An Abandoned Rail Car
Moving past the cog-rail, we rejoin the Quincy and Torch Lake Railroad on its journey east. High up on the hill beyond we could make out the silhouettes of the Quincy #2 complex, now the only remnants of a vast industrial skyline that once graced this hill. To those in the valley floor, the industrial power of the Keweenaw was on full display each day as this hill moaned and breathed with life. Now, however, only silence was our companion as we moved on down the line.
Soon we could make out a structure on the side of the trail ahead of us. Here the trail widened out into an open area. Sitting in the middle of the opening this structure seemed to have been left here years ago. As we approached we could see it was an old train car, still sitting on a short section of track that had not been torn up with the rest.
Considering its battle with the elements for the last forty or so years, it was in relatively good shape. The wheels and suspension had become a rusted red, while the wood of its sidewalls was aged to a dull gray. Throughout the train car various metal rods and fasteners protruded out at odd angles. While the sidewalls were generally intact, the floor was not. The water it was sure to collect over the years must have rotted it away.
The Quincy and Torch Lake Railroad generally shipped either copper rock to the mill, or coal back up from the docks at Mason to the boiler houses. In both cases – at the mill and at the boiler house – these cars were brought above holding bins on raised trestles, where they emptied their contents. Unfortunately, this car’s bottom was mostly gone and we couldn’t see any obvious chute or door that would be used to empty it. However, there was a set of mechanical controls on one side – possibly used to open or close a now missing door on the bottom of the car. Perhaps this was a rock car, we weren’t sure. We became surer, however, once we moved a hundred or so feet further down the line.