Man, I can't believe you guys can trust people up there to actually pay for gas. That's just crazy.
CK5
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Adventures with Big Blue
- Thread starter campfire
- Start date
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- air supply rocks
Oh boy...
Gas stop was in Ontonagon. The trail North of town was probably the most technical stretch during this adventure. A few of the mudholes were touchy on tiny tires, we had a river crossing, and a climb up a mud/rock face on the far side. Pictures:
(I was last on this run).
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This is the only place all week where Dave got stuck. But it's only because he didn't have his hubs locked. AFAIK, he only needed 4WD 3 or 4 times. I needed it 6 or 7 times. He locked hubs and drove right out.
Doesn't look like much, but with my amount of vertical clearance it's still enough to create issues.
My run through the bumpy section.
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This caused my only truck issue during the trip. The unsecured wire going to my "low coolant" sensor fell into the fan blades and tore off. Haven't decided whether to fix it or not. The one time I ran low on coolant it failed to work.
After digging that wire out of the fan, we continued on to the river crossing.
Stopping to survey the crossing. This wasn't our tightest trail, but the branches were close enough that opening either window would lead to a mouthful of leaves. And the CB antenna on the top was hitting stuff constantly.
Down the incline to the water.
Dave took the first attempt across the river and up the far side.
We cleared out a line for him to take next to the rocks that stretched across the creek, and instead he decided to run directly on top of them.
One of them caught his front differential, but he didn't even notice. 
(I was last on this run).
View media item 27009
View media item 27007
This is the only place all week where Dave got stuck. But it's only because he didn't have his hubs locked. AFAIK, he only needed 4WD 3 or 4 times. I needed it 6 or 7 times. He locked hubs and drove right out.
Doesn't look like much, but with my amount of vertical clearance it's still enough to create issues.
My run through the bumpy section.
View media item 27008
This caused my only truck issue during the trip. The unsecured wire going to my "low coolant" sensor fell into the fan blades and tore off. Haven't decided whether to fix it or not. The one time I ran low on coolant it failed to work.
After digging that wire out of the fan, we continued on to the river crossing.
Stopping to survey the crossing. This wasn't our tightest trail, but the branches were close enough that opening either window would lead to a mouthful of leaves. And the CB antenna on the top was hitting stuff constantly.
Down the incline to the water.
Dave took the first attempt across the river and up the far side.
We cleared out a line for him to take next to the rocks that stretched across the creek, and instead he decided to run directly on top of them.
One of them caught his front differential, but he didn't even notice.
Next up was Big Blue. Here's a good sample of the sort of terrain this trip involves. Yes, the rut is deep enough to bury a truck, but it's not that hard to avoid. I did slip into it while climbing the far side, but a few seconds of winching time from Dave resolved that.
That's the downhill side. Now for the uphill side.
After I was pulled back out of the rut, the truck climbed the rest of the way on its own power.
This is looking down the hill, you can see my track falling into the rut on the right side.
Then Luke crossed. No problem.
This arrangement left me in the lead, but I didn't know where I was going. So I pulled ahead and waited for Luke to work his way back into the lead.
Might not look like much width, but he did get past me.
Couple pics from back at the deeper mud holes.
For a brief time, the wheels matched (color-wise). And then we crossed the creek and they were shiny again.
That poor license plate has bent upward several times now.
That's the downhill side. Now for the uphill side.
After I was pulled back out of the rut, the truck climbed the rest of the way on its own power.
This is looking down the hill, you can see my track falling into the rut on the right side.
Then Luke crossed. No problem.
This arrangement left me in the lead, but I didn't know where I was going. So I pulled ahead and waited for Luke to work his way back into the lead.
Might not look like much width, but he did get past me.
Couple pics from back at the deeper mud holes.
For a brief time, the wheels matched (color-wise). And then we crossed the creek and they were shiny again.
That poor license plate has bent upward several times now.
We continued on our way, heading for the mining town of Painesdale.
Amazing how much cleaner the wheels are after that bath (and the gentle rain that characterized the day).
Painesdale has one of just 4 remaining shaft houses in Copper Country. The sloped section in the middle is aligned with the mine shaft under the building. A track runs down into the ground and skip cars bring up ore. Cables head over to a hoist house to the right side (cables no longer visible).
The museum has a parade float. And I have a sandwich.
Inside the hoist house. The yellow thing is a man car, ready to haul men up and down. An ore skip is hanging on the crane at the left (not on the track at this time). Two skips run up and down parallel tracks, counterbalancing each other.
Map of the shafts and the 4 shaft houses that used to be there.
I would love to go up one of these things, but this museum doesn't allow folks above the ground level. The iron stairway is hanging with no lower support now, so I guess their fears have some foundation.
