I chased some coal trains through some desert looking country, and ended up in Helper, UT. Named for it’s function, Helper is where the “helper” engines would help push trains up over the summit, quite a substantial grade to climb. The railroad is still important to Helper, but with the coming of the diesel locomotive, Helper, like so many other railroad towns, diminished. To remember what was, they now have the Western Mining and Railroad Museum. There is a nice collection equipment from the coal mines that helped to build Helper in a city park half a block from the museum itself.
I think they hauled men around the mine on this speeder.
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Kind of looks like a snow vacuum, but in a mine?
An explanation of Long Wall Mining…
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Here is the machine they used…the white panels on top held up the mine roof; the round wheels scraped the coal off the wall; then the whole thing moved and they let it collapse behind them!
More on the method mining.
Like I said, the railroad is still important to Helper. It does run through the middle of town, after all!
The Bike and Trailer are still holding up well.
Beside the Museum building they have a nice caboose, but needing a little paint.
They have a Speeder, too, but sadly they don’t allow really close examination like the Museum in Ogden does.
The Western Mining and Railroad Museum is currently undergoing an upgrade with lots of new stuff to see. Right now there is a lot of just stuff lined up in rooms, but there is also a lot on nearby local towns of the past, mines, mine disasters, community events, veteran groups, bands, unions, and a host of the other “little” things that used to make up the heartland of America in the late 1800’s and first half of the 1900’s.
They had a room with many of the things found in a typical store of 75-80 years ago (more or less…)
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Note the Argus C3 Matchmatic “Harry Potter Special” camera on the right side!
Across the street is a classic hotel and restaurant.
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Dining and Dancing in the basement!
A nice museum, and it will be better in a year they told me.
~Curtis in Helper! {!-{>
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