January 2024
What's Going On Here?
20/01/24 13:46 Filed in: Nelson County | Soapstone in Virginia
The beginning of this saga can be found here.
This photo appears in Paul Saunders' book Heartbeats of Nelson. It was taken at the Phoenix Soapstone operation. The caption identifies it as soapstone workers.
Soapstone operations in Nelson County involved cutting big blocks of stone out of quarries. It is obvious that the men in the photo are not engaged in that type of activity. They appear to be shoveling light colored dirt or sand into wheelbarrows. I believe they are working a talc deposit. Soapstone being composed primarily of talc, it would seem probable that there could be an outcropping of the mineral talc itself near the soapstone deposits. Talc is very soft and flaky, light colored with a silvery luster. Handling it leaves a glittery residue on everything it touches. There were a wide range of industrial applications for talc, making it worthwhile to extract and ship.
The men with the shovels and wheelbarrows are providing the extraction. A side dump car to the right in the photo appears to be providing the means for shipping the talc. It does not appear that the workers are dumping wheelbarrows of talc directly into the side dump car. The talc is being dumped into the car after being lifted unnecessarily high in the air with a bucket belt. The lower end of the bucket belt would probably be catching the talc after it had been milled in a crusher.
Near left center there is a vertical pole or pipe that could well be an exhaust pipe for either an internal combustion or steam engine that would drive the crusher and bucket belt. I suspect it is a steam engine because a small diameter steam line is entering the photo from the left, running toward the base of the pipe. Simple "X" shaped supports are supporting the steam line.
A steam tractor is visible just down the hillside below the side dump car. I imagine that tractor might have been used as a locomotive to get the side dump car to the talc site. It all adds up to what would be a great little scene to model, requiring a lot of research and creative solutions to represent what is not visible in the photo.
One of the old photos Jim scanned for me I found particularly interesting.
This photo appears in Paul Saunders' book Heartbeats of Nelson. It was taken at the Phoenix Soapstone operation. The caption identifies it as soapstone workers.
Soapstone operations in Nelson County involved cutting big blocks of stone out of quarries. It is obvious that the men in the photo are not engaged in that type of activity. They appear to be shoveling light colored dirt or sand into wheelbarrows. I believe they are working a talc deposit. Soapstone being composed primarily of talc, it would seem probable that there could be an outcropping of the mineral talc itself near the soapstone deposits. Talc is very soft and flaky, light colored with a silvery luster. Handling it leaves a glittery residue on everything it touches. There were a wide range of industrial applications for talc, making it worthwhile to extract and ship.
The men with the shovels and wheelbarrows are providing the extraction. A side dump car to the right in the photo appears to be providing the means for shipping the talc. It does not appear that the workers are dumping wheelbarrows of talc directly into the side dump car. The talc is being dumped into the car after being lifted unnecessarily high in the air with a bucket belt. The lower end of the bucket belt would probably be catching the talc after it had been milled in a crusher.
Near left center there is a vertical pole or pipe that could well be an exhaust pipe for either an internal combustion or steam engine that would drive the crusher and bucket belt. I suspect it is a steam engine because a small diameter steam line is entering the photo from the left, running toward the base of the pipe. Simple "X" shaped supports are supporting the steam line.
A steam tractor is visible just down the hillside below the side dump car. I imagine that tractor might have been used as a locomotive to get the side dump car to the talc site. It all adds up to what would be a great little scene to model, requiring a lot of research and creative solutions to represent what is not visible in the photo.