The amount of work by man or beast must have been astronomical to the extreme. The number of accidents claimed many no doubt. Hats off to all miners! Tasty video TVR.
The old miners used to use these old steam tractors as mobil steam boilers. They would move them from mine to mine and use the steam to run air pumps for the mine and also use a slap belt system from the tractor to run a stamp mill.
As others have mentioned, this was what they called a portable engine. It was pulled with horses. One of the reasons they became self propelled is that they became too heavy for animals to pull as the machines grew in size/ became more powerful. At first I thought the thing you called a smoke stack was exactly that, but as I watched your excellent video, I came to realize that was it's steam dome; a place that gathers dry steam for the cylinders. It's a very early machine as that style disappeared after the turn of the century. The smoke stack was on the other end where that pipe dipped down into the hole for it. The stack was thin, so it rusted away long ago. That pipe curves back up and channels the steam from the cylinders up the stack in order to draw hot gas from the firebox through the boiler tubes and up the stack. Being on federal land, it would be hard to get ownership of that engine which is a shame because enough of it was there to put back into working order. This Ames engine is probably the only one of it's kind still in existence. It's really rare and needs to be preserved somehow. I kind of wished you had picked up the pieces of the fire box and put them back inside it for safe keeping. They have been laying there for over a hundred years so no harm done really. Thanks for the video. Oh, I just had to say: NO WAY IN HELL would I go into an old mine like that. It gave me the heebie jeebies watching you do it. There is a lot of beauty to see above ground in the sunshine. Don't let a cold, dark place like that be your grave.
Yes, unfortunately, this is on federal land and so getting the paperwork together to get the portable engine out of there and to restore it would be next to impossible... Also, even if one did obtain permission, the actual physical task of getting it out of the canyon would be pretty daunting. Like you said, this is probably the only steam engine like this left and so it is a shame to see it slowly decaying in the forest (and wait until the inevitable forest fire comes along). Thank you for the explanation on the smoke stack/steam dome. My knowledge on steam technology is quite limited. The actual smoke stack might have come off when the portable engine took its tumble down the hill...
Awesome video. Finding old abandoned machinery like that laying around makes you stop and wonder who left it here and why, What were the working conditions like, how many people worked here???, just a gambit of unanswered questions flow through my head. Quite mesmerizing to be honest. Thanks for sharing, Kind regards,Eric Dee.
Mules are sort of the default answer, but, I don't know for specific pieces of equipment... Either way, yes, it absolutely blows my mind at some of the places the miners hauled heavy equipment.
That steam engine must be saved. We sometimes use helicopter recovery services to get our 4x4s out of canyons if they fall off the trails. Should cost about $1000 an hour depending on what size of helicopter and flight time.
It is a neat engine but was never a tractor unit or even self powered for motion. It was drawn by horses and set up to provide belt drive to drive a rock crusher.
Bingo, although it probably was a traction engine repurposed to work the mine. It could have also pulled the ore cars out of the mine. When the ore ran out there wasn't the motivation to remove it.
@@CANControlGRAFFITI because anyone proficient in grammar could not possibly commit a typographical error? Even with fat fingers on a tiny cell phone? I read a study about people who constantly criticize others grammar or spelling on social media that claims they have a form of mental illness. I'm not saying that you have it but you may want to be checked out & treated if necessary.
With you saying the steam engine was relatively new when it crashed I have a feeling that its loss was what closed down the mining venture, it's also possible that the miners came back later having recouped some of the loss and fiding that the stamp mill was in the creek decided to let the claim go rather than spend more on it Fascinating and thought provoking, it must be quite a way out, since nothing much is missing.
the ames steam engine never had a platform on the back and it also never moved under its own power. it would have been pulled by mules. this engine was used as a pony motor to run a belt and power mills etc. that one was the largest one they made at 12 hp. i know someone that has that same engine, also the smoke stack was on the front of the boiler the stack at the back is what is left of a pressure regulator. that really is a great find and its so cool to see one run too.
Looks to me the steam engine was powering the stamping mill and maybe they both came down the hill together. It would probably take a big bouncing hit to snap off that fly/drive wheel on that stamper. I bet it's out there in the brush somewhere. Any idea how far they could have tumbled down the hill?
It is really hard to say how far they might have come down because the area is so overgrown with brush. The brush really obscures the terrain and what else might be there. So, I'm sure we missed some stuff like a road it may have gone off of or buildings connected to the mine where the steam engine crashed down from... And, yes, it would indeed take a significant amount of force to snap off the wheel on the stamp mill. The other guy in the video - Michael - had been to this site before and I believe I recall him saying that after a great deal of effort he had found the wheel in the brush in the background.
A fire would, unfortunately, burn the wood off of the steam engine, but, yes, it would certainly open up the area to many more discoveries. My exploring buddy and I went over a historic mining area a couple of years ago following a fire and found a lot of stuff that had been uncovered by the fire. A large drain tunnel, two adits, a lot of tools and equipment...
I'm thinking a fire came UP that hill, burned the building the engine and mill were in causing the engine to break free of it's mooring post and roll free. As gravity took over it collided with and carried the stamp mill along with it on the journey down the already burned out hillside which is the reason the wooden pieces on the front did not catch fire. Go looking with a metal detector and you'll probably find pieces of both machines scattered everywhere on that hillside
Hmmm. I hadn't thought about that possibility... In support of that idea was the absence of mature trees in that area. I don't believe any of the trees or other vegetation around that hill were more than fifty years old or so. We could not find a trace of any buildings either, which also supports that idea. The brush around there was very thick. So, going around with a metal detector would be tough. Thank you for your comment. You brought up an intriguing idea.
I am a steam preservation est and steam engines now are worth a lot of money in the uk if i was you i would get that engine remove it from the woods completely strip it right down restore it because you've got the major parts there you got the boiler the tubes looking good condition the cylinders are all complete you need to save that steam engine before it rots away to nothing regards from mark in redruth cornwall uk
Yes,not only is it very restorable but you can actually still buy parts for Ames Steam engines and Traction engines. As with a lot of machiery from this era it's often a matter of making parts that are missing. That boiler is in very nice condition too. 'd be betting money that it would pass a hydro test. Unfortunately if it didn't the authorities will not allow riveted boiler shells any more,only welded ones. Why? I have no idea but there were millions of riveted boilers made for 200 years. www.oswaldsupply.com/boiler-manufacturer/ames-iron-works.html
Ames' Iron Works was founded in 1854 by Henry M. Ames. The company was controlled by members of the Ames family until 1919 when it was sold to the Pierce Butler Radiator Corp. Ames was one of the foremost steam engine manufacturers in the United States. Rights for the steam traction engine business was sold to the Skinner Engine Co. of Erie, Pennsylvania.
Thank you! 1880, huh? I'm not sure when the steam engine was actually manufactured, but it, obviously, must be close to that time. The advertisement I found for the stamp mill was from 1890. So, that would all seem to fit.
yes I seen a a similar one, they seemed to changed quickly, that next piece called a stamper might of been driven by the steam engine....., been subbed ....i enjoy the exploring videos ...be safe
That's interesting that you've seen a similar one... I have never seen one quite like this before. You're certainly right about the swift changes. There was a lot of industrial innovation in that era and designs seem to have changed dramatically from year to year. That's a good point about them possibly using the steam engine to power the stamper or other equipment. Thank you for the subscription and comments.
I was googling images, and the side shape is what I noticed in advertisements..... recalling it had to cylinders on top and that big fire box, cool find though
Absolutely amazing!!!...imagine the cost of that steam engine back in the day...and having to leave it. Like crashing a new car or truck now to be found in 85 years!!
Thank you, Paul. I loved seeing that steam engine there... We get some nice colors with the sulfides in our area. You ought to come up and visit sometime! I know you like flooded mines, but we can even take you to a few dry mines.
Unfortunately, this is on federal land and so getting the paperwork together to get the portable engine out of there and to restore it would be next to impossible... Also, even if one did obtain permission, the actual physical task of getting it out of the canyon would be pretty daunting. It is a shame to see it slowly decaying in the forest (and wait until the inevitable forest fire comes along)...
TVR Exploring - Let a local Museum know about it, show them the pictures, they'll have a much better chance of getting it than you would. Besides, it belongs in a Museum, and not in someones front yard as ''yard art'' .
If that boiler dates from the 1890 I'm amazed that the wood it still on the boiler. I wonder if this wood was replaced at some point in time, maybe the 1920-30s? A fantastic find.
Thank you. Yes, I was thinking about that too... It was difficult to date the mining activity around that site and it could indeed have been as recent as the 1930s as there was a big surge in mining for gold during the Great Depression. We were also thinking though that the wood insulation on the steam engine may have been treated with something to help preserve it. Also, it was off of the ground, which would have helped to protect it as well. So, it's hard to say, and, unfortunately, it seems extremely unlikely that anyone involved in that project is still alive today to answer these questions for us.
TVR Exploring My father was born near Meyer Arizona in 1915. My grand father gave my father a penny and the two of them put the penny in the whistle of a steam boiler for their small copper mine that he was part owner in. This was a very hard life for this small family and they sold their half of the mine and moved. In time they made their way to northern Minnesota. Sometime in the late 50s my youngest aunt took my grand parents back to Meyer and they even found the mine site. Surprisingly the old boiler was still there, as well as the whistle with its penny. Five years ago we drove up there with my motorcycle. As chance would have it I found a lady who was well up in her 90's and she remembered the story of the Italian family the owned a part of the Blue Bell mine. I think that is the name she told me, or it could be blue flower mine. I found the mine site area but could not find any machinery or shaft. She said the shafts were plugged. The old smelter smokestack is the only thing still at Meyer. Ironically they are mining the Meyer onyx rock again but not for the copper ore this time, they are mining it for tile for home construction. They are mine a dozen or so very small open pit areas. I thought you would enjoy this story as your such an explorer. I remember a number of stories about the mining operations. It was a terrible way to make a living but that was the only occupation my grand father knew. He worked in the Black Forest of Germany and in South Africa at age sixteen, with both of these related to mining. Be safe doing your explorations.
That is a great story! Thank you very much for sharing it... Did your grandparents come over from Italy? That is a shame that the shaft was plugged and that the machinery was gone. How great would that have been to see it? Yes, from everything I have seen and experienced underground, I think mining is an extremely tough way to make a living.
