Saline Salt Tram

Info from www.395.com:

The salt lake in Saline Valley, like others throughout the basin and range province, was recognized by late 19th Century prospectors as a source of sodium chloride and borax. Borax was discovered in Saline Valley in 1874. Salt was mined on a small scale some years before that date, but became a large-scale operation after 1903.

Saline Valley Salt Works and Tram:
The salt works and tram were placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The site includes remains of the salt works at the southern end of the salt lake and the tramway support and associated structures and artifacts which run from the salt lake up Daisy Canyon, over the Inyo Mountains down to Swansea in Owens Valley.

The tram was constructed between 1911 and 1913 to provide economical transportation of the exceptionally pure salt deposits from the salt lake in Saline Valley to Owens Valley where it was milled and shipped via rail. The 13.5-mile aerial wire rope tram was electrically powered and capable of carrying 20 tons an hour. The tramway operated from 1913 to 1918, again between 1920-21, and later in 1929 and 1936. The ownership changed hands four times during this period. The cost of operating the tram proved uneconomical.

The tramway was a remarkable engineering feat. It was the steepest tramway in the United States, rising from 1100 feet in the Saline Valley floor to 8500 feet at the Inyo Crest, then dropping to 3600 feet at Swansea.

The Saline Valley Salt Tram is claimed to be "the most scenic, historic, best preserved, oldest, and largest of its kind remaining today."

Despite its National Register status, the Salt Works and tramway have been severely damaged by vandals. Virtually all of the structures within easy access of roads, including both terminals, have been dismantled and carted off by wood gatherers and junk collectors.

Story of a B24 Crash at salt beds
http://www.qnet.com/~carcomm/wreck29.htm

Click Here to view an Adobe Acrobat file I created showing the elevation profile of the tramway. The data is from Owens to Saline Valley, the tram actually ran the other way. I'll create a new profile soon to correct this. (must have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in to view)

Below are some 3D maps that I generated using topographical computer maps tracing the route of the Tramway from Saline Valley, over into Owens Valley, and some picts I took of the lower towers by Saline Lake. Also are some picts of the tramway from Ripleys Ghost Town web site.

Click on the pict for a larger view