Newcastle IR Project Part 1

-
Newcastle, as it's name implies (taken from the City of Newcastle on Tyne, the famed coal mining city in England), was another important coal mining town in the early history of Washington State. The town was second only to Black Diamond in coal production in the state. Coal was mined in the region from the 1880's until 1963, though large scale production ended in the 1930's. Like Black Diamond and Franklin, it was a company town, orignally owned by the Oregon Improvement Company, which also owned Franklin (Black Diamond was founded by the Black Diamond Coal Company, which had previously mined near Nortonville, CA, before moving to the Pacific Northwest), which later sold both towns to the Pacific Coast Company when OIC went bankrupt. PCC also owned Black Diamond. The coal mining area is now largely a part of King County's Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park.
Ford Slope IR
The Ford Slope Mine was the largest producer of the Newcastle area, and operated from 1906 to 1926. The shaft is 1740 feet deep.
Ford Slope Fan House IR
This is the remnants of one of two fanhouses that served the Ford Slope mine. The fanhouse provided fresh air for the miners, dispersing dangerous gasses within the mine.
Mineshaft IR
This is an airshaft that was part of a mine in the #3 seam. I believe this shaft was part of the first mine at Newcastle. The airshaft provided an intake for the ventilation system.
No. 4 Seam Airshaft IR
This is the airshaft for another mine in the #4 seam.

Stay tuned for the next installment in the Newcastle IR Project!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Franklin and the Green River Gorge mining operations.

-
Image
While the town of Franklin was abandoned in the early 1920's, several mines at Franklin operated into the 1960's, including two mines down the hill and across the river. (a third mine across the river was operated until the town was abandoned) Because the town was situated above the Green River Gorge, there is a considerable climb down to the river from the access to the town site, and an incline was used to access the mine operations across the river. Recently, my friend Peter and I went down the northern most of the three paths down to the river (first path from the trailhead), which was the access to the last mine in the area, which was closed as an explosives test during the 1960's, as I had heard about an abandoned mine cart in the river that's most visible in the summer when the water is at its lowest. I brought my digital IR equipment (D70 + R72 IR only filter), the D200, set to black and white, and the Lomo Fisheye down with me. The abandoned mine cart
Read more

My apologies for a lack of posts, and the B-29 bomber Fifi.

-
Image
First of all, I'd like to apologize for the lack of posts, I've been pretty uninspired, my Darkroom is out of order, and I've been more focused on building an IT career. One of my off and on interests has been military history and military aviation. A few years ago, the Commemorative Air Force's B-29 bomber Fifi, one of only two flight worthy B-29's, visited the Seattle area, for the first time since the 1980's. Fifi was built at Boeing's Renton Factory, which now produces 737 airliners. My dad and I were able to visit her while she was at Boeing Field and the Museum of Flight.   The B-29 was innovative as one of the first pressurized bombers, for increased comfort for the crew, and to enable her to function as a very high altitude bomber aircraft. The pilots, navigator, and flight engineer all share the nose of the aircraft with the bombardier, unlike in previous bombers such as the B-17 and B-24. The navigator's position, situated behind the
Read more

Newcastle IR project Part 2

-
Image
The town of Newcastle was orginally located near the current Newcastle Nursery, east of the present town, where the original mine was located. The town later moved up the Coal Creek canyon to what is now the Red Town Trailhead of Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park. The area had been previously known as Coal Creek, but became Newcastle when the Post Office moved from the old town site. Red Town was a neighborhood where the houses were all painted red. Other neighborhoods were were known as Rainbow Town and Finn Town. Some of the houses came from Franklin, when that town was abandoned. The town disappeared when the major mining operations shut down in the 1920's and 30's. This dam provided water for the town site from a small creek known as Red Town Creek. Wooden planks that formed part of the dam can still be seen at the base of the water. This foundation supported an electrical dynamo that provided electricity for the town and the mines. It is located in the back yard of a
Read more