Homestake One Ton, End Dump Ore Car

Homestake One Ton, End Dump Ore Car. . The one-ton ore cars were prevalent throughout the mining industry in the early Twentieth Century. These ore cars were small enough to be used in the smallest tunnels to haul rock from the production face to a dump point. Some dump points were over the hill, outside of the tunnel entrance (called an adit). These dumps pockmark the western mining districts of the United States. Other dump points were underground, where the rock could then be hoisted to the surface. , These ore cars could be moved along the track by hand, animal, or powered equipment. By hand, a miner would simply push the car to the dump point, move the handle and push the body of the ore car, opening the door at the opposite end and dumping the ore. By animal, usually a horse or mule, several cars could be transported to the dump point and the miner would then dump each individually, using a track siding to switch ore cars. Powered equipment replaced the hand and animal haulage and also was used to dump the ore car. , These small ore cars were used in the early history of the Homestake Mine, but were replaced by larger ore cars as the mine developed. But, the ore cars had a second life as equipment and supply haulers for many more decades. . This historical marker was erected by Black Hills Mining Museum. It is in Lead in Lawrence County South Dakota