TVR Exploring My grand father came of the mountains of Italy. My grandmother was born in northern Minnesota but as an infant she was sent back to Italy with a wet nurse to be raised by family until she was thirteen years old. My great grand parents on my grandmothers side were sort of wealthy as the owned a small brick factory. Just why they didn't raise my grandmother themselves I don't really know. Mining in Meyer ended in the late 1920s but resumed during the depression when unemployed men returned to see if they could find small deposits. The area is mostly mined for copper but even gold is found from time to time. Ironically it was my father who found away for them to leave the Meyer area. As the second oldest of three boys he and his two brothers were playing on the foundation of an abandon burned out home. The house was long gone with no sign of occupation other than this foundation. A rock wall ran down between each half of it with one half forming a cistern water storage area. As a young child dad would run down this wall for fun. One time one of the rocks in the wall gave way causing him to fall into the hole. My older uncle walked down the wall and reached down into the small cistern to help pull dad out. When dad put his other hand in the hole to help pull himself out he felt a small cigar box. They took the box out of the hole hiding place and found it was full of money in the form of twenty dollar gold coins and such. This was my grandparents source of money that got them out and away from Arizona. As a child my father would tell me of how he loved the high desert of the west. I never went there until I was 55 years old for the first time. This is a wonderful place located on the main road to Prescott valley and Prescott itself. In time they made their way to kanas where granddad worked in a coal mine I think. My father and his younger brother saw a gathering of men on the edge of town. They made their way to the field where the KKK was burning a cross. Dad was ten or so at the time and got caught by one of the good old boys from the KKK and was beaten very bad. Apparently they didn't like the fact he could speak very little English at the time. So my family moved to Minnesota to the iron mines and a community of other Italians. By the time WW2 came dad could speak many languages just from being around so many people who came to work the iron mines. He could speak German, French, of course Italian and finish a little bit. This served him well during his life in the military as he interrogated German war prisoners. Sadly he was the first of the ten children to die. His illnesses of youth caused heath problems but smoking two three packs a day didn't help him either. He died in my arms when I was seventeen. My younger sister can hardly remember him as she was only ten years old. The old mines you are finding have hard stories where families worked themselves to death to scratch a living out of a hole. That is why I love watching you explore these old mines. To a lesser degree I explore the country on my cycle and have even gone to Alaska on the motorcycle. My best year for motorcycling was 15200 miles, not bad when you live in Minnesota where you can ride only five months a year. Lol not bad for someone who should have died a dozen times before. Be well and very careful exploring these old mines. They have claimed many lives.
I often wonder when looking at these videos about the decendents of the miners and if the miners made money and the families today are wealthy or have they never known about GG grandfathers mining adventures in the 19th and early 20th Centuries.
What an incredible find! Of anything you've come across so far that deserves to be displayed somewhere, this would be it. I have to agree with pjbikerful about this being the power plant for the stamp mill. This doesn't look to be a self-propelled engine. If that is is smoke stack at the end with the large wheels anyone standing on a platform would have a faceful of smoke. Let me know if I'm wrong on the smoke stack. The opening at the other end on the top looks to be the steam dome where the steam collects above the water level through a pipe that would have a valve for a throttle. There had to be a flywheel to transition piston strokes into smooth energy to power whatever equipment it was driving. As far as power to the rear wheels, if it was self-propelled, there would be a gear box of sorts since there isn't any exposed connection between the missing flywheel and the axles. The rear axle(s) don't look live. (a live axel is one that connects both rear wheels together so they both have to turn at the same time). I can't really tell from the video but it appears as if a single axel would almost pass through the fire box? I'm wondering if the large bearing journal on the under side of the fire box/boiler held the shaft that supported a flywheel. I've seen most on top but there are some on the bottom. There is a shaft on top that could have held a flywheel but I'd say there is a better chance it held some sort of pulley. Was there anything on the front axle that could possibly be a connection point for a means of this being pulled by a team of horses or mules? A self-propelled tractor had to have a means of steering the front wheels, sometimes as rudimentary as a pair of rods, one on either side of the boiler, every bit as fancy as that found on a very, very basic soapbox derby racer or it could have been an actual steering wheel connected to a shaft connected to a gearbox connected to the axle. Getting back to the rear wheels for a moment, I can't say I've ever seen a self-propelled steam engine that had what would be deemed 'slicks' on the drive wheels. Even those designed just to be a moveable source of steam power had metal blades or 'tread' of some sort riveted to the wheels. Even with the rivets that are protruding for the spokes, this would have almost zero traction on sand, hard pack, or wet grass, leaves. I'm far from an expert on steam engines but I've had the opportunity to work on a few. Most all spend more time being worked on than supplying power to pull a plow or operate another piece of machinery. Where I may be off base is the smoke stack above the firebox, hardly conducive to efficient use of coal or wood, what with dumping the heat out instead of passing it through boiler tubes. I also can't see the area behind that bearing journal (no reflection at all on your superb recording). Was there any gearing or shafts or any means of connecting a belt or gears to what may be a gearbox under the firebox? If there was a gearbox there I imagine the lubrication would suffer from excessive heat but stranger design flaws exist. Regardless, this is a magnificent find! That and that very unique stamp mill. The cost of that equipment raises the question of how well that mine paid. No drifts, no stopes, no winzes, just the incredible fortune of having the ore vein run the same direction as the haulage tunnel or vis versa. I have seen many, many stamp mills but this is one new to me. The question that you all raised and will probably never know is; how did this equipment come to rest here? The steam engine could have rolled when a future former miner didn't set wheel chocks. If you have an interest I linked to a page that might give you some idea of what parts may have gone where or may not be any help at all. We'd be interested to know if you find anything else out. Thank you for a most interesting video Justin. www.google.com/search?q=pictures+of+steam+tractors&newwindow=1&tbm=isch&imgil=8zrbgKT1T7XC-M%253A%253BBm5rHDndlWfAyM%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.123rf.com%25252Fstock-photo%25252Fsteam_tractor.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=8zrbgKT1T7XC-M%253A%252CBm5rHDndlWfAyM%252C_&usg=__-ddLB02tNwqgLSpqbT7z9c_hKXw%3D&biw=1600&bih=767&ved=0ahUKEwjThPvzgd_VAhVBx1QKHUuWCVEQyjcIRA&ei=E_CVWZOvA8GO0wLLrKaIBQ__#imgrc__=_
Yes, Adit Addicts made the same observation about the steam engine not being self-propelled and he really knows his mechanical stuff well… Thank you very much for the detailed breakdown and explanation of the functioning of steam engines. The education is much appreciated. I do not recall seeing anything on the front axle that immediately jumped out as being a hitch for horses or mules. However, that does not mean it wasn’t there. First of all, I wasn’t looking for it and, secondly, the axle was flipped over and upside down. I wish that I could answer your other questions, but I’m afraid that I did not know what specifically to look for when I was there. So, I can’t offer anything other than what you can see in the video. It was not easy at all to get there, but if I go back, I will take a harder look and do my best to answer the questions you raised. Yes, I would love to know how the steam engine and stamp mill ended up where they are now as well. I’m sure the story would be fascinating. Unfortunately, I don’t even have a name for the mine and can find absolutely no information on this site. Thank you again for the extensive and interesting breakdown on steam power!
Forgot to respond about the mine... There was quartz scattered all over the hillside. So, perhaps they did surface mining and the steam engine winched ore up or down to the stamp mill? Alternatively, the area had a lot of dirt rather than hard rock and so it is entirely possible that there were additional adits present that have eroded shut. As you saw, the adit we went in was very close to being eroded shut.
From what I've been told, these old boilers dragged themselves back into the woods under their own power. The operators would tie it off to a big tree or rock and fire it up, then it would crank itself over.
