During the summer of 2019, Ron and Judy, two members of the 315 railroad group volunteered to repair and upgrade our “S” scale model (1/64) of the Corkscrew Gulch Turntable, from the Red Mountain Mining District. New scale fir trees and other landscape materials were applied along with new ground coloring to match the actual site. They even went to the site and collected dirt and gravel for authenticity. The next phase is for me to construct a plexiglass cover for the model.
Since closing for the winter we have worked on several new exhibits. The first was the completion of an exhibit that began about five years ago, the mine tunnels! The delay was due, in part, to numerous other projects with higher priorities. The other reason was simply the back and neck breaking magnitude of the job. We needed the rest! However, we should have addressed the project sooner, as we are now all five years older!
A few years ago Scott painstakingly prepped the area with a tightly stretched wire mesh and wood blocking to create the texture of broken rock in a mine. Over 2,000 screws and washers were installed to tighten and stretch the wire so it would hold the mortar.
After removing all the heavy iron artifacts we constructed a temporary plywood floor, so as to move scaffolding and workers efficiently throughout the space. A Visqueen tent was erected to help keep the mess contained. It was truly back breaking labor since over three quarters of the surface area was overhead. Spray and trowel – spray and trowel. This is why we should have done this sooner!
Our crew consisted of Zeke Zanoni, Scott Fetchenhier, Clay Cussler, Ricardo Quinonez, Colin Trower, and myself. Ricardo mixed the mortar, Zeke, Scott, Colin and Clay troweled and I sprayed the mud. Clay and I would trade off to ease the pain. The project took three weeks to spray and finish; then three more weeks to clean up the mess! We used ninety-nine, sixty pound bags of mortar. That’s nearly 6,000 pounds!
Since completing the mine tunnel, Zeke has been working on fine tuning the mining exhibits such as the Rock Drills, the Explosives case, the Blacksmith Shop and other related exhibits.
Several new donations from Scott Jackson have kept me busy making repairs, cleaning and applying linseed oil to protect wooden articles. Donated was a wonderful carpenter’s chest with nice drawers, the six foot tall floor standing commercial coffee grinder, which came from the original French Bakery; a beautiful machine that still works and still smells like coffee!
Last but not least donated was an “Emigrant Trunk”. A hand built trunk, usually built by the owner or perhaps a friend or relative. Not an example of fine woodworking but usually of plain and rugged construction, the pine trunk held the family’s important and fragile possessions while traveling to their new home. This trunk still wears the original paint and displays the family name, hand lettered in what appears to be German. Although, not specifically a Silverton artifact, this trunk was typical of the type used by early pioneers here.
By Steve Rich
