UtahRails.net

UtahRails.net

Railroads and Mining in Utah's Bingham Canyon

This page was last updated on May 20, 2025.

Introduction

To Move A Mountain -- A brief introduction to the history of railroads and mining in Utah's Bingham Canyon, including acknowledgments of the sources.

Historical Timelines

Years of Discovery, to 1863 -- A narrative history of the early years of discovery in Bingham Canyon, using Daughters of Utah Pioneers and other sources, including H. H. Bancroft, Orson Whitney, B. H. Roberts, Edward Tullidge, and Stenhouse.

• Utah's First Mining Company -- Minutes of the September 1863 meeting for the organization of the Jordan Silver Mining Company, Utah's first mining company.
• General Patrick Conner Letters -- Transcripts of letters from General Patrick Conner in 1863 and 1864 about mining in Utah.

Gold, Silver and Lead Era, 1863-1900 -- A narrative history of the of the railroad and mining activities in Bingham Canyon during the years that gold and silver were being mined, including history of the pioneering Bingham Canyon & Camp Floyd narrow gauge railroad, and the narrow gauge mule tram. Lead was a major product of all the early Bingham mines.

It was during this period that Bingham gained the nickname of "The Old Reliable." The first reference in newspapers of the period came in January 1884, in an extensive four-page review of the "Mines and Minerals Of The Territory" in the Salt Lake Herald newspaper, "Last, but not least, comes the so-called Old Reliable or West Mountain District." The term was used in many cases, especially in advertisements, to describe any company or item from the pioneer era 15 years before, such as a beer company, or a railroad line, or even a well-known brand of wagon. But the term seems to have stuck whenever the local press carried almost any story about the development of mines in Bingham Canyon in the years before the success of Utah Copper in the period of 1905-1910.

• Bingham Canyon & Camp Floyd Railroad 1872-1881 -- Information about the narrow gauge railroad built in 1872 between Sandy and Bingham Canyon; sold to D&RGW in 1881, becoming Rio Grande's Bingham Branch.
• Bingham Canyon Horse Tram -- Information about the early horse tram built in 1874 in Bingham Canyon to connect the recently completed BC&CF line with the U. S. Mine.
• Bingham & Eastern Copper Mining Co. -- Information about the failed Bingham & Eastern company, located in Carr Fork, but which was active only during the period of 1899 to 1906. (This company sold a lot of low-cost stock, so there is an abundance of inactive stock certificates and interest in the company.)
• Dalton & Lark -- Information about the Dalton & Lark mines that were outside Bingham Canyon, on the eastern slope. Later became part of Bingham Consolidated (see below).
• Dalton & Lark Tramways -- Information about the early lead Mine tramway, and the later Dalton & Lark tramway.
• Jordan and Galena Mine -- Information about the Jordan mine, the pioneering mine of the entire Bingham mining district; later became part of the United States Mining Company.
• Lead Mine and Mill -- Information about the Lead mine and mill, located near the Dalton & Lark mine. Later became part of the Dalton & Lark property.
• Nast Tunnel -- Information about the Nast tunnel in the Muddy Gulch branch of Carr Fork. Later part of Bingham Metals Company.
• Neptune and Kempton -- Information about two of the earliest mines in Bingham, dating back to 1873 and situated next to the larger Jordan and Galena claims.
• Niagara Tunnel -- Information about the Niagara tunnel of the Niagara Mining and Smelting Company, started in late 1890, completed in 1896 and used until 1941.
• Stewart Mine -- Information about the Stewart No. 1 and No. 2 mines in the Muddy Fork of Carr Fork, that became the basis for the Boston Consolidated company in 1898.
• Telegraph Mine -- Information about the Telegraph mine in Bear Gulch; later became part of the United States Mining Company.
• Tiewaukee Mine -- Information about the Tiewaukee mine in lower Bingham, about a quarter mile up-canyon from the Rio Grande depot in Bingham; later the site of the Montana-Bingham tunnel.
• Winnamuck Mine and Mill -- Information about the Winnamuck mine and mill, located very near the Rio Grande depot in lower Bingham.
• Yosemite Mine and Mill -- Information about the Yosemite mine at the top of Yosemite Gulch, on Bingham's east side. Later became part of the Dalton & Lark property.