This type of boiler was called a fire tube boiler , as the fire and heat went through the tubes heating the water on the outside of them. Depending on fuel used they'd have to brush out the ash once or twice a week as ash will insulate and slow the transfer of heat to the water . Nice find
TVR- Those Steam Engines were used as Donkey Engines to power Stamp Mills, Air Compressors and the Jaw Crushers for the mines. They were also used in conjunction with the Hydraulic Mines sometimes as Water Pumps to fill the Holding Ponds for the Hydraulic Monitors used to wash the side of the Placer Quarry. It is important to understand these were not used to power the Hydraulic Monitors, the engines were not powerful enough to pressurize the water for that purpose, the Monitors were all gravity fed from Stock Pens, Holding Ponds or Cauffer Dams higher up on the creeks. For example along the upper American River, Yuba River and the other tributaries along the Highway 49, to include above Auburn into Nevada City and Grass Valley, (which I am pretty sure that is where you guys were), you may notice large concrete dams and spill ways in these areas. These were used to divert water into Stock Pens and/or Holding Ponds for the Hydraulic Mines which required massive amounts of water to retrieve the Placer Ore, (Black Sand, , and the Gold Dust and Nuggets). The water from the monitors was then directed through Riffle Boxes that had either Canvas or Burlap lined in the bottom of the boxes. Contrary to popular opinion, the Riffle Boxes were not just smooth on the bottom between the Riffle Boards, which stopped the large gravel and rocks. The Canvas or Burlap was used to gather the Fines which contained the Black Sand and Gold. Once the Riffles were full, the water was cut off at the top pf the box, then Mercury was poured into each section to float off the Black Sand and leave the Placer Gold, (Nuggets or Dust). Larger Rocks and gravel that may or may not contain Gold, (Gold Bearing Quartz, Serpentine, Basalt, Granite and Slate Rock), were then sent to the Stamp Mills, crushed into sand, and the process repeated through a Riffle Box to remove and remaining "Gold Ore", (Refer to Empire Gold Mine State Park, Grass Valley, CA.). One of the largest remaining Hydraulic Mine areas is the Malakoff Diggins near Auburn, CA. This area still has intact Monitors you can hike in and visit. Something more that is a worth-while visit are the Dredger Piles in Marysville, Roseville, near Oroville and in a few other places here in California. After all of the Hydraulic Mines were done with their work, there would be residual Placer Gold be washed down stream, (IE: American River, Feather River, Yuba River), during the winter. Often causing flooding in the towns of Marysville, Roseville, and Sacramento, the solution was to ban Hydraulic Mining and install control dams to halt the uncontrolled water flow into these areas. In the meantime, before the Mining was stopped the gold companies placed Dredgers, (Chain Bucket Type), like the ones still operating in Alaska, into the rivers, the banks of these rivers were dug out, (rocks river sediment, silt, sand), all of it was sent through the Dredgers, the remaining placer gold was collected and the river rock was discharged out of the back of the Dredgers into huge piles of rock and gravel. You can still see the Dredger Quarries on Google Earth. Lastly, these Steam Engines were also used to power the cable carts, (Man Skiffs, Tool Skiffs and sometimes Ore Carts), along the main Inclines/Declines in the mines. Ore Carts were not only man powered in the drifts of the mines, but in the case of large operation mines like Empire Mine, Kennedy, Argonaught), where they had a large head-frame above ground on a near vertical shaft also powered cable operated elevators into the main drift. Such equipment existed in New Almaden, Guadalupe, Zyante, and New Idria Mines which were used for Cinnabar, (Mercury). The Head-Frame can still be seen at New Idria in Coalinga. The ones at New Almaden have been destroyed and Adits sealed by Santa Clara County. The only evidence of the mines are still some mine tressels, carts and the Centerfuge Kilns. However, at New Idria, everything still remains. Keep up the great documentation. Its good to see you guys taking the time to preserve this for future people to see.\ Sincerely, Shane McGuire
@@TVRExploring- Yeah, it goes back to my college days. Everyone in my English 1A class wanted to write about Gun Control, World Peace and Political Correctness. I literally had to beg my instructor to do my Semester Final on this subject. This was back in the day when you had two sources, (Your hiking boots, a 35mm Nikon Camera, a Mini Cassette Recorder and books). Yeah, no GPS, no Cell Phones, just USGS Maps, and the good sense to stay off current mining claims. FYI, if you would ever like to see one of those Steam Donkey Engines in operation, check out the California State Fair. There are a few clubs who have restored those engines. Also, you may find in mines which were down in the San Bernadino County area(s), they also use what is called a Bessemer Engine, (Hit and Miss Engine). Some of the Coal Mines had access to Natural Gas pockets and would bring in a Petroleum Company like Phillips 66 to put in Natural Gas Spuds, (Gas Tap). They would then power these engines from that Natural Gas source as a form of free fuel to power their equipment, turn generators, air and water pumps, elevators and other equipment. You guys may even find bird cages in these mines too. The ones in my current area of Patterson, if they were mining Cinnabar, Magnesite, Coal, Bauxite, Copper, Dolemite and Galena, (Lead Ore), Aresenic or Sulfur, some of these minerals were associated with pockets of Methane Gas, Sulfuric Gas and other toxic gases. Canaries and Finches were used to monitor air quality. In Gold and Silver Mines, they were used to monitor the Calcium Carbide lamps, other folks may not know, but mixing water with Calcium Carbide made Acetylene Gas, which itself is odorless and toxic. Union Carbide used to add a little sulfur to it so when it was being used it smelled like burned matches. The Canaries and Finches were closely monitored by all of the miners. If one of them saw the bird dead or in the bottom of the cage gasping for air, time to clear the mine until it was safe to re-enter. California had a very rich mining history, We are the only state to mine a mineral called Benitoite. It is often associated with Serpentine and Asbestos. The largest deposit is located near Coalinga in San Benito County. The mining claim is still active, and visitors can go to the museum and mine their own gem quality specimens. The crystals are a beautiful sapphire blue and glow green under a black light. In Redding, people may not know under lake Shasta is a very large copper mine. It is flooded by the lake and was partially destroyed when the dam was erected. Sorry about the wall of text. This is a subject I have always loved, and enjoy writing about California's Mining History. There are endless amounts of old mines in the Cascade Mountains above Redding. Basically anywhere you can find railroad, you will find old historic mining activity. Last, you guys should also use old historic railroad maps. Often the rails have been pulled up along with the ties, but the one thing that remains is the railroad right of way. Old sections of branch line railroads, (branches of the Western Pacific, were often helpful. Lumber Railroads were also helpful), in particular if they were Narrow Gauge, (3Ft Gauge), where Shay, Heistler, Fourney and Climax type locomotives were used. This is how I used to find my mine locations, then mark them on USGS Maps. You would be surprised what is actually in the Santa Cruz Mountains you never thought was there... At any rate I sent you a private E-Mail. Please feel free to drop me a line. I'd like to meet up with you folks one day.. Sincerely, Shane McGuire
Thank you! The collapses are something that crosses your mind, but we are always very careful to not touch anything when inside of the mines and particularly in sections like that. Obviously, we are touching the floor by walking on it, but I am referring to grabbing at the walls or ceiling or leaning on timbers - that sort of thing... Sometimes, if a spot looks really sketchy, I will even lower my voice. Those basic precautions aside, the real thing for me is looking at the odds of something happening. The ceiling of the mine has stood intact in that spot for over one hundred years. If I'm not doing anything to trigger it, what are the odds that something is going to happen right then when I am underneath it? Obviously, it will probably come down someday, but will that happen when I'm there? Almost certainly not... Now, it is a lot easier to say that when I am sitting in my living room typing this than when I am standing underneath something like that. So, yes, there is always a small feeling of relief upon safely exiting a mine and, yes, I spend as little time as possible in such sections. Placer mines are the worst... A hard rock mine is usually pretty solid and secure, but the placer mines collapse much more frequently. I just finished exploring an enormous placer mine where I spent more than an hour squeezing through chambers on my stomach. The ceilings had all collapsed in these chambers and so I was crawling over what used to be the roof of the chamber with tons of the same material directly overhead.
That is a unique engine it has dual pistons many only had one however The old donkey winching engines had the same setup. Incidentally Ames made those as well. I’ve come across many old logging pieces out in the forests of the Pacific Northwest when I was a kid in the 70’s it always was cool.
Man, you must have seen some great stuff out in the forests. I can only imagine... We have a fair amount of logging history as well, but I'm afraid that almost all of it has been erased. Yes, I thought this steam engine was pretty unique as well. I've never seen one quite like it elsewhere.
What a great find, unreal to come across that in the middle of nowhere! I wonder if they just attempted to blow it up with dynamite rather than transport it back or leave it for someone else to take/use. Noting the damage to some of the thicker ironwork, it might be. Probably the same with the small stamps, what a shame it's nearly impossible to salvage given it's location as they are both rare things now, should be preserved in a museum. Well documented, the mine probably had more levels you think?
Thank you. Yes, it blew my mind to see that steam engine just sitting there in the woods like that. It has probably been in the exact same spot for at least one hundred years now. Hard to say if the damage to the ironwork was intentional or a result of the (presumed) tumble down the hill... Either way, it is indeed a shame that the steam engine and stamp mill cannot be preserved in a museum. However, it is really cool to see them out in the forest as they are now and I love knowing things like that are still to be found out there. It is difficult to say with the mines. As you saw, the one at the start of the video was almost completely eroded shut. There is a lot of dirt rather than hard rock in that area and so it is really easy for the mines to erode shut. Near the steam engine was a pile of wood that were either rail ties or timbers for a mine. Also, there were funny shaped mounds and pits all over the place. The amount of quartz scattered around indicated that a lot of work had been done there... So, I'm not sure how much of that was surface mining or how many of those pits and mounds were the remnants of underground mining operations. The brush right around the steam engine wasn't too thick, but everywhere else it was extremely thick. So, that also made it difficult to see the complete picture of what went on there.
Thanks for that reply. The pits are probably prospects predating the mine, we get them a lot over here and I expect it was the way it was done there too. We need xray specs to see through the rock, wouldn't that be great for finding adits!
I would love a pair of xray specs! We would find so much... Some of the mining districts over here are absolutely honeycombed with adits that have eroded shut. Usually the adits are fine behind the portal - it is just a matter of knowing where to dig a little to get inside. Yes, I believe you are correct about the prospects. There were probably some visible quartz veins on the surface here.
Warm mornings in the summer. Roll out with a FLIR camera and look for the cold spots - cool air seeping out of the dirt covering the portals. At least, that's what I'd try, until x-ray vision is a reality!
That was a pretty neat find, and rather intact for what it was. Assuming the deposit was played out, it may not have made financial sense to move equipment to a new site. Easier for owners to raise more capital, fleece more suckers, and buy all new stuff. Or perhaps they had reached the end of their useful life (i.e. there was better tech available by the time they were done there)? You're lucky to have visited that one, though. Funny how I find old riveted stuff exciting!
Oh, I love rail and rivets... So, I understand completely! It was really hard to date that site and so it is difficult to speculate on the circumstances or reasons for the steam engine and stamp mill being abandoned. I've noticed that miners tend to leave a lot of equipment behind when they abandon a mine. More often than not, the fleecing of suckers seems to be a large component of mining. So, whatever happened, it probably involved that!
Just so you know the stack is in the front the one you called the stack is the steam Dome, and the one your friend called the boilerplate is a firebox door and the one the fire sets on is called fire grates and one thing that's rare is that twin cylinders most steam tractors only have one
Can you imagine the time and man hours it took.to get that machinery set up and running and especially transported to that location?. What sort of operation was all that stuff for anyways, does anyone know by chance???. Kind regards, Eric Dee
Given the remote location and rugged country, it would have taken an amazing amount of effort to get the steam engine out there. This was all done in support of mining gold in the canyon here.
TVR Exploring : I see. I recently watched a history show the other day about the gold rush era. Watching people by the thousands climb the hills from the U.S. into Canada to get to the Yukon through massive blizzards and what not was absolutely nuts.
That is a nice one. It looks like all it needs is new tires, spark plugs and maybe an oil change and possibly a new carburetor.. The wood is the deluxe woody model. $5.00 extra Thanks for the great video. Please keep them coming. Regards, Ody Slim
We've been looking for a abandoned stem engine here in Butte county for about a year now. One of my very close friends doesn't have much longer in his life and ever since he was 6 he's been trying to locate the few that are up in the hills. He's out in his time with mining companies as the person who does the TNT and has been to some pretty neat places up here but no luck finding the train. Could we possibly talk for a min?
