Railroad Crossings (p2)

There were a total of three major obstacles in the Copper Range’s way as it attempted to drive its line through the Quincy property. The first was the crossing of the Q&TL mainline to Mill #1, which it had done with an undercut. The next obstacle was the quite formidable Quincy Creek gorge. Over the centuries this small creek had managed to cut a very deep and steep canyon straight through the middle of the Quincy property. The Copper Range had two possible solutions it could use, the most obvious being a trestle. But Copper Range had a much cheaper solution in mind - they simply filled the thing in with dirt.

Meanwhile up the hill the Q&TL decided on a trestle to cross the gorge. In the above photo we take a look across the gorge to the opposite side and find the remains of on of the bridge’s anchorages. As you can see its built from poor rock in the same way as most of the other structures along this line. Below our feet is the other anchorage, identical in appearance. The bridge itself was removed obviously, but I’m not sure exactly when .

Sitting just back from where we stood to take the previous photo, is this large barricade. Built from old pieces of rail, it serves to keep unsuspecting ATV riders from driving off the cliff here. There is a similar barricade on the opposite side of the gorge as well, but that one is much smaller.

Written on the barricade is this inscription, which seems to suggest it was put up in 1989. I suppose that would mean the original trestle was removed at about the same time. Or it could mean someone drove their ATV off the cliff, prompting the need for the barricade.

After crossing the gorge, the Q&TL and Copper Range would meet up once again. Just like before, the Q&TL has to pass right across the Copper Range’s path as it heads out towards Quincy’s second stamp mill. And just like before, the Copper Range would rely on an under-passing to clear the way.

Here is a shot looking down on the Copper Range from the Q&TL’s perspective atop the man made “cut”. Unlike before, this cut is rather insignificant with a length of only about 20 feet. From here the Q&TL would cross over the Copper Range and head out to the second mill to drop off its copper rock.

Here’s another look, this time from the Copper Range perspective. The old steel bridge would attach to the concrete wall at the notch at the top. Once again it was probably removed for scrap.

Here’s an interesting discovery atop the Q&TL just before reaching the bridge. While heavily covered in brush and dirt, it looks as if the original rails are still down. You can see a pair of rails half buried in the leaves, but the ties are under a good layer of dirt. These rails are intact from the gorge up to a dozen feet or so from the edge of the Copper Range cut. I assume that this short section of rail wasn’t worth climbing up here to get, so they just left it. Good for us though.

After crossing the Copper Range, the Q&TL continues along a raised embankment before heading out on a wooden trestle over top the stamp mill. Here you can see the remains of the wooden supports to the start of that trestle, which would of ran out to the left. You can also make out in the picture the end of the line coming out from the first stamp mill. (marked with white overlay and arrow) This extension of line allowed all the rock cars in the train to dump their cargo into the mill’s rock bins, with the engine driving up to this point. The line ends here in the photo (if not it would drive right into the side of the second mill).

As for the Copper Range, it now continues on past the mills and out towards Lake Linden. Its easy cruising from this point for a good mile or so before the line runs up to its next set of obstacles at the Tamarack Mills. But before we get to that, a short side trip about another Quincy Mill ruin we stumbled across just a few feet from the picture above.

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