Tintic, Grand Central Aerial Tram

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Grand Central Aerial Tramway (1902 - 1924)

Grand Central Mine Tramway: Tintic, Utah = 7,920 feet

In 1902, the Grand Central Mining company installed an aerial tramway between its mine and a railroad spur down on the bottom of Mammoth Gulch. It remained in service until 1924, two years after the Grand Central company was sold to the Chief Consolidated company, and the two mines were connected underground, allowing the Grand Central ore to be shipped using the Chief Consolidated company's facilities on the Eureka side.

July 16, 1902
An aerial tramway for the Grand Central mine was mentioned as a solution to the mine signing a five-year exclusive contract with Oregon Short Line to move its ore over the New East Tintic railroad, by way of an extension of the railroad's line from the Mammoth mine. An aerial tramway direct from the mine to the Mammoth station would give the mine access to the Rio Grande tracks, and therefore competitive rates. (Salt Lake Herald, July 17, 1902)

July 25, 1902
The following comes from the July 25, 1902 issue of the Salt Lake Herald.

Mammoth, July 24. -- It is reported here that the negotiations between the Grand Central Mining company and the Oregon Short Line railway for the extension of the New East Tintic railway from the Mammoth mine to the Grand Central ore bins have failed, and that the mining company will at once begin the construction of an aerial tramway similar to the one in use at the Centennial-Eureka mine, on the other side of the mountain. In confirmation of the report, certain work has already been done at the mine. The site for the ore house and the tracks that will connect it with the shaft have been changed to the side of the canyon opposite to where the railway would approach. The tram will be approximately half a mile long, and will cost, together with the ore house, probably $15,000.

The contention between the railway management and the mining company was over a five-year contract for hauling the mine's output, and which the Grand Central Mining company firmly refused to sign. The railway company's insistence on the contract is taken to mean that the close of this year will witness a discontinuation of the pooling agreement that has existed between the Short Line and Rio Grande railways ever since the latter road entered the district, and which has resulted in an exorbitant tariff on both in and out freight. By the terms of the agreement, which is renewed on the first of January of each year, the ore output is divided between the two roads; there is no cutting of rates, every shipper paying $2.50 per ton.

It is believed that the Short Line's California line, which runs within a mile of the three railway points of the district, will be ready for operation between here and Salt Lake early next year, and that in consequence of the competition for through traffic that will ensue, will disrupt the present traffic arrangements that at present have such a bad effect on Tintic shippers.

August 1, 1902
The Grand Central Mining company announced informally that the company would build an aerial tramway. The projected cost was reported as $20,000, with the tramway being one mile long. It would be equipped to handle 3,000 tons per month. The aerial tramway would lower the mining company's transportation costs, and the decision was made after a contract was signed with the Bingham Consolidated smelter in Midvale to process not less than 60,000 tons of Grand Central low-grade ore at from $10 to $15 per ton. The low-grade ore was already on the mining company's waste dump from the previous operations that saw the low-grade ore as having no value compared to the high-grade ore being shipped by wagon to the rail station, with wagons and teams being more expensive, but worth the extra cost due to the ore's high value. (Salt lake Tribune, August 1, 1902)

October 22, 1902
The aerial tramway of the Grand Central Mining company was set to begin operations "next week." The tramway covered a distance of 8,000 feet between the ore bins of the company at the mine, and the loading station in the railway yards. The tramway would double the output of the mine. (Salt Lake Tribune, October 22, 1902)

November 14, 1902
The Grand Central Mining company's aerial tramway went into operation. (Salt Lake Tribune, November 13, 1902, "tomorrow")

November 16, 1902
The Grand Central ore bins were connected to the Grand Central mine high up on the north slope of Mammoth Hollow by an aerial tramway. The Grand Central aerial tram went into "commission" the following day, November 17. (Salt Lake Tribune, November 16, 1902)

November 20, 1902
Ore from the Grand Central mine began moving by way of the aerial tramway. The manager notified the smelter by telephone that 150 tons would very soon be moving to the smelter, with 200 more tons to follow shortly, after the slack in the cables had been adjusted. The earnings for the low-grade ore on the dump were more that anticipated from earlier assays. But shipment of second-class low-grade ore from the dump was put on hold in favor of shipping class-one smelting high-grade direct ore directly from the mine, to recover the cost of the aerial tramway. (Salt Lake Tribune, November 21, 1902, "yesterday")

(The stock of the Grand Central Mining company was fully purchased by the Chief Consolidated Mining company in June 1922.)

October 10, 1924
"A new aerial tramway between the Chief Consolidated's new mill and the Grand Central, on the Mammoth side of the mountain, is contemplated in the near future." "The tramway was secured from a company at Green River, and a force of men has been dispatched from the Chief Consolidated to dismantle the tramway on its present site and ship it to Eureka." "At present the ore from the Grand Central is delivered to the railroad at Mammoth by tramway. The new tramway will deliver it direct to the mill, thereby reducing cost." (Salt Lake Tribune, October 10, 1924)

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