The engine could be salvaged, the axle pin seems to have sheared out on the front which caused it to part company and without the use of a modern jack or hoists we have today it prob was too much to get remounted. The whole boiler itself is prob many tens of tons yet surprisingly the whole engine seems in very good order for poss a hundred year old neglected vehicle. BTW a lot of that is cast iron machined which is very brittle and will crack quite easily, most traction engines did quite well with just one cylinder but this one has two and a very unusual chimney at the back which suggests it lost its need to power itself along as the old chimney point is at the front which explains why the chain drive from flywheel to the undone bracket behind the wheel is missing, traction engines quite often were hobbled to become stationary boilers and power plants, here in the UK old traction engines were utilised to create steam for hospitals, steam and hot water for prisons and barracks and even electricity generators as it was cheaper to buy an ancient old boiler and repurpose it than buy a very expensive new boiler or diesel generator.
The alvage efforts were probbly abaandoned cause of the shown crack, it was on the frame and the operating folks didn't trust the frame after that to withstadn use.
Well, you would know more than most... I left it at "steam engine" because it was certainly that, but I was not sure what its purpose was beyond that or what to call it. Thank you for weighing in with your expertise.
Your other commenters are correct that it is a portable engine, not a traction engine. The pinion on the crankshaft and the larger driven gear, plus the double-simple arrangement of the cylinders makes it likely that this engine was made for winching. That would be logical around a mining operation. I hope you can hook up an engine restorer with this rare beast.
I'm afraid it would be impossible to get this steam engine out... It's at the bottom of a steep canyon and the forest is quite thick on the way down. Thank you for confirming the "portable engine" point of view and for providing the details that you did.
Yes, I believe you're 100% right about that. As further evidence of that, you can see where they tried to recover it with the cable even though the chances of success would have been so low.
I also have never seen wood used as boiler jacketing, because it should catch on fire. There is also the condition of the wood, that would seem to be too well preserved given how long that engine has likely been there.
The wood slats are probably American Chestnut which is naturally rot-resistant. That species of tree was abundant at that period before the blight wiped it out.
It looks like a portable, but Ive never seen on with such big and wide rear wheels. its a return flue engine meaning the heat gets used twice. you can always tell that by the stack being at the rear. The wood slatting MIGHT have been for insulation, BUT WAS for IF the engine blue, the wood would help keep pieces in the neighborhood of the main unit.
It could have been. From my limited knowledge of kyanite, I believe the geology is right for it in that area. However, no, we did not stop and take a closer look. It is easy to get distracted when going through a mine for the first time...
Take care in this regard, Pilot ... If this is on US federal or native land, it is a federal criminal offense (actually do or offer to) destroy, deface, remove, transport, sell, purchase, exchange or receive any items from historic mining, logging or habitation sites, without an archaeological ARPA permit. Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeological_Resources_Protection_Act_of_1979 The law, damage assessment, crime and sentencing: www.nps.gov/archeology/PUBS/techbr/tch20.htm
Looks like bull gear lug mounts on inside of wheels.As stated in the video looks like a shaft was mounted that may have had sprockets either side(for drive)May be too early for a gear to gear drive.They may have tried to lighten it up before taking it up steep grades.Too small and gutless for mountain trails.
That's a steam powered tractor. Probably was used for pulling carts maybe? That's the first time I have seen this at a mine. Rather odd considering the mine wasn't that large.
Pulling ore carts would be my first guess... However, it could also have been used for hauling logs and/or timbers up the hill. Not far from where the steam engine was, we found a large pile of rotted wood that was either timbers or rail ties. That mine was indeed small and in no way would seem to justify its own stamp mill or a steam engine/steam tractor like that. However, there was a ton of quartz scattered all over the place as well as a number of unusual pits and mounds around the area. So, I suspect there was a fair amount of surface mining taking place and, given the dirt rather than hard rock in the area, that other adits present at this mine have eroded shut. The mine we explored was very, very close to being eroded shut as well. Also, given how thick the brush was in the area, we almost certainly missed some stuff.
Awesome finds! It'd be amazing to see that steam-engine restored, but it'd probably have to be helicoptered out! (and have the pressure-vessel and other parts recreated most likely)
It would definitely not be easy to get the steam engine out of there! Even without the issue with the front axle, there is no way it could be towed out given the way the terrain is now. Helicoptering it out would not be easy either as it is in a narrow canyon and there are a number of trees over the top of it that would have to be cut away. I'd love to see it restored to its original glory though, believe me.
Ooh, quite tricky yes. That level of difficulty would probably require the land-owners consent to clear a path, in addition to consent to remove the engine. Might be worth it to somebody out there, but unfortunately there's also the chance the land-owner might refuse to allow that! Now I wonder how many (if any, though I'd assume some) of similar or identical units still exist out there? (in any kind of condition) Oh, here's a very similar possibly matching non-running one: www.farmcollector.com/steam-engines/rare-ames-steam-engine-ames-iron-works-design-prone-to-boiler-explosion Looks like the engineer position is on top though, does that match the one you found?
Well, it's on public land and so you would have the even more difficult task of getting permission from the government in order to go about clearing the land! However, the hill down to the steam engine is extremely steep. So, even if the land were cleared, it would still be a major job to get it out of there. I have no idea how many of these are left, but I've never seen one before and I can't imagine there are that many left. The steam engine in the article definitely looks similar, but the stack is different. Also, on the one we saw, it appeared that the engineer was perched on the back rather than the top.
Yeah, all that would surely complicate things. Too bad it doesn't break down into small enough pieces to pack out a bit at a time! Didn't see any wood-clad in my brief browse of google images either, wonder if they have model ID on them anywhere? (I've already forgotten exactly what info you found on it, I should go to bed... XD)
Now you guys have found some cool shit but damn. First old mine as seen by the tree shaped timbers. That's a dead giveaway. Second the steam beast. That is by far one of the coolest things I have seen discovered by mine explorers. Great job and then the stamp mill lol. They spent some money on what appears to be a small mine. Maybe rich in minerals who knows. Great job guys. As always be safe
Thank you! Yes, we'll have a really hard time topping the discovery of the steam beast, I'm afraid. It's hard to say about the mine, but the seeming disconnect between the size of the mine and the extensive equipment struck me as well... There was quartz scattered all over the hillside and so perhaps there was a fair amount of surface mining? The surface was dirt rather than hard rock and so it is also possible that there were other adits that have eroded shut. As you saw, the one we went in was almost eroded shut.
I would love to see this get restoration done here bring it back to life again it would be a great project to work . So it can part of the running thing to show off .
I'd bet they used that traction engine to run the stamp mill. And dropped the traction engine trying to get it back out the valley once they had done mining the claim. I doubt they tried to rescue it because there's alot of damage to a few bits that would require heavy engineering to fix, like the pivot pin those front wheels turned on, and that crack you showed. I doubt miners could have fixed either of those bits easily. Getting it out would be a nasty job unless you could use a heavy lift helicopter btw, which is a pity, as its worth preserving even if restoration was not possible.
The amount of work by man or beast must have been astronomical to the extreme. The number of accidents claimed many no doubt. Hats off to all miners! Tasty video TVR.
One of my favorites!
The old miners used to use these old steam tractors as mobil steam boilers. They would move them from mine to mine and use the steam to run air pumps for the mine and also use a slap belt system from the tractor to run a stamp mill.
that steam engine needs to be in a museum
That engine and other artifacts belong in a museum. Great find.
Yes, it was great to see that one.
Reading that Engineering and Mining Journal was also very enjoyable.
What an amazing time to be alive.
Agreed!
As others have mentioned, this was what they called a portable engine. It was pulled with horses. One of the reasons they became self propelled is that they became too heavy for animals to pull as the machines grew in size/ became more powerful.
At first I thought the thing you called a smoke stack was exactly that, but as I watched your excellent video, I came to realize that was it's steam dome; a place that gathers dry steam for the cylinders. It's a very early machine as that style disappeared after the turn of the century. The smoke stack was on the other end where that pipe dipped down into the hole for it. The stack was thin, so it rusted away long ago. That pipe curves back up and channels the steam from the cylinders up the stack in order to draw hot gas from the firebox through the boiler tubes and up the stack.
Being on federal land, it would be hard to get ownership of that engine which is a shame because enough of it was there to put back into working order. This Ames engine is probably the only one of it's kind still in existence. It's really rare and needs to be preserved somehow. I kind of wished you had picked up the pieces of the fire box and put them back inside it for safe keeping. They have been laying there for over a hundred years so no harm done really. Thanks for the video.
Oh, I just had to say: NO WAY IN HELL would I go into an old mine like that. It gave me the heebie jeebies watching you do it. There is a lot of beauty to see above ground in the sunshine. Don't let a cold, dark place like that be your grave.
Yes, unfortunately, this is on federal land and so getting the paperwork together to get the portable engine out of there and to restore it would be next to impossible... Also, even if one did obtain permission, the actual physical task of getting it out of the canyon would be pretty daunting. Like you said, this is probably the only steam engine like this left and so it is a shame to see it slowly decaying in the forest (and wait until the inevitable forest fire comes along). Thank you for the explanation on the smoke stack/steam dome. My knowledge on steam technology is quite limited. The actual smoke stack might have come off when the portable engine took its tumble down the hill...
Very cool! I love finding old equipment like that.
Me too! However, I'll bet I never see something like this out in the woods again... Boilers yes, but not a whole steam engine.
I really hope someone gets the engine and mill out of there. A huge waste of early industrial history just rotting away. Wow! Good Work!
What is that beautiful blue Rock!? Very good video. Like to see that steam engine restored. There are plenty railroad people.
That steam engine is one of the coolest things I have seen in the woods.
Awesome video. Finding old abandoned machinery like that laying around makes you stop and wonder who left it here and why, What were the working conditions like, how many people worked here???, just a gambit of unanswered questions flow through my head. Quite mesmerizing to be honest.
Thanks for sharing, Kind regards,Eric Dee.
Thank you, Eric. You're not alone in having those questions run through your head. I wonder those same sorts of things myself.
Also where is the body of the guy who let it fall down the hill. They must have killed him near the engine.
Man how the hell did they get all that stuff up there, Mules???? Its truly mind blowing! great upload dude!
Mules are sort of the default answer, but, I don't know for specific pieces of equipment... Either way, yes, it absolutely blows my mind at some of the places the miners hauled heavy equipment.
That steam engine must be saved. We sometimes use helicopter recovery services to get our 4x4s out of canyons if they fall off the trails. Should cost about $1000 an hour depending on what size of helicopter and flight time.
It's on federal land moron you can't just for in there and take it
It is a neat engine but was never a tractor unit or even self powered for motion. It was drawn by horses and set up to provide belt drive to drive a rock crusher.
