Battery Locomotive

Battery locomotives were the work horse of locomotives used in the Homestake Mine. Every operating level had at least one locomotive and up to 4 or 5 locomotives. These locomotives hauled ore trains, miners to the work area, mechanics and electricians to problem areas and literally tons of supplies and explosives used in the mine. , The battery locomotive was powered by the huge bank of batteries that was the largest component of the locomotives. These batteries held a charge for the duration of the working shift, usually 8 hours. Then, the batteries had to be recharged by plugging them into the charging station, usually near the shaft. , The locomotive operator had to step on a "deadman" switch, located on the floor of the cab, which allowed activation of the locomotive. The "deadman" switch prevented inadvertent operation of the locomotive without an operator. , This small battery locomotive on display was used in the upper levels of the Homestake Mine and, due to its small size, probably was used as a tramming locomotive, too small for ore trains. These trammers were also used on the surface throughout the shop and service areas.