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