I agree with Andrew. And I an a steam engineer!
Bingo, although it probably was a traction engine repurposed to work the mine. It could have also pulled the ore cars out of the mine. When the ore ran out there wasn't the motivation to remove it.
Alex Reifschneider definitely not a grammar major
@@CANControlGRAFFITI because anyone proficient in grammar could not possibly commit a typographical error? Even with fat fingers on a tiny cell phone? I read a study about people who constantly criticize others grammar or spelling on social media that claims they have a form of mental illness. I'm not saying that you have it but you may want to be checked out & treated if necessary.
@@alexreifschneider6709
I think they were called "donkey engines". What kind of steam engineering do you work on?
Wow what a find. Too bad somebody couldn’t save it. That it is so cool. Thank you.
Nice finds of some very old equipment from days gone by
One of the coolest things I have ever seen in the woods!
I can't believe you found that, that's awesome!
One of the coolest things I have ever seen out in the woods...
With you saying the steam engine was relatively new when it crashed I have a feeling that its loss was what closed down the mining venture, it's also possible that the miners came back later having recouped some of the loss and fiding that the stamp mill was in the creek decided to let the claim go rather than spend more on it
Fascinating and thought provoking, it must be quite a way out, since nothing much is missing.
4:02 It sat there through all of the tumultuous 20th century like a silent sentinel of the Industrial Revolution. What a fantastic find!
the ames steam engine never had a platform on the back and it also never moved under its own power. it would have been pulled by mules. this engine was used as a pony motor to run a belt and power mills etc. that one was the largest one they made at 12 hp. i know someone that has that same engine, also the smoke stack was on the front of the boiler the stack at the back is what is left of a pressure regulator. that really is a great find and its so cool to see one run too.
Great video. Good camera work (didn't make me dizzy from zooms and swings). Thank you and you get a thumbs up AND a sub!
Thank you.
That's a cool piece of history. To bad it couldn't be moved to a mining museum.
Yes, this is one of the best things we have ever seen when out mine exploring.
That belongs in a mining museum!
Looks to me the steam engine was powering the stamping mill and maybe they both came down the hill together. It would probably take a big bouncing hit to snap off that fly/drive wheel on that stamper. I bet it's out there in the brush somewhere. Any idea how far they could have tumbled down the hill?
It is really hard to say how far they might have come down because the area is so overgrown with brush. The brush really obscures the terrain and what else might be there. So, I'm sure we missed some stuff like a road it may have gone off of or buildings connected to the mine where the steam engine crashed down from... And, yes, it would indeed take a significant amount of force to snap off the wheel on the stamp mill. The other guy in the video - Michael - had been to this site before and I believe I recall him saying that after a great deal of effort he had found the wheel in the brush in the background.
Ok Thanks. Be interesting to see how much other stuff could be laying around you could see if a fire went through that area.
A fire would, unfortunately, burn the wood off of the steam engine, but, yes, it would certainly open up the area to many more discoveries. My exploring buddy and I went over a historic mining area a couple of years ago following a fire and found a lot of stuff that had been uncovered by the fire. A large drain tunnel, two adits, a lot of tools and equipment...
I'm thinking a fire came UP that hill, burned the building the engine and mill were in causing the engine to break free of it's mooring post and roll free.
As gravity took over it collided with and carried the stamp mill along with it on the journey down the already burned out hillside which is the reason the wooden pieces on the front did not catch fire.
Go looking with a metal detector and you'll probably find pieces of both machines scattered everywhere on that hillside
Hmmm. I hadn't thought about that possibility... In support of that idea was the absence of mature trees in that area. I don't believe any of the trees or other vegetation around that hill were more than fifty years old or so. We could not find a trace of any buildings either, which also supports that idea. The brush around there was very thick. So, going around with a metal detector would be tough. Thank you for your comment. You brought up an intriguing idea.
This gear,belongs in a museum.
I am a steam preservation est and steam engines now are worth a lot of money in the uk if i was you i would get that engine remove it from the woods completely strip it right down restore it because you've got the major parts there you got the boiler the tubes looking good condition the cylinders are all complete you need to save that steam engine before it rots away to nothing regards from mark in redruth cornwall uk
That's way beyond my knowledge and capabilities, but it would be great to see this steam engine restored.
Things don't for or rust away much in California
If you could get me in contact with the owners I would love to restore it.
Yes,not only is it very restorable but you can actually still buy parts for Ames Steam engines and Traction engines. As with a lot of machiery from this era it's often a matter of making parts that are missing. That boiler is in very nice condition too. 'd be betting money that it would pass a hydro test. Unfortunately if it didn't the authorities will not allow riveted boiler shells any more,only welded ones. Why? I have no idea but there were millions of riveted boilers made for 200 years. www.oswaldsupply.com/boiler-manufacturer/ames-iron-works.html
In the US they cant just take that engine, whos ever land its on owns it, considering the original owners are dead
Holy crap what a find!
Yes, I've got to put this one in the # 1 slot...
Now that would be an awesome piece of the yard art.
Gross. You mean yard clutter and eyesore
Ames' Iron Works was founded in 1854 by Henry M. Ames. The company was controlled by members of the Ames family until 1919 when it was sold to the Pierce Butler Radiator Corp. Ames was one of the foremost steam engine manufacturers in the United States. Rights for the steam traction engine business was sold to the Skinner Engine Co. of Erie, Pennsylvania.
I just looked this up and seen this model was made in the 1880 designs or so not exactly but that design.. kool VIDEO
Thank you! 1880, huh? I'm not sure when the steam engine was actually manufactured, but it, obviously, must be close to that time. The advertisement I found for the stamp mill was from 1890. So, that would all seem to fit.
yes I seen a a similar one, they seemed to changed quickly, that next piece called a stamper might of been driven by the steam engine....., been subbed ....i enjoy the exploring videos ...be safe
That's interesting that you've seen a similar one... I have never seen one quite like this before. You're certainly right about the swift changes. There was a lot of industrial innovation in that era and designs seem to have changed dramatically from year to year. That's a good point about them possibly using the steam engine to power the stamper or other equipment. Thank you for the subscription and comments.
I was googling images, and the side shape is what I noticed in advertisements..... recalling it had to cylinders on top and that big fire box, cool find though
Definitely one of the coolest things I have ever seen in the woods... I'll have to play around on Google as well so I can see the images you found.
Very cool! I love early iron tools
Thank you. Yes, I am 100% with you on the early iron tools!
Absolutely amazing!!!...imagine the cost of that steam engine back in the day...and having to leave it. Like crashing a new car or truck now to be found in 85 years!!
One of the most awesome things I have ever seen out in the woods...
How awesome! The rock in the adit was really colorful too! cool video!
Thank you, Paul. I loved seeing that steam engine there... We get some nice colors with the sulfides in our area. You ought to come up and visit sometime! I know you like flooded mines, but we can even take you to a few dry mines.
If you could get that steam engine out of there it would make an excellent restoration project...Soooo Kool....
Absolutely. This would be a great one to see restored... Getting it out of there would be a Herculean task though!
Hope someone salvages that steam tractor before it's too late.
Unfortunately, this is on federal land and so getting the paperwork together to get the portable engine out of there and to restore it would be next to impossible... Also, even if one did obtain permission, the actual physical task of getting it out of the canyon would be pretty daunting. It is a shame to see it slowly decaying in the forest (and wait until the inevitable forest fire comes along)...
TVR Exploring - Let a local Museum know about it, show them the pictures, they'll have a much better chance of getting it than you would. Besides, it belongs in a Museum, and not in someones front yard as ''yard art'' .
It's too late
Wicked video 👍 steam engine should be on display,!??!
I don't recall seeing a traction engine with the smokestack at the drive-wheel/firebox end of the boiler before!
If that boiler dates from the 1890 I'm amazed that the wood it still on the boiler. I wonder if this wood was replaced at some point in time, maybe the 1920-30s?
A fantastic find.
Thank you. Yes, I was thinking about that too... It was difficult to date the mining activity around that site and it could indeed have been as recent as the 1930s as there was a big surge in mining for gold during the Great Depression. We were also thinking though that the wood insulation on the steam engine may have been treated with something to help preserve it. Also, it was off of the ground, which would have helped to protect it as well. So, it's hard to say, and, unfortunately, it seems extremely unlikely that anyone involved in that project is still alive today to answer these questions for us.
TVR Exploring My father was born near Meyer Arizona in 1915. My grand father gave my father a penny and the two of them put the penny in the whistle of a steam boiler for their small copper mine that he was part owner in. This was a very hard life for this small family and they sold their half of the mine and moved. In time they made their way to northern Minnesota.
Sometime in the late 50s my youngest aunt took my grand parents back to Meyer and they even found the mine site. Surprisingly the old boiler was still there, as well as the whistle with its penny.
Five years ago we drove up there with my motorcycle. As chance would have it I found a lady who was well up in her 90's and she remembered the story of the Italian family the owned a part of the Blue Bell mine. I think that is the name she told me, or it could be blue flower mine. I found the mine site area but could not find any machinery or shaft. She said the shafts were plugged. The old smelter smokestack is the only thing still at Meyer. Ironically they are mining the Meyer onyx rock again but not for the copper ore this time, they are mining it for tile for home construction. They are mine a dozen or so very small open pit areas.
I thought you would enjoy this story as your such an explorer.
I remember a number of stories about the mining operations. It was a terrible way to make a living but that was the only occupation my grand father knew. He worked in the Black Forest of Germany and in South Africa at age sixteen, with both of these related to mining.
Be safe doing your explorations.
That is a great story! Thank you very much for sharing it... Did your grandparents come over from Italy? That is a shame that the shaft was plugged and that the machinery was gone. How great would that have been to see it? Yes, from everything I have seen and experienced underground, I think mining is an extremely tough way to make a living.
TVR Exploring My grand father came of the mountains of Italy. My grandmother was born in northern Minnesota but as an infant she was sent back to Italy with a wet nurse to be raised by family until she was thirteen years old. My great grand parents on my grandmothers side were sort of wealthy as the owned a small brick factory. Just why they didn't raise my grandmother themselves I don't really know.
Mining in Meyer ended in the late 1920s but resumed during the depression when unemployed men returned to see if they could find small deposits. The area is mostly mined for copper but even gold is found from time to time.