Copper Era, 1900-1914 -- A narrative history of the years of consolidation of the railroad and mining activities in Bingham Canyon after copper began to be mined in larger quantities. Coverage includes the construction of the Copper Belt Railroad to replace the original horse tramway, and the consolidation of the mining companies into the United States Mining, Boston Consolidated, and Utah Copper companies.

During the early years of copper production in Bingham Canyon, several mining companies used either railroads or haulage tunnels or aerial tramways to transport their ore. In the 1895-1910 period, these included the following (in roughly chronological order):

• Utah Consolidated (1896-1923) (Carr Fork) (original Highland Boy mine; to Utah-Delaware in 1923)
• Bingham Amalgamated Copper Company (1907-1919) (Copper Glance and Illinois groups) (to United Copper Company in 1919; then to USSR&M in 1951)
• Bingham Copper and Gold Mining Co. (1898-1901) (became Bingham Consolidated in 1901)
• Bingham Consolidated Mining Co. (1901-1908) (became Bingham Mines Co. in 1908)
• Bingham Mines Co. (1908-1929) (sold to United States Mining in 1929; controlled Montana-Bingham after 1910)
• Boston Consolidated Mining Co. (1898-1910) (Carr Fork)
• United States Mining Co. (1899- )
• Mascotte Tunnel (1900-1907) (Bingham Central Ry., 1907-1951)
• New England Mining Company (1900-1920) (later part of Bingham Metals company)
• Yampa mine and smelter (1901-1910) (Carr Fork)
• Utah-Apex (1902-1937) (Carr Fork) (to National Tunnel and Mines in 1937)
• Bingham-New Haven (1902-1915) (sold to Utah Metal & Tunnel Co.)
• Utah Copper Co. (1903-1914 only; see below for later years) (later Kennecott Copper)
• Ohio Copper Co. (1903-1951) (sold to United States Mining)
• Bingham-Butte Copper Company (1907-1910) (from Bingham Copper Hill company in 1907; to Montana-Bingham company in 1910)
• Utah Metal Mining Co. (1909-1914; 1914-1944) (to Utah Metal and Tunnel Co. in 1914; to National Tunnel and Mines in 1944)
• Montana-Bingham Consolidated Mining Co. (1910-1949) (later USSR&M) (includes links to predecessor companies: Bingham Amalgamated, Congor, Fortuna and Tiewaukee)

Railroads, 1900-1914

• Copper Belt Railroad -- Information about the standard-gauge railroad that supported the early years of Bingham Canyon's copper era, using Shay locomotives.
• Bingham & Garfield Railway -- A timeline of events for the Bingham & Garfield Railway.

Copper Era, 1914-1936 -- A timeline of the events for railroads and mining in Bingham Canyon in the years of 1914 to 1936, the years of Utah Copper Company.

• U. S. Government (USRA) Control of Bingham & Garfield Railway, 1918 to 1920
• Bingham Mine Levels -- Information about the levels of the Bingham Canyon mine on which railroad track was laid.
• Bingham Leaching and Precipitation Plants -- Information about the early leaching and precipitation plants at Bingham, and at Magna (1917-1921) and near Copperton (1924-1999).
• Bingham Railroad Bridges -- Information about many of the railroad bridges in lower Bingham, upper Bingham, and Carr Fork.
• Copperfield Terrace Heights -- Information about the Terrace Heights homes and houses built in Copperfield in 1923-1926, and demolished in 1958. The web page includes a link to a photo album.
• Bingham Copper Heights -- Information about the six houses in Copper Heights, at the Confluence of Bingham Canyon and Carr Fork. The houses were built in 1916-1917, and the last residents left in 1956 and early 1957. The web page includes a link to a photo album.
• Bingham Metals Company -- Information about the Bingham Metals Company in the Muddy Gulch branch of Carr Fork; reorganized in 1925 from the New England Mining Company, which itself was reorganized in 1900 from the Nast Mining and Milling Company. The Bingham Metals company later accessed its property through the Armstrong Tunnel.
• United Copper Company (1919-1951) (former Bingham Amalgamated Copper Company, 1907-1919; to USSR&M in 1951)

