of the Denver and Rio Grande right of way. Now this may astound folks who have traveled the Durango and Silverton Scenic Route who could not imagine that three routes left Silverton and climbed into the three principle gulches north into the Red Mountain Range stronghold.
This image views some of Mears' great works up the canyon above Ironton toward Red Mountain atop the Pass with the same name at 11,110 feet in altitude.