Re: Seeking Specific Info Re: El Dorado/Mich-Cal Lumber Co.s

Grant: perhaps it will help to know that when the new cable was installed at South Tower, a switch was installed in place of the small turntable. The outbound lumber loads for Camino were pulled by an electrically-powered winch onto one track. The the other track held empties and the same winch was used to get cars to slowly roll one at a time, into the S. Tower and onto the carriege. (Photos show men pushing the empty cars the last 20-30 feet, so it appears that the winch-powered cable was used to get the cars from the main track and start them rolling.) Each trip over the cable alternated between empties (northbound) and loads (southbound) until a full train was assembled on each end. The So.Tower cables were imbedded into huge concrete blocks and the N.Tower cables were imbedded into the rock cliff. The tracks on the Pino Grande side remained the same, with the very tight wye track. There another winch was used to start empties rolling off of the carriage and to pull loaded cars (on the other track) onto the carriage. The best photos that I have been able to find to illustrate the process are in the 2005 FR Logging, Mining & Industrial ANNUAL. I have not found any additional photos that would be of help. If you can get a copy of the later editions of PINO GRANDE, I think you will find the extra photos helpful. I have built On3 models of most of the Mich-Cal locomotives, a large diorama of "Pino Grande" with Engine House, mill pond and lnloading trestle as well as many of the different bogies and cars. (I need to photograph them sometime.) It was a wonderful and interesting operation. Others have modeled the entire cable and may be on this site with more information. Hope all this helps.