Copper Era, 1936-1981 -- A timeline of the events for railroads and mining in Bingham Canyon in the years from 1936, when Kennecott bought control of Utah Copper Company, to 1981 when Kennecott was sold to Sohio and British Petroleum.

• Anaconda In Utah -- Information about Anaconda and how in later years (after 1948), it let the Carr Fork mines remain idle until the Carr Fork Project was started in 1979, but was shut down in 1981.
• Elton Tunnel -- Information about the railroad and drain tunnel, 4.5 miles long, that connected some of the mines of Bingham Canyon, with the smelter near Tooele, Utah.
• National Tunnel & Mines Company (1937-1948) -- Information about the company that built the Elton Tunnel, 4.5 miles long, between Bingham and Tooele. Sold to Anaconda in 1948.

Copper Era, 1981 to 1989 -- A timeline of the events and dates of railroad and mining activity in Bingham Canyon in the Sohio and BP years after 1981, to 1989 when Kennecott was sold to Rio Tinto.

Copper Era, 1989 to today -- A timeline of the events and dates of railroad and mining activity in Bingham Canyon after 1989 when Kennecott was sold to Rio Tinto.

Other Bingham Information

Aerial Tramways -- Information about the aerial tramways used by mining companies at Bingham, to get their ore from mine to rail car, then to mill and smelter.

Anaconda at Bingham -- Information about Anaconda Copper and its predecessor companies at Bingham.

Armstrong Tunnel -- Information about the history of the Armstrong tunnel in Carr Fork.

Barney's Canyon Gold Mine -- Information about the open-pit gold mine at Barney's Canyon, four miles north of Bingham Canyon.

Billings, "History of the Bingham Mining District" -- A 1952 history by T. P. Billings of the Bingham Mining District.

Billings Information -- Life sketch and obituary for Thomas P. Billings, a Utah mining man.

Bingham & Garfield Railway -- Information about the railroad between Bingham Canyon, and the mills and smelter at Garfield.

Bingham Canyon Railroads and Steam Shovels -- An article from Salt Lake Mining Review in October 1911.

Bingham Cemeteries -- Information about the cemeteries at Bingham.

Bingham Conveyor System -- A summary of the changes to the conveyor system used at the Bingham mine, beginning in 1985.

Bingham Corporations -- A list of mining corporations operating in Bingham Canyon; compiled by Kennecott in March 1991.

Bingham Haulage and Drain Tunnels -- A Google Map showing the locations of the Mascotte, Bingham-Lark, and Butterfield tunnels.

Bingham Hospitals -- Information about the hospitals at Bingham.

Bingham Leaching and Precipitation Plants -- Information about the early leaching and precipitation plants at Bingham, and at Magna (1917-1921) and near Copperton (1924-1999).

Bingham Labor Strikes -- Information about the labor strikes at Bingham.

Bingham Mills -- Information about the reducing or concentrator mills at Bingham, including the Winnamuck, Dewey and Rogers mills.

Bingham Mills, 1995 Historical Notes -- A collection of historical notes about the mills in Bingham Canyon, compiled by Steve Richardson in 1995.

Bingham Mine Levels -- Information about the levels of the Bingham Canyon mine on which railroad track was laid.

Bingham Miscellaneous Notes -- Information about Bingham Canyon that does not fit anyplace else.

Bingham Post Office -- Information about the posts offices that served the communities in Bingham Canyon.

Bingham Railroad Bridges -- Information about many of the railroad bridges in lower Bingham, Upper Bingham, and Carr Fork.

Bingham Railroad Tunnels -- Information about many of the railroad tunnels in Bingham Canyon.

