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I found a liitle bit of history on the SCE power plant at Agnew lake. It looks like the dams and tram way were built around 1915.
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia.
[COLOR="blue"][ By 1915 a roadway was constructed up Rush Creek to just past Silver Lake, and a rail tramway system was moved from a defunct mine at nearby Bodie into the steep and rugged mountains above for the construction of two dams to provide Hydroelectric Power. The Rush Creek Hydroelectric Project was a significant step in the development of Hydroelectric Power in the State of California, and the Rush Creek Power House began producing electricity for distant cities in 1916.
Transportation of materials for construction of the plant also turned out to be costly; tramways had
to be built and barges used to carry men and supplies to the remote construction sites. ]..[/COLOR]
After looking at the rail construction for awhile we figured out how the system worked - The way the tram was raised and lowered was with a large electric winch at the upper tram station. The cable was attatched to the tram car and wound on a large drum, much the same as a Jeep winch....only with a 1"+ cable 5000ft long. As the tram car was lowered the cable rolled on idler wheels the full length of the tracks to keep the cable from draging on the ground, and idler wheels also to keep it in line with the tracks as the tram would go around the bends.
Kind of a rustic design, but it worked. The tram is still usable today and seems to have been in opperation recently.
There are 2 lakes used in the power plant operation - the lower lake is Agnew lake and the upper is Gem lake. They use boats or barges to go across Agnew lake and then load supplies to a second tram and winch it up to the Gem lake dam. I guess that was state of the art technology for 1915. Works for me...
Idler wheels
This one kept the cable from going too high
The tram car. The car was kept at the top to keep the cable from exposure. The electric winch is in the shed.
Coil over suspension
Tram details
Upper Gem lake tram
Cable marks on the wheels
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia.
[COLOR="blue"][ By 1915 a roadway was constructed up Rush Creek to just past Silver Lake, and a rail tramway system was moved from a defunct mine at nearby Bodie into the steep and rugged mountains above for the construction of two dams to provide Hydroelectric Power. The Rush Creek Hydroelectric Project was a significant step in the development of Hydroelectric Power in the State of California, and the Rush Creek Power House began producing electricity for distant cities in 1916.
Transportation of materials for construction of the plant also turned out to be costly; tramways had
to be built and barges used to carry men and supplies to the remote construction sites. ]..[/COLOR]
After looking at the rail construction for awhile we figured out how the system worked - The way the tram was raised and lowered was with a large electric winch at the upper tram station. The cable was attatched to the tram car and wound on a large drum, much the same as a Jeep winch....only with a 1"+ cable 5000ft long. As the tram car was lowered the cable rolled on idler wheels the full length of the tracks to keep the cable from draging on the ground, and idler wheels also to keep it in line with the tracks as the tram would go around the bends.
Kind of a rustic design, but it worked. The tram is still usable today and seems to have been in opperation recently.
There are 2 lakes used in the power plant operation - the lower lake is Agnew lake and the upper is Gem lake. They use boats or barges to go across Agnew lake and then load supplies to a second tram and winch it up to the Gem lake dam. I guess that was state of the art technology for 1915. Works for me...
Idler wheels
This one kept the cable from going too high
The tram car. The car was kept at the top to keep the cable from exposure. The electric winch is in the shed.
Coil over suspension
Tram details
Upper Gem lake tram
Cable marks on the wheels
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