Looking down the Gilman-Belden tram.
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...based on the tags: cables, dont-look-down, heights, mountains, power, rivers, tracks...
This sign was important when trains ran the length of the elevator.
A screened water wheel, presumably for rotating the dredge once it lowered its “foot” to pivot in place.
From an unsteady perch atop the blast furnace, the morning light began to leach into the complex below.
On the second floor of the former casket plant, which was retrofitted with a conveyor system to coat finished products.
One of the cupola air intakes, rattled loose by the demolition downstairs, hangs stranded on the second floor. You can see that the floor I’m standing on in this picture used to extend all the way to the right wall. The blue paint on the wall made the climb absolutely worth it.
Identical warehouses seem a little newer than the rest of the plant. I suspect these were added in the mid-1950s for the Korean War, during which about 200 buildings were added to the complex.
The steel sea leg is so heavy it requires a huge counterweight that travels the height of the elevator.
The bottom of the tailings boom is rotten. In days when the dredge, floated, gangways connected it to shore, it seemed. You can see the size of the pontoons under the boat here.
Taken as I drove out of Silverton, CO. One of my favorite landscapes of 2015. Want a print? Email me!