Bingham Side Canyons -- Information about the side canyons, branches and gulches that were part of Bingham Canyon.

Bingham Towns -- An incomplete description of the towns and communities in Bingham Canyon. (under construction)

Bingham Tram -- Information about the inclined tram that ran between Bingham's street level, and the area of the mine office building. Built in 1911, the tram connected to town of Bingham, with the original B&G passenger depot, 150 feet above at the level of the large overhead rail bridge that crossed over Carr Fork.

Bingham Trucks and Shovels -- Information about the large haul trucks, and steam and electric shovels used in Kennecott's Bingham Canyon mine.

Bingham Truck Shops -- Brief history of the truck shops at Bingham, including the Yosemite (1964-1986), Bingham (1986-2013) and Copperfield (2006-current) shops.

Bingham Vehicular Tunnel -- Information about the vehicular tunnel between Bingham and Copperfield, 7,000 feet long. Completed as a county road in 1939; changed to a private road in 1960; retired and the portals buried in 1973.

Bingham Visitors Center -- Information about the many visitor centers and observation points for the public to view the Bingham copper mine.

Butterfield Tunnel -- Information about the Butterfield drain tunnel that drained the mines of the south area of Bingham canyon, draining into Butterfield canyon near Herriman, Utah.

Carr Fork Mines -- Information about the larger mines located in Carr Fork, 1896-1941; includes the Highland Boy (Utah Consolidated), Bingham New Haven, and Utah-Apex. By 1941, all were owned by Anaconda and were shipping by way to the Elton Tunnel to the International smelter near Tooele.

Central Power Station -- Information about Kennecott's Central Power Station, located at Magna.

D&RGW Trackage Agreements -- Information about joint trackage agreements between D&RGW and Utah Copper, transcribed from Agreement cards on file at D&RGW Utah Division offices in August 1983

Electric Power at Bingham -- The text from "Role of Electricity in the Utah Copper Enterprise" published in The Mining Congress Journal. May 1940.

Elton Tunnel -- Information about the Elton Tunnel of National Tunnel and Mines Company, a subsidiary of Anaconda's International Smelting and Refining Company. The tunnel was 4.5 miles long, running between the underground mines in Carr Fork, and an outlet about one west of the International smelter.

Enos Wall -- Information about one of the founders of Utah Copper, as well as him being among the successful developers of other mines in Bingham Canyon, including the less-than-successful Starless mine. Enos Wall was one the best promoters of the mines in Bingham Canyon.

EPA Oquirrh Mountains Mining -- Oquirrh Mountains Mining and the Environment by Eva J. Hoffman, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Denver, April 21, 2005. Obtained through the Freedom Of Information Act. (PDF; 343 pages; 84MB)

Garfield Smelter -- Information about the smelters at Garfield, including the ASARCO (later Kennecott) smelter.

Garfield Switching Contract -- Information about the changes to how Kennecott switches rail cars at the north end, after rail operations between the mine and the mill ended in 2001.

Kennecott Corporation History -- A 1999 history of Kennecott Corporation, lifted from International Directory of Company Histories.

Kennecott Neighborhood Theatre Theme -- An MP3 audio recording of the first 1-1/2 minutes of what was used as the theme for the Kennecott Neighborhood Theater, every Sunday night on Channel 4, KCPX, at 8 p.m. Kennecott Copper Corporation's Utah Copper Division was the sole sponsor of the "movie of the week."

The music is the first 1-1/2 minutes of a 7-minute original, named "Il Guarany - Overture." Kennecott Neighborhood Theatre was a two hour program on Sunday night from 8PM to 10PM. It ran for fifteen years from 1956 to 1971. In the opening scenes one could see ore and waste rock being blasted by dynamite, trucks hauling ore, and other operations going on at the mine. The music was played in sync with the dynamite going off.

Kennecott Parent Companies -- Information about the parent companies of Kennecott Utah Copper, including Kennecott Copper Corporation (1936-1981), Sohio (1981-1989), and Rio Tinto (1989-present).