Ironically it was my father who found away for them to leave the Meyer area. As the second oldest of three boys he and his two brothers were playing on the foundation of an abandon burned out home. The house was long gone with no sign of occupation other than this foundation. A rock wall ran down between each half of it with one half forming a cistern water storage area. As a young child dad would run down this wall for fun. One time one of the rocks in the wall gave way causing him to fall into the hole. My older uncle walked down the wall and reached down into the small cistern to help pull dad out. When dad put his other hand in the hole to help pull himself out he felt a small cigar box. They took the box out of the hole hiding place and found it was full of money in the form of twenty dollar gold coins and such. This was my grandparents source of money that got them out and away from Arizona.
As a child my father would tell me of how he loved the high desert of the west. I never went there until I was 55 years old for the first time. This is a wonderful place located on the main road to Prescott valley and Prescott itself.
In time they made their way to kanas where granddad worked in a coal mine I think.
My father and his younger brother saw a gathering of men on the edge of town. They made their way to the field where the KKK was burning a cross. Dad was ten or so at the time and got caught by one of the good old boys from the KKK and was beaten very bad. Apparently they didn't like the fact he could speak very little English at the time. So my family moved to Minnesota to the iron mines and a community of other Italians. By the time WW2 came dad could speak many languages just from being around so many people who came to work the iron mines. He could speak German, French, of course Italian and finish a little bit. This served him well during his life in the military as he interrogated German war prisoners.
Sadly he was the first of the ten children to die. His illnesses of youth caused heath problems but smoking two three packs a day didn't help him either. He died in my arms when I was seventeen. My younger sister can hardly remember him as she was only ten years old.
The old mines you are finding have hard stories where families worked themselves to death to scratch a living out of a hole. That is why I love watching you explore these old mines.
To a lesser degree I explore the country on my cycle and have even gone to Alaska on the motorcycle. My best year for motorcycling was 15200 miles, not bad when you live in Minnesota where you can ride only five months a year. Lol not bad for someone who should have died a dozen times before.
Be well and very careful exploring these old mines. They have claimed many lives.
I often wonder when looking at these videos about the decendents of the miners and if the miners made money and the families today are wealthy or have they never known about GG grandfathers mining adventures in the 19th and early 20th Centuries.
I imagine Keith Rucker and his crowd would be interested in all this!
What you called the "strack" is actually the steam dom. Here the boiler collected its steam pressure. The safety valve was also on top of this.
What an incredible find! Of anything you've come across so far that deserves to be displayed somewhere, this would be it. I have to agree with pjbikerful about this being the power plant for the stamp mill. This doesn't look to be a self-propelled engine. If that is is smoke stack at the end with the large wheels anyone standing on a platform would have a faceful of smoke. Let me know if I'm wrong on the smoke stack. The opening at the other end on the top looks to be the steam dome where the steam collects above the water level through a pipe that would have a valve for a throttle.
There had to be a flywheel to transition piston strokes into smooth energy to power whatever equipment it was driving. As far as power to the rear wheels, if it was self-propelled, there would be a gear box of sorts since there isn't any exposed connection between the missing flywheel and the axles.
The rear axle(s) don't look live. (a live axel is one that connects both rear wheels together so they both have to turn at the same time). I can't really tell from the video but it appears as if a single axel would almost pass through the fire box? I'm wondering if the large bearing journal on the under side of the fire box/boiler held the shaft that supported a flywheel. I've seen most on top but there are some on the bottom. There is a shaft on top that could have held a flywheel but I'd say there is a better chance it held some sort of pulley.
Was there anything on the front axle that could possibly be a connection point for a means of this being pulled by a team of horses or mules? A self-propelled tractor had to have a means of steering the front wheels, sometimes as rudimentary as a pair of rods, one on either side of the boiler, every bit as fancy as that found on a very, very basic soapbox derby racer or it could have been an actual steering wheel connected to a shaft connected to a gearbox connected to the axle.
Getting back to the rear wheels for a moment, I can't say I've ever seen a self-propelled steam engine that had what would be deemed 'slicks' on the drive wheels. Even those designed just to be a moveable source of steam power had metal blades or 'tread' of some sort riveted to the wheels. Even with the rivets that are protruding for the spokes, this would have almost zero traction on sand, hard pack, or wet grass, leaves.
I'm far from an expert on steam engines but I've had the opportunity to work on a few. Most all spend more time being worked on than supplying power to pull a plow or operate another piece of machinery. Where I may be off base is the smoke stack above the firebox, hardly conducive to efficient use of coal or wood, what with dumping the heat out instead of passing it through boiler tubes. I also can't see the area behind that bearing journal (no reflection at all on your superb recording). Was there any gearing or shafts or any means of connecting a belt or gears to what may be a gearbox under the firebox? If there was a gearbox there I imagine the lubrication would suffer from excessive heat but stranger design flaws exist.
Regardless, this is a magnificent find! That and that very unique stamp mill. The cost of that equipment raises the question of how well that mine paid. No drifts, no stopes, no winzes, just the incredible fortune of having the ore vein run the same direction as the haulage tunnel or vis versa. I have seen many, many stamp mills but this is one new to me. The question that you all raised and will probably never know is; how did this equipment come to rest here? The steam engine could have rolled when a future former miner didn't set wheel chocks. If you have an interest I linked to a page that might give you some idea of what parts may have gone where or may not be any help at all. We'd be interested to know if you find anything else out. Thank you for a most interesting video Justin. www.google.com/search?q=pictures+of+steam+tractors&newwindow=1&tbm=isch&imgil=8zrbgKT1T7XC-M%253A%253BBm5rHDndlWfAyM%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.123rf.com%25252Fstock-photo%25252Fsteam_tractor.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=8zrbgKT1T7XC-M%253A%252CBm5rHDndlWfAyM%252C_&usg=__-ddLB02tNwqgLSpqbT7z9c_hKXw%3D&biw=1600&bih=767&ved=0ahUKEwjThPvzgd_VAhVBx1QKHUuWCVEQyjcIRA&ei=E_CVWZOvA8GO0wLLrKaIBQ__#imgrc__=_
Yes, Adit Addicts made the same observation about the steam engine not being self-propelled and he really knows his mechanical stuff well… Thank you very much for the detailed breakdown and explanation of the functioning of steam engines. The education is much appreciated. I do not recall seeing anything on the front axle that immediately jumped out as being a hitch for horses or mules. However, that does not mean it wasn’t there. First of all, I wasn’t looking for it and, secondly, the axle was flipped over and upside down. I wish that I could answer your other questions, but I’m afraid that I did not know what specifically to look for when I was there. So, I can’t offer anything other than what you can see in the video. It was not easy at all to get there, but if I go back, I will take a harder look and do my best to answer the questions you raised.
Yes, I would love to know how the steam engine and stamp mill ended up where they are now as well. I’m sure the story would be fascinating. Unfortunately, I don’t even have a name for the mine and can find absolutely no information on this site.
Thank you again for the extensive and interesting breakdown on steam power!
Forgot to respond about the mine... There was quartz scattered all over the hillside. So, perhaps they did surface mining and the steam engine winched ore up or down to the stamp mill? Alternatively, the area had a lot of dirt rather than hard rock and so it is entirely possible that there were additional adits present that have eroded shut. As you saw, the adit we went in was very close to being eroded shut.
That engine would be awesome to restore.
From what I've been told, these old boilers dragged themselves back into the woods under their own power. The operators would tie it off to a big tree or rock and fire it up, then it would crank itself over.
That would have been something to see!
This type of boiler was called a fire tube boiler , as the fire and heat went through the tubes heating the water on the outside of them. Depending on fuel used they'd have to brush out the ash once or twice a week as ash will insulate and slow the transfer of heat to the water . Nice find
Thank you for the information.
TVR- Those Steam Engines were used as Donkey Engines to power Stamp Mills, Air Compressors and the Jaw Crushers for the mines. They were also used in conjunction with the Hydraulic Mines sometimes as Water Pumps to fill the Holding Ponds for the Hydraulic Monitors used to wash the side of the Placer Quarry. It is important to understand these were not used to power the Hydraulic Monitors, the engines were not powerful enough to pressurize the water for that purpose, the Monitors were all gravity fed from Stock Pens, Holding Ponds or Cauffer Dams higher up on the creeks.
For example along the upper American River, Yuba River and the other tributaries along the Highway 49, to include above Auburn into Nevada City and Grass Valley, (which I am pretty sure that is where you guys were), you may notice large concrete dams and spill ways in these areas. These were used to divert water into Stock Pens and/or Holding Ponds for the Hydraulic Mines which required massive amounts of water to retrieve the Placer Ore, (Black Sand, , and the Gold Dust and Nuggets). The water from the monitors was then directed through Riffle Boxes that had either Canvas or Burlap lined in the bottom of the boxes. Contrary to popular opinion, the Riffle Boxes were not just smooth on the bottom between the Riffle Boards, which stopped the large gravel and rocks. The Canvas or Burlap was used to gather the Fines which contained the Black Sand and Gold. Once the Riffles were full, the water was cut off at the top pf the box, then Mercury was poured into each section to float off the Black Sand and leave the Placer Gold, (Nuggets or Dust).
Larger Rocks and gravel that may or may not contain Gold, (Gold Bearing Quartz, Serpentine, Basalt, Granite and Slate Rock), were then sent to the Stamp Mills, crushed into sand, and the process repeated through a Riffle Box to remove and remaining "Gold Ore", (Refer to Empire Gold Mine State Park, Grass Valley, CA.). One of the largest remaining Hydraulic Mine areas is the Malakoff Diggins near Auburn, CA. This area still has intact Monitors you can hike in and visit.
Something more that is a worth-while visit are the Dredger Piles in Marysville, Roseville, near Oroville and in a few other places here in California. After all of the Hydraulic Mines were done with their work, there would be residual Placer Gold be washed down stream, (IE: American River, Feather River, Yuba River), during the winter. Often causing flooding in the towns of Marysville, Roseville, and Sacramento, the solution was to ban Hydraulic Mining and install control dams to halt the uncontrolled water flow into these areas. In the meantime, before the Mining was stopped the gold companies placed Dredgers, (Chain Bucket Type), like the ones still operating in Alaska, into the rivers, the banks of these rivers were dug out, (rocks river sediment, silt, sand), all of it was sent through the Dredgers, the remaining placer gold was collected and the river rock was discharged out of the back of the Dredgers into huge piles of rock and gravel. You can still see the Dredger Quarries on Google Earth.
