This digital museum is intended to expand the knowledge of all small scale miners, and those interested in history. I am also expanding it to include other museum-worthy subjects, such as WWII history not related to mining. Thanks for visiting!
Click the titles under the images to expand the section. Right click on any image and "Open in New Tab" to view full size.
The town of Silverton was established in 1874. Large silver veins were first discovered in 1873, and gold was discovered in 1882. The Sunnyside mine, one of the main producers, operated on and off until 1991.
More information and images coming soon!
"Silverton, Colorado lies in a valley at 9400 feet elevation. This has been a center for mining and milling operations and the tailing-choked Animas River can be seen at left." September 1940. Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer.
"Rooming house and lodge hall at Silverton, Colorado." September 1940. Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer.
"Jail. Silverton, Colorado." September 1940. Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer.
"Outmoded ore stamp mill on display at Silverton, Colorado." September 1940. Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer.
"Outmoded ore stamp mill on display at Silverton, Colorado." September 1940. Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer.
"Old house in Silverton, Colorado. This was the type of house built by mine and mill operators in the early mining days and indicates that the owners felt that the mining operations would be of a permanent nature." September 1940. Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer.
Our first topic is carbide lamps. These ingeneous devices use calcium carbide and water to produce reliable and bright light in mines. The water drops onto the carbide, controlled by a lever on the top of the lamps. Water when combined with carbide produces acetylene gas, heat, and lime. The gas expands when it forms, and pushes out a nozzle, which is ignited by a flint striker. The flame prodcues the light.The lime that forms from the reaction remains in the carbide chamber, and must be cleaned out when the lamp is refilled.
They were invented around the turn of the century, originally used for bicycles. Use in mines quickly followed, and in the 1920s carbide lamps were an industry standard. Companies such as Guy's Dropper, AutoLite, Justrite, and many others had become popular. Carbide was supplied by a few companies, the best known is Union Carbide, another company was known as Carbolite.
Although I have electric lights, I still maintain and use carbide lamps in my mines. Carbide lamps cannot be used in mines that have explosive or flammable gasses, as the flame will ignite them! They can and should be considered a fire hazard.
I purchased a 1960s carbide lamp marked only with "Butterfly Trademark" on the water filler cap. It was enticing, because it was cheap, new in the box, and came with instructions. As I have come to learn, this was a bad mistake!
The Butterfly Trademark lamps were made in Hong Kong in the 1960s. They used subpar tooling, bad quality control, and a mismatch of parts. They are cheaper, because... Well, they're cheap!
My Butterfly Trademark prodcuced dim light, small flames, leaked, and required repairs straight out of the box. The list of modifications/repairs are as follows: Rebend and resolder carbide chamber, drill out water filler cap, bend retaining spring for felt pad, new seal, custom cleaner for burner tip. The lamp came with a wire for cleaning the tip from the factory- The wire was too large and did NOT fit the burner tip. I used some old stranded phone wire, and later a wire brush from Ace Hardware.
I finally decided to buy a good lamp- A 1920s era AutoLite.
The AutoLite required the following repairs: New rubber seal. It runs excellent, extremely bright light, large steady and stable flame. Reliable, sturdy construction, and even a rubber foot for the carbide chamber.
The two lamps are shown below, the Butterfly Trademark on the left, and the AutoLite on the right.
The Butterfly Trademark has a LARGE smooth reflector. The nut is cast, and the burner tip is the smallest I have seen. The flint striker shoots sparks behind the burner tip. The AutoLite has a stepped reflector, machined nut, standard burner tip, and the flint striker shoots sparks right at the end of the burner tip.
Front view of the reflectors. The AutoLite stepped reflector makes a better spread out, yet still directional light. There are no super bright areas, while the rest is dim, unlike the Butterfly Trademark.
The Butterfly Trademark closely copied the Guy's Dropper, and looks almost the same from the side. The difference is quality control. The AutoLite has a larger water reservoir and carbide chamber. Note the hook shapes and reflector angles.
Rear view.
The flint strikers can be refilled with flints by unscrewing the knurled knobs at the back. The AutoLite is much smaller.
Carbide chambers removed. The spring which holds the felt on the Butterfly Trademark will not fit over the water dropper mechanism without bending the spring. Note that the helmet centering wire on the Butterfly Trademark springloads into the base, while the AutoLite has it attached separately. It is easy to lose the wire, especially in the dark.
I used a brand new O-Ring for both of these. To ensure a perfect seal, I applied a little bit of Ballistol to each one before assembly. Ballistol is an excellent oil I recently discovered, invented in 1904. It has no carcinogens, is skin safe, and can be used on wood, leather, rubber, and metal. I use it in all of my firearms, cleaning metal parts, equipment, etc. It works for lubricating almost everything! It was originally used by the German army for their firearms (lubricating the metal, keeping the wood in shape, treating leather slings, neutralizes corrosive chemicals found in the old ammunition, etc). It is based on medical grade white mineral oil. It's environmentally friendly, and all-around an EXCELLENT lubricating oil. Make sure you buy the liquid- The aerosol does not work as well, and makes it much less safe to use.
Bottoms of the carbide chambers. Note that the AutoLite has a rubber base fit around the bottom, and a large "MADE IN USA" stamped on it.
Here you can see some lime residue inside. I use these regularly. The Butterfly Trademark is now a backup, although I may resell it.
The wire brush I purchased from Ace Hardware. It has small diameter copper wires in a plastic handle. The short end is excellent for cleaning out the burner tips, and the large end is good for general cleaning use on the lamps and other equipment.
