Reliance in Sweetwater County, Wyoming — The American West (Mountains)

The Reliance Tipple

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 10, 2015

1. The Reliance Tipple Marker

Inscription. It was in 1910 that coal mine operations began at Reliance. These mines were operated by the coal mining company of the Union Pacific Railroad. Here, where the tipple now stands, the first coal loading facility was constructed in 1912. The stone foundations for the earlier wooden tipple are still evident east of the metal tipple. The tipple you see today was completed in 1936 and still contains machinery from when it was in operation. Few tipples remain from the era when coal was king. Modern mining methods and a shift to gasoline and diesel powered locomotives made underground coal mining too expensive to compete in the energy market while using the technology of the early twentieth century. Tipples such as this were torn down and the equipment sold as salvage. In Wyoming, only the Reliance tipple remains as an example of a large industrial coal handling facility. It is a silent marker of a by-gone day and serves as a tribute to the miners and their families who worked to establish homes in southwest Wyoming and to the men who lost their lives in the coal mines of Sweetwater County.

Erected 1990 by Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Union Pacific Railroad, Archeological Services of Western Wyoming College, Johnson-Fermelia Co., Inc., Sweetwater County Commissioners Sweetwater County

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Museum Board, Frances and Harry Weiss of Rock Springs Hide and Fur and Cyril Rahonde and Company.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1910.

Location. 41° 40.098′ N, 109° 11.826′ W. Marker is in Reliance, Wyoming, in Sweetwater County. It is on South Street near 2nd Street, on the right. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1201 South Street, Reliance WY 82943, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Wyoming’s Westward Expansion Trails Region.

It is also in the American Mountain West.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Women and the Reliance Mines (within shouting distance of this marker); Tipples and the Reliance Coal Mines (within shouting distance of this marker); Rock Spring Stage Station Site (approx. 4.8 miles away); Rock Springs Coal (approx. 5.8 miles away); "Charlie Smith" (approx. 5.8 miles away); A Tragedy Remembered (approx. 5.8 miles away); Beneath This Monument (approx. 5.8 miles away); Rock Springs Coal Welcome Sign (approx. 5.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Reliance.

Also see . . .
1. Reliance Tipple - Wikipedia. The Reliance mines were opened in 1906-1907 to meet increasing demand for coal. The Reliance mines were among many in the area that exploited four mining districts in Sweetwater County; Rock Springs, Superior, Point
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 10, 2015

2. The Reliance Tipple Marker
of Rocks and Black Butte.... Rail spurs were built to central points in each district to collect and ship coal. Production increased to the end of World War I then declined, picking up only in the mid-1930s. (Submitted on October 19, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

2. Tipple - Wikipedia. A tipple is a structure used at a mine to load the extracted product (e.g., coal, ores) for transport, typically into railroad hopper cars. In the United States, tipples have been frequently associated with coal mines, but they have also been used for hard rock mining. (Submitted on October 19, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

The Reliance Tipple image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 10, 2015

3. The Reliance Tipple

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 9, 2015

4. The Reliance Tipple Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 19, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 698 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 19, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.