Lastly, these Steam Engines were also used to power the cable carts, (Man Skiffs, Tool Skiffs and sometimes Ore Carts), along the main Inclines/Declines in the mines. Ore Carts were not only man powered in the drifts of the mines, but in the case of large operation mines like Empire Mine, Kennedy, Argonaught), where they had a large head-frame above ground on a near vertical shaft also powered cable operated elevators into the main drift. Such equipment existed in New Almaden, Guadalupe, Zyante, and New Idria Mines which were used for Cinnabar, (Mercury). The Head-Frame can still be seen at New Idria in Coalinga. The ones at New Almaden have been destroyed and Adits sealed by Santa Clara County. The only evidence of the mines are still some mine tressels, carts and the Centerfuge Kilns. However, at New Idria, everything still remains.
Keep up the great documentation. Its good to see you guys taking the time to preserve this for future people to see.\
Sincerely,
Shane McGuire
Good information for viewers... I can tell that you know this area!
@@TVRExploring- Yeah, it goes back to my college days. Everyone in my English 1A class wanted to write about Gun Control, World Peace and Political Correctness. I literally had to beg my instructor to do my Semester Final on this subject. This was back in the day when you had two sources, (Your hiking boots, a 35mm Nikon Camera, a Mini Cassette Recorder and books). Yeah, no GPS, no Cell Phones, just USGS Maps, and the good sense to stay off current mining claims. FYI, if you would ever like to see one of those Steam Donkey Engines in operation, check out the California State Fair. There are a few clubs who have restored those engines.
Also, you may find in mines which were down in the San Bernadino County area(s), they also use what is called a Bessemer Engine, (Hit and Miss Engine). Some of the Coal Mines had access to Natural Gas pockets and would bring in a Petroleum Company like Phillips 66 to put in Natural Gas Spuds, (Gas Tap). They would then power these engines from that Natural Gas source as a form of free fuel to power their equipment, turn generators, air and water pumps, elevators and other equipment.
You guys may even find bird cages in these mines too. The ones in my current area of Patterson, if they were mining Cinnabar, Magnesite, Coal, Bauxite, Copper, Dolemite and Galena, (Lead Ore), Aresenic or Sulfur, some of these minerals were associated with pockets of Methane Gas, Sulfuric Gas and other toxic gases. Canaries and Finches were used to monitor air quality. In Gold and Silver Mines, they were used to monitor the Calcium Carbide lamps, other folks may not know, but mixing water with Calcium Carbide made Acetylene Gas, which itself is odorless and toxic. Union Carbide used to add a little sulfur to it so when it was being used it smelled like burned matches. The Canaries and Finches were closely monitored by all of the miners. If one of them saw the bird dead or in the bottom of the cage gasping for air, time to clear the mine until it was safe to re-enter.
California had a very rich mining history, We are the only state to mine a mineral called Benitoite. It is often associated with Serpentine and Asbestos. The largest deposit is located near Coalinga in San Benito County. The mining claim is still active, and visitors can go to the museum and mine their own gem quality specimens. The crystals are a beautiful sapphire blue and glow green under a black light. In Redding, people may not know under lake Shasta is a very large copper mine. It is flooded by the lake and was partially destroyed when the dam was erected.
Sorry about the wall of text. This is a subject I have always loved, and enjoy writing about California's Mining History. There are endless amounts of old mines in the Cascade Mountains above Redding. Basically anywhere you can find railroad, you will find old historic mining activity.
Last, you guys should also use old historic railroad maps. Often the rails have been pulled up along with the ties, but the one thing that remains is the railroad right of way. Old sections of branch line railroads, (branches of the Western Pacific, were often helpful. Lumber Railroads were also helpful), in particular if they were Narrow Gauge, (3Ft Gauge), where Shay, Heistler, Fourney and Climax type locomotives were used. This is how I used to find my mine locations, then mark them on USGS Maps. You would be surprised what is actually in the Santa Cruz Mountains you never thought was there...
At any rate I sent you a private E-Mail. Please feel free to drop me a line. I'd like to meet up with you folks one day..
Sincerely,
Shane McGuire
That steam engine is incredible. Still has its wood lagging!!! Probably used as power for a sawmill.
It blew my mind to see that... Really cool, huh?
That was really cool!
Yes, this one blew my mind. I still can't believe it is out there...
My mine had a nissen steam powered engine? All I see is a crank shaft?that's way cool what you have there.
What type of flashlight do you use when exploring abandoned mines
My handheld light is the Coast HP550 and the light on my helmet is the Coast HL8R. I like the adjustable focus that Coast lights have...
There are several stories of abandoned logging railroad engines in the mountains of my are central PA.
Great video!!
When you come to a place where the timbers have fallen away, how much risk are you taking that the roof may collapse?
Thank you! The collapses are something that crosses your mind, but we are always very careful to not touch anything when inside of the mines and particularly in sections like that. Obviously, we are touching the floor by walking on it, but I am referring to grabbing at the walls or ceiling or leaning on timbers - that sort of thing... Sometimes, if a spot looks really sketchy, I will even lower my voice. Those basic precautions aside, the real thing for me is looking at the odds of something happening. The ceiling of the mine has stood intact in that spot for over one hundred years. If I'm not doing anything to trigger it, what are the odds that something is going to happen right then when I am underneath it? Obviously, it will probably come down someday, but will that happen when I'm there? Almost certainly not... Now, it is a lot easier to say that when I am sitting in my living room typing this than when I am standing underneath something like that. So, yes, there is always a small feeling of relief upon safely exiting a mine and, yes, I spend as little time as possible in such sections. Placer mines are the worst... A hard rock mine is usually pretty solid and secure, but the placer mines collapse much more frequently. I just finished exploring an enormous placer mine where I spent more than an hour squeezing through chambers on my stomach. The ceilings had all collapsed in these chambers and so I was crawling over what used to be the roof of the chamber with tons of the same material directly overhead.
That is a unique engine it has dual pistons many only had one however The old donkey winching engines had the same setup. Incidentally Ames made those as well. I’ve come across many old logging pieces out in the forests of the Pacific Northwest when I was a kid in the 70’s it always was cool.
Man, you must have seen some great stuff out in the forests. I can only imagine... We have a fair amount of logging history as well, but I'm afraid that almost all of it has been erased. Yes, I thought this steam engine was pretty unique as well. I've never seen one quite like it elsewhere.
Somebody needs to get out of there and save it!
What a great find, unreal to come across that in the middle of nowhere! I wonder if they just attempted to blow it up with dynamite rather than transport it back or leave it for someone else to take/use. Noting the damage to some of the thicker ironwork, it might be. Probably the same with the small stamps, what a shame it's nearly impossible to salvage given it's location as they are both rare things now, should be preserved in a museum. Well documented, the mine probably had more levels you think?
Thank you. Yes, it blew my mind to see that steam engine just sitting there in the woods like that. It has probably been in the exact same spot for at least one hundred years now. Hard to say if the damage to the ironwork was intentional or a result of the (presumed) tumble down the hill... Either way, it is indeed a shame that the steam engine and stamp mill cannot be preserved in a museum. However, it is really cool to see them out in the forest as they are now and I love knowing things like that are still to be found out there. It is difficult to say with the mines. As you saw, the one at the start of the video was almost completely eroded shut. There is a lot of dirt rather than hard rock in that area and so it is really easy for the mines to erode shut. Near the steam engine was a pile of wood that were either rail ties or timbers for a mine. Also, there were funny shaped mounds and pits all over the place. The amount of quartz scattered around indicated that a lot of work had been done there... So, I'm not sure how much of that was surface mining or how many of those pits and mounds were the remnants of underground mining operations. The brush right around the steam engine wasn't too thick, but everywhere else it was extremely thick. So, that also made it difficult to see the complete picture of what went on there.
Thanks for that reply. The pits are probably prospects predating the mine, we get them a lot over here and I expect it was the way it was done there too. We need xray specs to see through the rock, wouldn't that be great for finding adits!
I would love a pair of xray specs! We would find so much... Some of the mining districts over here are absolutely honeycombed with adits that have eroded shut. Usually the adits are fine behind the portal - it is just a matter of knowing where to dig a little to get inside. Yes, I believe you are correct about the prospects. There were probably some visible quartz veins on the surface here.
Warm mornings in the summer. Roll out with a FLIR camera and look for the cold spots - cool air seeping out of the dirt covering the portals. At least, that's what I'd try, until x-ray vision is a reality!
Great idea that! Worth a try.
Lets restore it 👍
Or at least bring it to a museum
your friend was right, those where actually wood rails, they where common in small mines as steel rails where expensive.
Yeah, we find those metal strips they would place on top of the wooden rails fairly often at the smaller operations.
That was a pretty neat find, and rather intact for what it was. Assuming the deposit was played out, it may not have made financial sense to move equipment to a new site. Easier for owners to raise more capital, fleece more suckers, and buy all new stuff. Or perhaps they had reached the end of their useful life (i.e. there was better tech available by the time they were done there)?
You're lucky to have visited that one, though. Funny how I find old riveted stuff exciting!
Oh, I love rail and rivets... So, I understand completely! It was really hard to date that site and so it is difficult to speculate on the circumstances or reasons for the steam engine and stamp mill being abandoned. I've noticed that miners tend to leave a lot of equipment behind when they abandon a mine. More often than not, the fleecing of suckers seems to be a large component of mining. So, whatever happened, it probably involved that!
Where is this?
Just so you know the stack is in the front the one you called the stack is the steam Dome, and the one your friend called the boilerplate is a firebox door and the one the fire sets on is called fire grates and one thing that's rare is that twin cylinders most steam tractors only have one
Thank you for the additional details.
Bela máquina! Seria bom vê-la te restaurada e exposta em um museu! Saudações do Brasil! 👍
Can you imagine the time and man hours it took.to get that machinery set up and running and especially transported to that location?. What sort of operation was all that stuff for anyways, does anyone know by chance???.
Kind regards, Eric Dee
Given the remote location and rugged country, it would have taken an amazing amount of effort to get the steam engine out there. This was all done in support of mining gold in the canyon here.
