Railroads of the Copper Country (CRRR)
The collection of Copper Country railroads which eventually became the Duluth South Shore & Atlantic connected the mines and communities of the area to the rest of the country. They transported ore and materials from mines along the Keweenaw to their mills along Torch Lake and Portage Lake. They connected scattered mining camps, populous towns, and lakeside mill towns all across the peninsula. By 1899, however, the DSS&A had found itself ignoring an entire range of opportunity - the South Range.
Up the Hill Behind Mason…
When Quincy was forced to move its stamp mill from the Portage to Torch Lake, it had to move an entire population of workers as well. Before cars and paved roads were prevalent, commuting long distances just wasn’t an option. The result of this became the town of Mason sitting just outside the sprawling mill complex at Quincy Creek. While the town of Mason itself wasn’t much- just two rows of single family houses along what was then called Hancock & Lake Linden road (M26 today) - the transportation corridor that was shaping up around it was something else entirely. All along the hills overlooking Torch Lake from here to Lake Linden sits the remains of one of the Copper Country’s engineering marvels.
The Coal Spur
Mine railroads served three primary functions. The first - and foremost - was to transport copper rock from the mine to the stamp mill for processing. Secondly, it was used to then move the finished copper to the smelter. And lastly, it was used to deliver coal to the mine’s various boilers to keep the whole operation moving along. The Q&TL served two of these purposes: both the delivery of copper rock down the hill to the mill and the return up the hill with coal for the mine’s boilers. Mines would stockpile coal in large coal sheds similar to the one pictured above (this one is C&H’s) after being unloaded from ships. At Quincy this coal shed sat down along the shore of Torch Lake (see this post for details).
Railroad Crossings (p1)
When the Copper Range Railroad decided to make a branch line to Calumet, it no doubt ran into an avalanche of obstacles along the way. By the time it started constructing its line around 1902, there were already a great deal of infrastructure blocking its route. Besides the steep terrain and numerous deep gorges along the way, the line also had to contend with existing stamp mills and other railroads which already criss-crossed the hillside. A little creative engineering was in order, on a scale that even today leaves me in awe.
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.