History on the HIll - The Quincy & Torch Lake Railroad

Presented by Chuck Pomazal, Engineer, Historian, Author

In the late 1800’s, as the Quincy Mine was expanding its operation and boosting its daily output of copper bearing rock, the original stamp mill at the foot of the hill in Hancock was unable to handle the increased workload.  Compounding this problem was the inability to dispose of the waste “stamp sand” into the Portage Lake without blocking navigation.  The solution was to build a new Stampmill, with heavy-duty steam stamps, on the shore of Torch Lake, 6 miles away.
Chuck will explain how the Quincy Mining Company unexpectedly found itself in the “Railroad Business”,  how they were able to obtain the necessary “Rights-of-Way”, construct a rail line, and purchase the required locomotives and rock cars.   Being an integral part of the Mining Company, The Quincy & Torch Lake Railroad evolved and declined along with the parent business and Chuck will depict, with numerous illustrations and drawings, the various pieces of railroad rolling stock. With the shut-down of the mine in 1945, the railroad was abandoned and became the target of scavengers and scrappers.  Locomotives were dispersed to various locations around the country, arson claimed the last remaining caboose, and neglect took care of much of the rest.  The “Right-of-Way” was sold off, and forests literally took over any trace of the railroad’s existence.  Hear Chuck explain what is being done now to preserve the heritage of the Q&TLRR and find out what a difference a small group of dedicated volunteers  can make.