Hi all. I thought I’d throw a few pics up that I took today on a Red Mountain adventure trip with my friend Ray. He and I had a great time and took in a good dose of the Birmingham District’s history.
I should say to any younger members here, do as I say, not as I do. Industrial sites are dangerous places. Stay out of them. If an old fart like me didn’t make it home, that would be bad. If a young guy like some here didn’t make it home, that would be truly tradgic.
First, we went (back) to the Sloss 2 ore mine. My fears were confirmed, the company that now owns it considers it a liability, not a historic site. Unfortunately, the entry has been bulldozed. [V] I understand the legal liability involved, but the site could have been preserved while still being secured.
Here’s a new shot in the winch house. Note where the steam drivers were mounted prior to the conversion to electric power in 1920.
This pic show the remains of the electric motor dating to 1920. It was 2200 volts, 1500HP and required a bevel cut reduction drive gear to be installed. Note the General Electric inscription.
On the way to the Republic Steel Raimund Mines, we stopped by to check out this old piece of Tennessee Coal & Iron (TC&I Co) rolling stock. I believe it to be a payroll car…
A look in one of the truck journals.
At Raimund 2, we took a look down the employee entry shaft… The entry is in good shape with