Coal Dock

Torch Lake sits at the southern end of the Traprock Valley, butted up against the rising ridge-line forming the Keweenaw’s spine. The 2700 acre lake is over 100 feet deep and home to over 200 million tons of stamp sand, dumped into it from the line of stamp mills along its western shore. The sands have permanently altered the lakes appearance and hydrology, creating hundreds of acres of new shoreline. Recently, these desolate sands have been capped with six inches of topsoil, in an attempt to rehabilitate the lake. It was along the top of one of these grass laden caps that we were now exploring, out on the sands deposited by the Quincy Mills over a generation ago.

As we made our way to the new shoreline, we find ourselves looking out over a line of old pilings. Once these pilings must of been covered by water, but the low lake levels we’re currently experiencing here has brought them to the surface. These pilings are part of an expansive coal handling facility that once was here. Besides the over 500 foot long dock we were looking at now, there was also a pair of large cranes and a metal covered coal shed just behind them. Coal delivered here was picked up by Q&TL Railroad cars and brought back up the hill to the mines to feed Quincy’s many boilers.

Sitting up on the ground but in line with the dock was a series of concrete footings. These footings also spread back from here, forming a rough rectangle in shape. These probably once help up a large metal roof that once covered the coal piles that sat behind here.

Atop one of these concrete footings sits this steel jacketed column. Attached to its face are a series of metal hand holds, that most likely once ran up its entire length.

Each of the dozens of pilings that make up the old dock are capped by these metal spikes, which attached the dock’s deck to them.

Here sits one of these beams that help up the docks main deck. Only a few of these are still attached, with most having been seemingly torn off at one time.

Lining up against the shore-side of the dock are numerous bolts and timbers that probably once held the whole dock together.

Scattered across the old dock are a collection of industrial remains, like this old drum. We found many more of these up the hill in the trees as well, all of them empty however.

While the rest of the stamp sands had been covered and cleaned up, this area near the docks seemingly were forgot. The amount of rusting steel and iron scattered across the lake shore here is impressive, almost making me think twice about the lakes health.

One of the more interesting pieces of junk scattered out across the docks is this coil of what looks like hoist rope. It could just be a generic steel cable, but there was sure a lot of it. Besides this coil there was a second large pile dropped atop the pilings a few feet from here.

The size and scope of this dock is impressive. It seems to stretch out from horizon to horizon (even though it doesn’t of course), and must of been even more impressive when the towering cargo cranes and steel roof was still intact. For now you’ll have to settle for this panoramic to at least get an idea of what its like to stand next to these remains.

Moving on…

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