Gypsum mine off LV in Victor

I don't claim to be an expert on mining but generally a shaft is more or less vertical. If I understand correctly, a drift is where the entrance is more or less horizontal - like going into a hillside. A slope is something such as O&W describes, going down at an angle, possibly using some sort of hoisting system. Lackawanna Coal Mine in Scranton is a slope.

By the way, obviously you were just using rough numbers and making an illustration, but a 100' long slope at a 30 degree angle would not get you very deep into the ground. Let's see...opposite over adjacent, sine, cosine, tangent...I give up -if I had only paid more attention back in 10th grade math!

My research on the Garbutt mines has shown electric locos underground (narrow gauge) and with donkeys and horses. The above ground rails were donkey, man, and gravity. Never found one critter. Raw material came out of the mine and right into the plants. Of course, finished product track was full scale, serviced by both BR&P and PRR. Also, inbound coal.

Charles

A Empire Gypsum mine was located just west of Garbutt in what is now the Oatka Creek County Park. Explored the area several years ago and found the mine railroad r/o/w plus the bridge piers in Oatka Creek. Followed the r/o/w up to where the mine portal had been located. This was sealed back in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Mining operations ceased in the 1940s or so it was related to me. One can still find remains of NG ties along the r/o/w. The processing facility was located on the B&O which served this particular mine.

And the PRR. PRR & B&O had a joint service agreement for this area. Several of the mines were along the B&O main but the PRR came in the from south and created a web of yard tracks through all the properties until eventually ending with an interchange track with the B&O. Every mine was a PRR customer including some further out of Garbutt-center that dealt with the refuse (gravel).

TB Diamond wrote:A Empire Gypsum mine was located just west of Garbutt in what is now the Oatka Creek County Park. Explored the area several years ago and found the mine railroad r/o/w plus the bridge piers in Oatka Creek. Followed the r/o/w up to where the mine portal had been located. This was sealed back in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Mining operations ceased in the 1940s or so it was related to me. One can still find remains of NG ties along the r/o/w. The processing facility was located on the B&O which served this particular mine.