Old Dinah Steam Tractor - Furnace Creek, CA
Posted by: 
jiggs11
N 36° 27.434 W 116° 52.008
11S E 511935 N 4034672
Old Steam tractor on display at Zabriskie Park in Furnace Creek, CA.
Waymark Code: WMTAEZ
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 10/23/2016
Views: 15
This steam tractor was built in 1894 by Pacific Coast Borax. It is a tricycle traction engine, burning 3 tons of coal a day. Her top speed was a whopping 3.5 miles and hour! It was designed to replace the 20-mule teams working the borax mines of Death Valley.
However, the steam engine proved obstinate at best and totally mechanically unreliable at her worst, and after a year of frustration, she was shipped off, replaced once again by the mule teams. These teams in turn were finally replaced in 1898 by the Borate and Daggett Railroad.
"Old Dinah" ended up hauling ore out of mines near Beatty, NV, before being abandoned in the 1910's when the mines started to dry up and maintenance costs became too high. In 1932 she was rescued and moved to Furnace Creek.
Dinah remained at Furnace Creek undisturbed for 73 years until 2015, when she was moved to her present location, closer to the other artifacts at the nearby Borax Museum.
Engine Type: Steam
Wheel Type: Steel
Make: Pacific Coast Borax
Model: N/A
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