Kennescope Magazine -- Information about Kennescope, Kennecott Copper's employee magazine.

Lark, Two Tunnels -- Brief narrative and summary of the two tunnels at Lark, Utah.

Lead Mine Community -- Information about the small community known as Lead Mine, located at the mouth of Bingham Canyon in Utah.

Mascotte Tunnel -- Information about the Mascotte Tunnel between Bingham and Lark, the site of the U. S. Mining complex.

Montana-Bingham Consolidated Mining Co. (1910-1949) (later USSR&M) (includes links to predecessor companies: Bingham Amalgamated, Congor, Fortuna and Tiewaukee)

Nast Tunnel -- Information about the Nast mine and Nast and Benton tunnels, at the top of the Muddy Gulch branch of the Carr Fork branch of Bingham Canyon. The Nast was located above the Stewart mine, and below the Last Chance mine, and later became the New England mine, and after that, Bingham Metals.

New Bingham Mary -- Information about the New Bingham Mary mine, and its predecessor, the Bingham Mary Copper company. This mine was located at the top of Carr Fork, at the town of Highland Boy.

North Ore Shoot -- Information about Kennecott's North Ore Shoot, the underground mine situated at the northeast corner of the open pit mine, and 1,000 feet below it. First developed in 1980-1981, the mine is still in place today in mid-2021.

Oquirrh Mountains Mining (EPA report) -- Oquirrh Mountains Mining and the Environment by Eva J. Hoffman, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Denver, April 21, 2005. Obtained through the Freedom Of Information Act.(PDF; 343 pages; 84MB)

Salt Lake Valley Smelters -- A narrative history of the smelters located in the Salt Lake Valley, including those of the pioneer era, from 1867, to the famous smelter case that closed all but the lead smelters at Midvale and Murray. The others were either consolidated at either Garfield or Tooele, or closed altogether.

Starless Mine -- Information about one of the least successful mines in Bingham Canyon, but the name of which seems to surface regularly in the history of mines in the canyon due to its being constantly promoted by its owner, Enos A. Wall. The Starless was known as containing the same low-grade ore as Utah Copper, but the ore was along the north edge of the Utah Copper property, and deeper inside the mountain, and therefore uneconomical to extract. The Starless mine was purchased by Utah Copper in 1926 as part of the continuing expansion of the open pit mine.

Stewart Mines -- Information about the original Stewart mine, also known as the Stewart No. 1 mine, and the Stewart No. 2 mine. Both were located in the Muddy Gulch branch of the Carr Fork branch of Bingham Canyon. The Stewart mines formed the basis of the Boston Consolidated Mining company in 1898.

Utah Copper Division Ore Haulage -- Information about the private railroad that moved ore from the Bingham mine, to the mills at Magna, and the smelter at Garfield.

Wilbur H. Smith Papers -- The Wilbur H. Smith Papers are part of the University of Utah Special Collections at the Marriott Library in Salt Lake City. Includes biographical notes and a description of the collection.

Wikipedia entry for Bingham Canyon.

Other Kennecott Divisions

Chino -- A brief history of rail operations at Kennecott's Chino Mine Division copper mine at Chino, New Mexico.

Ray -- A brief history of rail operations at Kennecott's Ray Mines Division copper mine at Ray, Arizona.

Nevada -- A brief history of rail operations at Kennecott's Nevada Mines Division copper mine at Ely, Nevada.

