A Peek Inside…

Yesterday we gave you a sneak peak inside the Champion No. 4 shafthouse in the form of a large panoramic image taken on it’s rockhouse level. Today we continue that peek inside with a few more hard-to-find images. Champion No. 4 is one of the last shafthouses still standing across the once great Copper Empire. She is part of an distinguished group joined only by the Quincy #2, Osceola #13, and Centennial #6. Once in danger of destruction, a local group of preservation minded fellows took it upon themselves to make sure that didn’t happen and formed Painesdale Mine & Shaft Inc. Since then, PM&S has been committed to rehabilitating the structure in the hopes to allow people to experience a piece of the Copper Country’s legacy.

Last year Copper Country Explorer partnered with PM&S in the creation of the Champion No. 4 DVD (see the link on the main page). In the process of making the DVD we were given unprecedented access to the structure, exploring areas very few have entered since the mine’s closure. With the help of powerful work lights (and hundreds of feet of extension cords) we were able to photograph almost every inch of the building. The result was some of the most detailed and vibrant photos ever taken inside the structure - some of which we’re sharing with you today.

Here’s a familiar site from yesterday’s panoramic. The is the large drop hammer found inside the No. 4’s rock house level. This large and heavy concrete-filled tube would be used to smash apart rocks too large to fit into the crushers. Below the hammer was a iron plate on which the rocks would be placed - supported by a 3-story concrete pedestal. The hammer itself was guided by a wood frame - which you can see in the photo - and attached to a cable. The cable would run up and around a pulley in the ceiling and back down to a electric winch sitting nearby (you can see the winch shack in the panoramic from yesterday).

When the hammer didn’t work, the next step would be to blow it apart with dynamite. Amazingly they did that right on the same level, hiding in this shack when the dynamite went off. This blast shack is completely inclosed and sits on the opposite side of the rockhouse level from the dynamited rock.

Besides the drop hammer and blast shack, the rockhouse level also is home to a pair of large rock crushers. These crushers were powered by a steam engine sitting on the level below. A series of belts and pulleys - some of which you can see here - were used to transfer the engine’s power to the crushers.

Feeding these crushers was done by means of two rock chutes, one of which is shown here. Copper rock would be dumped out of the holding bin to the right in the photo. Workers would then sort through it for mass copper or rocks too large to fit into the crushers. They would then open the door on the left and drop the material into the maws of the crusher. Both the door to the crushers and rock bins were opened and closed by means of the pneumatic lifts hanging from the ceiling. The orange colored one opened the door to the crusher.

Last but not least - a view of the upper catwalk above the rockhouse level. This catwalk runs just above the rock chutes feeding the crushers, which sit off to the right. At the end of the catwalk sits the pulley used to raise and lower the drop hammer. To the left is the skip dump - where the skips would dump their haul into storage bins to await crushing. The piles of grease seen on the railing are from the sheaves, which sit above our heads and slightly to the left.

You can tour the entire structure - every nook and cranny of all six levels - by purchasing the Champion No. 4 DVD. Besides the interactive tour of the building, you also get over 30 minutes of interviews with the people who worked the underground, a narrated tour of Painesdale, hidden Copper Range artifacts, and a look at the Champion Mine surface plant. Even better, $8 from each DVD purchase is donated to Painesdale Mine and Shaft, to help their efforts in restoring the building for future generations. Get more information HERE.

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