How was lead transported by rail in the 20th century? Did they use boxcars, hoppers, gondolas, ore jennies, side dump cars, or some other specialized equipment?
As late teen (50s) I worked at the El Paso ASARCO plant and as I remember the all the incoming ore (mostly lead and copper) was in hoppers. The SP would drop the cars on one of four sidings and the plant had two small yard diesels that moved the cars around.There was an unloading track at the crusher where they unloaded.Best as I can remember the lead and copper left as slab ingots on flat cars also shuffled around by the ASARCO diesels to be picked up by the SP. The Smelter had an electric locomotive (Slag Trolley) that hauled the slag to the dump. I was an apprentice electrician and one of my tasks was to help maintain the trolley overhead power system to the dump, several miles of overhead. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
RR_Mel As late teen (50s) I worked at the El Paso ASARCO plant and as I remember the all the incoming ore (mostly lead and copper) was in hoppers. The SP would drop the cars on one of four sidings and the plant had two small yard diesels that moved the cars around.There was an unloading track at the crusher where they unloaded.Best as I can remember the lead and copper left as slab ingots on flat cars also shuffled around by the ASARCO diesels to be picked up by the SP. The Smelter had an electric locomotive (Slag Trolley) that hauled the slag to the dump. I was an apprentice electrician and one of my tasks was to help maintain the trolley overhead power system to the dump, several miles of overhead. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Gotcha, interesting. Thanks for the info!
Was lead iron ore particularly heavy like iron ore was? Did they half-fill hoppers over the trucks like with iron ore?
Also, did they have any special measures to keep it covered during transit to avoid spreading particles?
And were there any other particularities about transporting lead compared to other bulk mineral commodities?
Thanks again!
The best I can remember the inbound hopper cars were open top, not covered. I don’t remember being able to see the ore in the cars so most likely maybe half filled.ASACRO came under fire for lead contamination in the 50s and more so in the 60s. ASACRO had to build a 610’ smoke stack in the 50s to raise the contamination level over El Paso then a 828’ stack in the 60s.I do remember working on the draft fan in the bottom of the 610’ stack to shoot the smoke higher over the city, it was powered by a 2300HP electric motor.The El Paso Plant was basically a lead and zinc plant with some copper. My dad was the Chief Chemist in the Umpire Lab, thus my ability to become an apprentice electrician at 18. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.