More Information

Bingham Bibliography

Copper & Nickel Electrics -- An article about the sale of eight of Kennecott Chino's electric locomotives to International Nickel Company in Canada, from Traction & Models magazine, May 1971; includes scale drawings from the March 1976 issue of the same magazine. (PDF; 7 pages, 7.1MB)

Kennecott Copper's Utah Mine in 1976 -- An article about Kennecott Copper's Bingham Canyon electric locomotives, from Traction & Models magazine, March 1976. Covers the last operations of electric locomotives at the Bingham Canyon mine. (PDF; 5 pages; 7.4MB)

Mining and Scientific Press at Archive.org (Google search)

The Trains That Moved A Mountain -- Blair Kooistra's article from the March 1989 issue of Trains magazine. (presented with author's permission)

The Utah Copper Enterprise -- A 1919 reprint of several articles in Mining & Scientific Press. (PDF; 94 pages; 70MB)

The Utah Copper Story, 50th Anniversary, 1954 -- A digital version of the booklet published by Kennecott in 1954. (PDF; 46 pages, with centerspread and separate foldout; 29MB)

The Utah Copper Story, 1961 -- A digital version of a pamphlet published by Kennecott in 1961, describing its history and operations. (PDF; 36 pages, some color; 31MB)

Map

Bingham Canyon Railroads Map -- A Google Map of the railroads of that served Bingham Canyon and the copper mills at Great Salt Lake, including Utah Copper, Kennecott Copper, Bingham & Garfield, and D&RGW.

Roster Listings and Equipment

Kennecott Utah Diesel-Electric and Electric Locomotives -- An index page for a full all-time roster of Kennecott's diesel and electric locomotives.

Utah Copper Steam Locomotives -- A full all-time roster of Utah Copper's and Bingham & Garfield Railway's, steam locomotives.

Bingham & Garfield 0-8-8-0s, 100-106 -- Information comparing the seven B&G 0-8-8-0s with other 0-8-8-0s built for other railroads, showing how unique these engines were. These seven locomotives were very similar, if not identical, to 34 other 0-8-8-0's built by Alco between 1907 and 1922, for seven other railroads.

Cranes and Derricks at Bingham -- Number-by number listings of railroad locomotive cranes and wreck derricks used at Bingham and at other Utah Copper and Kennecott sites.

Bingham Ore Cars -- Information about the ore cars used by Utah Copper and Bingham & Garfield Railway.

Bingham Shovel Rosters -- Limited and incomplete listings of trucks used at Bingham.

Bingham Truck Rosters -- Limited and incomplete listings of the trucks used at Bingham.

Equipment Diagrams -- An index page for equipment diagram books of Bingham & Garfield and Utah Copper.

Modeling Bingham -- Information about the paint schemes and lettering of KCC electric and diesel locomotives, along with measurements of a high-cab GP39-2.

Passenger Cars -- Information about the passenger cars operated by Utah Copper and Bingham & Garfield.

Cabooses -- Information about the cabooses used by Utah Copper company, and its common carrier subsidiary, Bingham & Garfield Railway.

Deseret Peak Complex -- Information about the former Kennecott railroad equipment displayed at the Deseret Peak Complex in Tooele County, near Grantsville.

Book: Bingham Canyon Railroads

Bingham Canyon Railroads (Images of Rail)
(Arcadia Publishing, 2011) (ISBN 9 78-0-7385-8489-4) (Now Available) (Front Cover) (Back Cover)

The Bingham Canyon Railroads book can be ordered directly from Arcadia.

Videos

Copper Canyon, American Dream -- An 80-minute video produced by KUED, the local PBS station, and first aired in February 2003; DVD out of print; YouTube video posted by South Jordan City

Mountains of Copper -- A promotional film made by General Electric in the late 1920s or early 1930s, showcasing the electric operations at Bingham. (15:44 minutes) (Electric locomotives first came to Bingham in 1927; no. 712 seen in the video was delivered in December 1928)

Aerial Drone Video of the Bingham Copper Mine in 2023 -- YouTube video, 3-1/2 minutes

Bingham Canyon Photos

(Don Strack at UtahRails has over 6000 photos in his collection, from a wide variety of sources. Contact him for no-charge access.)

Bingham Photo Sources -- A summary of the sources of Bingham photos.

Bingham Photos at UtahRails -- Just a few of the photos in Don Strack's collection

Bingham Canyon Photos -- A collection of photos of Bingham, as part of the Steve Richardson's Hickman Family online museum.

Bingham Canyon Photos at Library of Congress

Library of Congress Photos (thumbnail views from search query)

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