TVR Exploring : I see. I recently watched a history show the other day about the gold rush era. Watching people by the thousands climb the hills from the U.S. into Canada to get to the Yukon through massive blizzards and what not was absolutely nuts.
Those old timers were tough! I can't believe some of the conditions miners endured in the past.
Heartbreaking for the miners.
Im sure that is one of those boilers train that would be prone to exploded.Something ive seen before for some reason.
That is a nice one. It looks like all it needs is new tires, spark plugs and
maybe an oil change and possibly a new carburetor.. The wood is the
deluxe woody model. $5.00 extra
Thanks for the great video. Please keep them coming.
Regards, Ody Slim
Thank you. Yes, it was a treat to see this one, for sure. We were amazed at how well preserved it was given how long it had been out there.
curious, you mentioned the cables, did you ever follow them to see where they went?
Just went into the brush a little way...
Free steam engine, no asbestos cleanup required! Might have leaky boiler tubes however. Firebox doors are missing.
We've been looking for a abandoned stem engine here in Butte county for about a year now. One of my very close friends doesn't have much longer in his life and ever since he was 6 he's been trying to locate the few that are up in the hills. He's out in his time with mining companies as the person who does the TNT and has been to some pretty neat places up here but no luck finding the train. Could we possibly talk for a min?
That engine deserves a restoration.
Yes, one doesn't see many like it left...
The engine could be salvaged, the axle pin seems to have sheared out on the front which caused it to part company and without the use of a modern jack or hoists we have today it prob was too much to get remounted. The whole boiler itself is prob many tens of tons yet surprisingly the whole engine seems in very good order for poss a hundred year old neglected vehicle. BTW a lot of that is cast iron machined which is very brittle and will crack quite easily, most traction engines did quite well with just one cylinder but this one has two and a very unusual chimney at the back which suggests it lost its need to power itself along as the old chimney point is at the front which explains why the chain drive from flywheel to the undone bracket behind the wheel is missing, traction engines quite often were hobbled to become stationary boilers and power plants, here in the UK old traction engines were utilised to create steam for hospitals, steam and hot water for prisons and barracks and even electricity generators as it was cheaper to buy an ancient old boiler and repurpose it than buy a very expensive new boiler or diesel generator.
The alvage efforts were probbly abaandoned cause of the shown crack, it was on the frame and the operating folks didn't trust the frame after that to withstadn use.
For me this looks like a monument for the miner's crushed dreams.
Well said...
I still think it was a free wheel or pulled by teamsters and the brackets on the bottom were for the break lever and pads.
Well, you would know more than most... I left it at "steam engine" because it was certainly that, but I was not sure what its purpose was beyond that or what to call it. Thank you for weighing in with your expertise.
Do you have GPS cordinates of this?
Nice try fuck's face
Location: Granite Basin Mining District
1800s vintage probably being used as a winch or to supply power
Your other commenters are correct that it is a portable engine, not a traction engine. The pinion on the crankshaft and the larger driven gear, plus the double-simple arrangement of the cylinders makes it likely that this engine was made for winching. That would be logical around a mining operation. I hope you can hook up an engine restorer with this rare beast.
I'm afraid it would be impossible to get this steam engine out... It's at the bottom of a steep canyon and the forest is quite thick on the way down. Thank you for confirming the "portable engine" point of view and for providing the details that you did.
You can bet that this cost them a lot of money and it's destruction must have been quite a blow to the operation!
Yes, I believe you're 100% right about that. As further evidence of that, you can see where they tried to recover it with the cable even though the chances of success would have been so low.
Where was this, that it had the steam engine from upstate ny?
Out in the forests of California...
I also have never seen wood used as boiler jacketing, because it should catch on fire. There is also the condition of the wood, that would seem to be too well preserved given how long that engine has likely been there.
The wood slats are probably American Chestnut which is naturally rot-resistant. That species of tree was abundant at that period before the blight wiped it out.
It looks like a portable, but Ive never seen on with such big and wide rear wheels. its a return flue engine meaning the heat gets used twice. you can always tell that by the stack being at the rear. The wood slatting MIGHT have been for insulation, BUT WAS for IF the engine blue, the wood would help keep pieces in the neighborhood of the main unit.
Interesting. Thank you for the additional details.
I would see if you could get it out it would be easyish to fix
Definitely been there over 100 years.
Pretty awesome, huh?
that blue colored rock looks to be kyanite...or did you guys bother to take a closer look??
It could have been. From my limited knowledge of kyanite, I believe the geology is right for it in that area. However, no, we did not stop and take a closer look. It is easy to get distracted when going through a mine for the first time...
Man love to have this thing. for the pistons to build a steam power plant. man this is cool.
Thank you. It's quite a piece of machinery, to be sure...
Is there a date on steam engine!!
I didn't see one...
Interesting stuff. 👍🏻
Incredible!
I thought that would be one you liked!
I seen a episode and you find a three stamp, stamp mill. I would love to save them.
Take care in this regard, Pilot ...
If this is on US federal or native land, it is a federal criminal offense (actually do or offer to) destroy, deface, remove, transport, sell, purchase, exchange or receive any items from historic mining, logging or habitation sites, without an archaeological ARPA permit.
Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeological_Resources_Protection_Act_of_1979
The law, damage assessment, crime and sentencing: www.nps.gov/archeology/PUBS/techbr/tch20.htm
Looks like bull gear lug mounts on inside of wheels.As stated in the video looks like a shaft was mounted that may have had sprockets either side(for drive)May be too early for a gear to gear drive.They may have tried to lighten it up before taking it up steep grades.Too small and gutless for mountain trails.
That's a steam powered tractor. Probably was used for pulling carts maybe? That's the first time I have seen this at a mine. Rather odd considering the mine wasn't that large.
Pulling ore carts would be my first guess... However, it could also have been used for hauling logs and/or timbers up the hill. Not far from where the steam engine was, we found a large pile of rotted wood that was either timbers or rail ties. That mine was indeed small and in no way would seem to justify its own stamp mill or a steam engine/steam tractor like that. However, there was a ton of quartz scattered all over the place as well as a number of unusual pits and mounds around the area. So, I suspect there was a fair amount of surface mining taking place and, given the dirt rather than hard rock in the area, that other adits present at this mine have eroded shut. The mine we explored was very, very close to being eroded shut as well. Also, given how thick the brush was in the area, we almost certainly missed some stuff.
Strip mining would make sense, I bet they pulled a scrapper behind the tractor to pull up the dirt.
I wonder if the engine is a portal in Ingress... Very interesting find
Thank you. It wouldn't be an easy portal to get to if someone did create a portal there. I can assure you of that.
Those are the best portals.
Awesome finds! It'd be amazing to see that steam-engine restored, but it'd probably have to be helicoptered out! (and have the pressure-vessel and other parts recreated most likely)
It would definitely not be easy to get the steam engine out of there! Even without the issue with the front axle, there is no way it could be towed out given the way the terrain is now. Helicoptering it out would not be easy either as it is in a narrow canyon and there are a number of trees over the top of it that would have to be cut away. I'd love to see it restored to its original glory though, believe me.
Ooh, quite tricky yes. That level of difficulty would probably require the land-owners consent to clear a path, in addition to consent to remove the engine. Might be worth it to somebody out there, but unfortunately there's also the chance the land-owner might refuse to allow that! Now I wonder how many (if any, though I'd assume some) of similar or identical units still exist out there? (in any kind of condition) Oh, here's a very similar possibly matching non-running one: www.farmcollector.com/steam-engines/rare-ames-steam-engine-ames-iron-works-design-prone-to-boiler-explosion Looks like the engineer position is on top though, does that match the one you found?
Well, it's on public land and so you would have the even more difficult task of getting permission from the government in order to go about clearing the land! However, the hill down to the steam engine is extremely steep. So, even if the land were cleared, it would still be a major job to get it out of there. I have no idea how many of these are left, but I've never seen one before and I can't imagine there are that many left. The steam engine in the article definitely looks similar, but the stack is different. Also, on the one we saw, it appeared that the engineer was perched on the back rather than the top.
Yeah, all that would surely complicate things. Too bad it doesn't break down into small enough pieces to pack out a bit at a time! Didn't see any wood-clad in my brief browse of google images either, wonder if they have model ID on them anywhere? (I've already forgotten exactly what info you found on it, I should go to bed... XD)
Restore this amazing steam engine
jeremie johnson ok.
Where in the west are you?
Mostly California and some Nevada when I'm in the US...
Now you guys have found some cool shit but damn. First old mine as seen by the tree shaped timbers. That's a dead giveaway. Second the steam beast. That is by far one of the coolest things I have seen discovered by mine explorers. Great job and then the stamp mill lol. They spent some money on what appears to be a small mine. Maybe rich in minerals who knows. Great job guys. As always be safe
Thank you! Yes, we'll have a really hard time topping the discovery of the steam beast, I'm afraid. It's hard to say about the mine, but the seeming disconnect between the size of the mine and the extensive equipment struck me as well... There was quartz scattered all over the hillside and so perhaps there was a fair amount of surface mining? The surface was dirt rather than hard rock and so it is also possible that there were other adits that have eroded shut. As you saw, the one we went in was almost eroded shut.
SO THE STEAM TRACTOR ENGINE POWERED THE THING INTHE CREEK ,, THE PICTURE IN THE PAPER ..?
Fremont St is also in Las Vegas. It should be sent for scraps to someone that restored these things.
That's a fair point...
Sure hope there's someone outside to notify next of kin when one of these old mines collapses.
Of all of the things that can kill you inside of an abandoned mine, that is actually among the least likely.
I would love to see this get restoration done here bring it back to life again it would be a great project to work . So it can part of the running thing to show off .
I'd bet they used that traction engine to run the stamp mill. And dropped the traction engine trying to get it back out the valley once they had done mining the claim. I doubt they tried to rescue it because there's alot of damage to a few bits that would require heavy engineering to fix, like the pivot pin those front wheels turned on, and that crack you showed. I doubt miners could have fixed either of those bits easily. Getting it out would be a nasty job unless you could use a heavy lift helicopter btw, which is a pity, as its worth preserving even if restoration was not possible.
I think you could well have nailed it with this analysis... Yes, getting it out now would definitely require a helicopter given where it is located.
That's awesome I love find abandon history 1 mans junk is another's treasure 70 years later at least lol
Ames still makes engines
Is this in ny?
It's in California.