“C” Shaft
Leaving the steam pipes behind and walking out of the trees we found ourselves standing below the high tower of another shaft - this one the “C” shaft. Identical to “B” shaft in life, she is also identical in death. The same sandstone foundation capped by the same four story concrete pillar. Unlike “B” shaft however, this ruin appeared to be much more overgrown and is tough to find when your not right on top of it.
Looking up at the towering pillar above our heads we could make out a series of distinct grooves along its side, which gave it the appearance of being built from concrete “boards”. I believe these marks were left by the wood boards used to build the form used to shape this pillar. The boards were uneven and as a result created these patterns.
Walking up to the top of the building we find the cap to the shaft sitting in the woods. I’m pretty sure that this concrete slab is the cap, but it seems to be missing the usual breather pipe we’ve come to expect on caps. Perhaps the addition of these breather pipes is a more modern cap design.
Heading back down the steep hillside the shafthouse sits along, we come down to its base. Unlike at “B” there was no evidence of the railway or outer wall of the shaft, a pile of poor rock sits at these foundation’s base instead. As usual in Copper Country construction, poor rock walls with Jacobsville sandstone quoins (corner pieces).
Walking down from the shafthouse we cross the old railroad grade and almost miss another ruin hiding in some bushes and trees. It was so hidden that we couldn’t even get a good picture of it, so we had to climb inside the thicket for some close up photos instead.
We’re pretty sure this is a smokestack, or was a smokestack. The ruin was a simple concrete box, capped by this metal place with a circular flange in the middle. Most likely a steal smokestack was placed into this flange, and held up by guide wires. The stack had of course collapsed after years of neglect but the base remains.
A closer look at the metal cap and its rivets holding it down to the concrete.
On the front of the concrete box is a doorway not quite large enough for a person. The remains of metal clips could be found - like here - on the hole’s four corners. I think this hatch used access the smokestack for cleaning and to remove accumulated ash. The door had been removed, probably for scrap.
A look inside the maintenance hatch shows nothing much of interest - just a hole filled with debris and trash.
The smokestack was to one of the boiler plants, I think this is the one that supplied the school with heat. As far as the shaft cap goes, Copper range vented all of their shafts a bit differently, and its well hidden and secured, they sued doors around the shaft caps and typically welded them shut, but they still allow a bit of trapped air to vent. No. 3 Shaft has a large vent elbow but this was a latter adition.
Joe Dase | July 20, 2007
Joe-
My guess as to the identity of the smokestack comes from a 1909 insurance map for the mine that I have my hands on currently. The only structure shown in this location on that map was the “C” engine house. ( later I believe this shaft used a larger shared hoist out on the Chassel - Painesdale road.) Unlike the other hoists on the map, which are rectangular in shape, this hoist shows a distinct “tab” which could of been this smokestack. I suppose its possible that the original engine house was converted to a dedicated boiler building after the shaft began using the new hoist, or the original engine house had an attached boiler house… or something else entirely.
explorer | July 20, 2007
Way cool, that would make sense, the final hoist house for No. 2 Shaft is still standing, its on the Chassel Painsdale road, large brick building, used to have some heavy equipment around it. Copper Range used deflection sheaves to get the hoist ropes to the headframe.
Joe Dase | July 21, 2007