Aerial Trams

Last year we visited the Historical Museum in Silverton, Colorado. Among the many interesting exhibits was a display dealing with aerial trams.
Silverton History Museum

These aerial trams were used to transport ores down from the mines to the mill and supplies back to the mines by the use of miles of steel cables over the mountain. These trams made transportation of ores feasible over the inhospitable terrain and deep snows much of the year. 

I found this fascinating and acquired books describing how the various systems were created, marketed, installed, operated and maintained. This education made me want to see a system in person.

This led us to the Mayflower Mill outside of Silverton, Colorado which is now a part of the Historical Society. It has an aerial tram house that is still intact. We explored that structure and then went four wheeling up Arrasta Gulch to study the aerial tram towers and understand how they worked.

View of the  Mayflower Mill outside of Silverton Colorado. It closed operations in 1991 and is now  can be toured to help preserve mining history.

This structure was part of the tram with a weight being used to maintain tension on the tram cables

View as you enter the tram house

Overhead wheel turns cable for the return trip

Typical bucket used to transport ore

The upper set of wheels rode on the upper of two cables. The lower cable was used to move the bucket along at about 5 MPH. A clamp was used to affix the bucket to the moving cable.

Handle side of the clamp

Cable side of the clamp

Detail of the woven cable

This is the oiler that was sent over the tram system once a month to lubricate the cable

The system was also used to transport miners

Bucket in the emptying position

View into Arrastra Gulch from the tram house

Spare parts for the tram system

The miners rode to and from the mine in the ore cars. The company provided blankets to keep them warm

Getting ready to explore Arrastra Gulch

Details of the various aerial trams in Arrastra Gulch. The Mayflower tram was the only to have steel towers

Typical steel tower

These towers were used to support the cable, change angle of the cable run and direction of the cable

When the mill closed the buckets stopped where they were and remain to this day

All in all a nice way to spend a day exploring the mountains