The second shaft has this concrete plug.
The man car. How would you like to ride one of these to work? Methinks this one was divided into 3 vertical compartments, but the dividers are gone now.
And when the cable snaps...it goes down a long ways before hitting bottom. IIRC, this shaft is ~4000 feet deep.
And that's less than half the depth of the Quincy Mine just down the road from here.
The building has been preserved because this particular mine is very prone to flooding. So the local township used the shaft as a water reservoir for many years after the mine shut down. That is why this shaft house and hoist house were preserved, the township used them to raise and lower water pumps. We were told that the water table is now up within 10' of the surface (so you won't fall very far before getting wet).
Amazing how much cleaner the wheels are after that bath (and the gentle rain that characterized the day).
Painesdale has one of just 4 remaining shaft houses in Copper Country. The sloped section in the middle is aligned with the mine shaft under the building. A track runs down into the ground and skip cars bring up ore. Cables head over to a hoist house to the right side (cables no longer visible).
The museum has a parade float. And I have a sandwich.
Inside the hoist house. The yellow thing is a man car, ready to haul men up and down. An ore skip is hanging on the crane at the left (not on the track at this time). Two skips run up and down parallel tracks, counterbalancing each other.
Map of the shafts and the 4 shaft houses that used to be there.
I would love to go up one of these things, but this museum doesn't allow folks above the ground level. The iron stairway is hanging with no lower support now, so I guess their fears have some foundation.
The second shaft has this concrete plug.
The man car. How would you like to ride one of these to work? Methinks this one was divided into 3 vertical compartments, but the dividers are gone now.
And when the cable snaps...it goes down a long ways before hitting bottom. IIRC, this shaft is ~4000 feet deep.
And that's less than half the depth of the Quincy Mine just down the road from here.The building has been preserved because this particular mine is very prone to flooding. So the local township used the shaft as a water reservoir for many years after the mine shut down. That is why this shaft house and hoist house were preserved, the township used them to raise and lower water pumps. We were told that the water table is now up within 10' of the surface (so you won't fall very far before getting wet).
Other related buildings (not necessarily owned by the museum).
The door at the bottom of the shaft house is where the ore came out (via rail cars).
Inside the door.
The hoist house. Cable is visible, but it doesn't go up to the shaft house anymore. The wooden towers that held its pulleys have crumbled and collapsed.
This hoist house was a confusing mixture of old and new. The hoist only occupied about 30% of the building, and the drum shape didn't match the cable paths cut into the side of the building. Also, the empty half the building had shiny new concrete poured over the old floor.
This hoist is electric, variable DC supplied by a dynamotor. Cool stuff, but too new to be part of the original 1898 operation.
Schematic hanging on the wall. Luke says "I'm not sure what a squiggly-line switch is." Maybe a relay?
Back across the street, the third building owned by the museum is the mine captain's office.
Baby found buttons to push.
The door at the bottom of the shaft house is where the ore came out (via rail cars).
Inside the door.
The hoist house. Cable is visible, but it doesn't go up to the shaft house anymore. The wooden towers that held its pulleys have crumbled and collapsed.
This hoist house was a confusing mixture of old and new. The hoist only occupied about 30% of the building, and the drum shape didn't match the cable paths cut into the side of the building. Also, the empty half the building had shiny new concrete poured over the old floor.
This hoist is electric, variable DC supplied by a dynamotor. Cool stuff, but too new to be part of the original 1898 operation.
Schematic hanging on the wall. Luke says "I'm not sure what a squiggly-line switch is." Maybe a relay?
Back across the street, the third building owned by the museum is the mine captain's office.
Baby found buttons to push.
I just lol'd so loud at work because of that sandwich. Thank you sir.
Schematic hanging on the wall. Luke says "I'm not sure what a squiggly-line switch is." Maybe a relay?
Yeah, man, I wanted to roll up my sleeves and get that hoist running!
Quincy always talks about their hoist being in near-ready condition, just lacking steam to run it (boilers scrapped). I always wanted to call their bluff and pull that train out of the round house (or the one from Lake Linden) to make some steam. That'd be cool to watch even if they couldn't get much speed. I just figure that compressed air wouldn't do as all the valving is designed for the expansion of steam and condensation.
We then headed through town and up to Houghton to the Keweenaw. 
Coming down the hill into Houghton.
Looking across the water to the Keweenaw. Quincy Mine dominating the ridge.
Stopped along the water for yummy dinner in town. Quincy Smelting Works in the background.
Crossed the bridge into Hancock. They're still under construction (3 months since last trip?), so we headed up the bluff instead of winding around on the highway. It's more fun that way.
