Large Scale Central

2014 Nevada/Mojave mines and ghost towns

General Discussion
#1

I finally finished posting a report on my latest adventure, exploring old mines and ghost towns in Nevada and the Mojave desert:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/Nevada_Trip_2014_Part_One.html

Lots of good modeling reference here, especially mines, mills, etc. Railroad-related items of interest include a cabin made from a narrow gauge box car at Buckhorn Mine, and a wooden Las Vegas & Salt Lake RR caboose at Rhyolite.

Sites I visited this year include:

Viking Mine, CA
Buckhorn Mine, CA
Saline Valley, CA
Gray Eagle Mine, CA
Bunker Hill Mine, CA
North Star Mines, NV
Black Hawk Mine, NV
Silver Gulch Mine, NV
Belleville, NV
Reward Mine, NV
Warner Corral, NV
Gunmetal Mine, NV
Turquoise Bonanza Mine, NV
Simon, NV
Rawhide Ranch, NV
Illinois Mill, NV
Illinois Mine, NV
Quartz Mountain and the San Rafael Mine, NV
Broken Hills Mine, NV
West Lodi Mine, NV
Victory Mine, NV
Buffalo Summit, NV
Knickerbocker, NV
Ione, NV
Pigeon Springs, NV
Sylvania Mountain Mine, NV
Log Spring, NV
Olsen’s Folly, NV
Willow Spring, CA
Bonnie Claire, NV
Thorp’s Well, NV
Rhyolite, NV
Death Valley Junction, CA
Danby, CA

I’ve also added a lot of new photos to my Modeler’s Resource pages:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/Modelers_Resource.html

These are images of weathered wood, metal, steel drums, and much more – all great reference for modeling and weathering.

#2

Crikey Ray , there’s a lot of work there and I for one appreciate it . These parts of American history need recording before time overtakes them .

And I like looking at 'em .

Super stuff ,

Mike

#3

Ray-
I add my many thanks for the pictorial. Having been in the White Mountains, I know there are numbers of historical sites well worth exploring - you are obviously both seeing and making a photographic history.

I am particularly interested in the life of Cartago along the Owens Lake and its relationship to the silver mines across the Owens. Any photos of the steam stern wheelers on the lake? Apparently the SP ran track up from Mojave to Cartago as well as on the other side of the lake to Keeler. The narrow gauge came down to Keeler from Laws. Cartago photos would be worth a look.

Appreciate your work. Thanks.
Wendell Hanks

#4

I haven’t been to Cartago yet, except passing by on the highway. I’ll have to give it a closer look sometime.

#5

Cool!! thank you for doing this, great reading material, I am huge fan of Loius L`amour and he wrote a lot of books about the Silver Mines in the West, and about Trains also.

Tom H

#6

Ray,

This was most impressive. Thanks for sharing. You do things, I hardly even imagine.

#7

Thanks!

BTW, one of the more amusing things I saw on this trip was an open-air toilet made from a small steel drum (looked like about 20-30 gallons), with a toilet seat bolted to it, and handles made from horseshoes:

I can’t help wondering why it needed handles – perhaps to keep the user from “blasting off”??

I may try modeling one of these for a mine on my railroad. An O-scale 55-gallon drum would probably be just about the right size in 1/24th.

#8

…winking…

#9

I like the “Bath Room” painted on the sides…I guess that makes it official as if the toilet seat wouldn’t clue you in…:wink:

#10

Ray, I think you found the first porta-potty!

#11

Maybe the handles are for lifting it up and turning it over to empty it out. Empty it out where, I don’t know.

#12

David Maynard said:

Maybe the handles are for lifting it up and turning it over to empty it out. Empty it out where, I don’t know.

Empty it into the hole that should have been dug in the first place .

Mike

#13

Pour a little diseasal into the barrel, torch it, then scatter the ash. Proly need a new seat, though.

#14

Steve Featherkile said:

Pour a little diseasal into the barrel, torch it, then scatter the ash. Proly need a new seat, though.

Not while sat on it , surely ?

Mike

#15

geezes Steve, that was what they did every morning in a place across the seas.

#16

Dave Taylor said:

geezes Steve, that was what they did every morning in a place across the seas.

Where d’ye think they got the ider. :wink:

#17

In this case, the bottom had been cut out of the drum, so I suppose that the handles were to facilitate moving it when the shallow hole in the ground filled up.

#18

Ray Dunakin said:

In this case, the bottom had been cut out of the drum, so I suppose that the handles were to facilitate moving it when the shallow hole in the ground filled up.

Ray D. Thats Funny…
I worked for BLM on season yr’s ago when we needed a little extra income and in partners of Rome Station, Org.
I flew over or drove over 2500 miles of BLM Cattle wells and pipe lines to repair them 6 days a week.
At Three rivers (in lower south/east corner of the Oregon State ) they have a yearly Round up camp for horses and cattle that had one of those that they move around and dig a new hole each day to set itover, but theirs had a wooden toilet seat on a 30gal. drum with wooden handles. lol.

#19

If anyone cares, (and you can get your mind out of the potty :wink: ) this link can help you explore the mines Ray listed. I have explored and entered a couple of local death traps… er abandoned mines …have seen big cracked timbers repaired with a board on a post wedged under … I tended to avoid touching structure … didn’t want to bring the house down!

http://www.mindat.org/

Use Counties and mineral to get local mines.