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REFERENCE
SECTION: GHOST TOWNS & ABANDONED MINES
ARDEN PLASTER MINES, LAS VEGAS AREA, NEVADA |
The Arden Plaster
Mines operated from 1907-30 in the southwest Las Vegas valley, in
the Desert Hills region. Significant gypsum deposits were mined,
and the ore hauled over a 5-mile-long 3-foot narrow gauge railroad
operated by the mining company. In 1919 the operation was purchased
by the US Gypsum Company, and in 1930 the ore bodies were deemed
to be exhausted, and the entire operation was abandoned.
The mines themselves consisted of a series of adits and inclined
shafts along a nearly 2-mile stretch, with 2 isolated mining complexes:
one located over 1-1/2 miles to the northwest of the primary mines,
and another (the "Sunday Mine") located on a lonely hilltop
to the east-northeast of the primary mines. Each of these isolated
mining complexes was served by narrow-gauge railroad spurs. The
long stretch of primary mines was served by its own 3-foot narrow-gauge
railroad line, and transferred ore to the APRR via several inclines
& aerial tramways, the scars of which are still visible. Some
of the grades to the mine spurs are fairly steep, but the small
railroad got by with various saddle-tank locomotives (starting with
some 0-6-0 saddle tank locomotives from the former Quartette Mining
Company in Searchlight, NV, and then upgrading to larger Porter
Saddle Tank locomotives under US Gypsum ownership). Based on my
research and the remnants I've found, the APRR mainline used 45-pound
rail, whereas the railroad line serving the mines directly up above
the APRR used 25-pound rail.
Once ore was loaded from the mines into the APRR ore cars, it was
then hauled 5 miles southeast to the Arden Plaster Mill at Arden,
a station on the Union Pacific Railroad in the southern Las Vegas
Valley. Nothing remains at Arden, as the old mill site has been
built over by industry. At one time the entire APRR grade could
be followed from Arden all the way to the mines, but in recent years
the majority of this grade has been built over by custom homes &
housing developments. Some of the 1999-era photographs below document
what used to be, but is no more...however, once at the mines, extant
railroad grades and spurs are remaining to be explored. I've found
pieces of rails, rail joiners, shoulder bolts & square nuts,
many many ties with spikes still embedded in them, and various other
remnants of the APRR over the years. The grades along the mines
are loaded with detritus & remains of the former mining railroad,
and in a few spots you can still see the piles of grease that dripped
off the locomotives while they idled (it appears to be pavement,
but it is grease with dirt & dust embedded in it).
What remains are extant former railroad grades, concrete foundations
& footings, and extant mine adits. Most adits have been blasted
closed by the BLM, since housing developments are being built all
the way up to the foot of the mountains that the mines are located
in! There is quite a bit to explore, and this remains one of my
favorite haunts, as there is always something new to discover every
time I visit.
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