Back on the highway again on the high side of town. Quincy #2 shaft house here.
Ruins from the other 8 shaft operations that Quincy ran at this location.
Coming down the hill into Houghton.
Looking across the water to the Keweenaw. Quincy Mine dominating the ridge.
Stopped along the water for yummy dinner in town. Quincy Smelting Works in the background.
Crossed the bridge into Hancock. They're still under construction (3 months since last trip?), so we headed up the bluff instead of winding around on the highway. It's more fun that way.
Back on the highway again on the high side of town. Quincy #2 shaft house here.
Ruins from the other 8 shaft operations that Quincy ran at this location.
Stay tuned for this point to become personally relevant.
When you hear this story, you'll get a lot of insight about things in the Copper Country.
Yer welcome. Pretty sure that Wifey took that picture, as I was the one eating, and I don't have enough hands to do everything all at once.
We then headed through town and up to Houghton to the Keweenaw.
Coming down the hill into Houghton.
This is where I commented: "There's just no other town like this in the world..."
It should be far easier to get an electric hoist online than to get a reciprocating steam engine going. That's slightly painful for a steam-loving M.E. to admit, but it's the truth. Odds are pretty good that Quincy has some seized joints and failed seals that are 70 years past their oiling/maintenance schedule.
The rotating hardware & dynamotor were all present at Painesdale, it can't be more than a few wires away from turning over. Freshen up the few moving parts and you're ready for another 100 years of happy operation.
Agreed. How many guys in the world know how to service and operate something like that?
This is why I want to call their bluff. It was shut down in 1929. I would believe that some level of maintenance was done after that, but the whole place was shut down by the '40's. I'd like to believe QMHA has done something besides polish the brass, but who knows?Odds are pretty good that Quincy has some seized joints and failed seals that are 70 years past their oiling/maintenance schedule.
I wish.The rotating hardware & dynamotor were all present at Painesdale, it can't be more than a few wires away from turning over. Freshen up the few moving parts and you're ready for another 100 years of happy operation.
I don't think they even bother with that. The one piece of brass that hasn't been scrapped out was quite dull when we visited (stairway railing).
Pictures of what we're talking about for all the folks who haven't been inside Quincy. This hoist and its 4-cylinder double-compound corliss steam engine are massive.
Quincy shaft house. Not as steep as the Painesdale house, but steeper than the ones up near Calumet. Water bailing skip on the left, man car on the right.
Picture of the man car in operation.
What are those trestles there for? Is it an old train line?
Martin
Martin
Yes, they were built by a now-defunct railroad. I'm not sure why they chose that route, it's a whole lot higher than the highway bridges on either side of it. One mile either direction and the Firesteel river is a smaller thing with two branches instead of 3.
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Heading North I requested a stop past the Osceola #13 shaft house in Calumet. I've managed to miss this thing multiple times.
Good ol' U.P. - It's the hottest week of August and there's still a snowmobile out and about.
And I'm so used to seeing them everywhere now that I didn't even notice it at the time.
This one still has its cables running from hoist house to shaft house. The steel tower has held up better than the wooden towers that Painesdale used.
Hoist drums.
Dave's poser shot
The walkways all look open, I didn't see any posted signs near the shaft house, and I've seen pictures from inside this one, but we opted to stay on the ground.
Good ol' U.P. - It's the hottest week of August and there's still a snowmobile out and about.
And I'm so used to seeing them everywhere now that I didn't even notice it at the time.
This one still has its cables running from hoist house to shaft house. The steel tower has held up better than the wooden towers that Painesdale used.
Hoist drums.
Dave's poser shot
The walkways all look open, I didn't see any posted signs near the shaft house, and I've seen pictures from inside this one, but we opted to stay on the ground.
Looking at the lower end of the house (where the ore & poor rock come out).
My copy of Dave's poser shot.
And then we headed into Calumet for non-stinky fuel. So I did what every good diesel owner does. I sat and watched Dave drain his checkbook into the fuel tank.
Luke liked the sign offering Ethan free premium. For his diesel truck.
Heading North we caught a brief glimpse of the Centennial shaft house. These 4 shaft houses are all that's left of the dozens that used to fill the countryside, and we saw them all within a couple hours.
My copy of Dave's poser shot.
And then we headed into Calumet for non-stinky fuel. So I did what every good diesel owner does. I sat and watched Dave drain his checkbook into the fuel tank.
Luke liked the sign offering Ethan free premium. For his diesel truck.
Heading North we caught a brief glimpse of the Centennial shaft house. These 4 shaft houses are all that's left of the dozens that used to fill the countryside, and we saw them all within a couple hours.
