See those rails in the sidewalk? This is the old Crescent Tramway railroad. You can see a photo of the train on the Interpretive Sign to your left. Those lines are re-creations of the old mining tramway. The tramway was a steep, narrow-gauge railroad that brought supplies and coal five miles up to the Crescent Mine in Thaynes Canyon northwest of here. It brought ore back down to be processed at the mill on Main Street.
Ore, the rock embedded with minerals containing silver, gold, zinc, or lead, was heavy. In the early years of the Park City mines, they used horses and wagons to unload the raw material in burlap bags down the mountain. But the value of unloading more of this heavy ore warranted mining companies to spend the massive financial capital and engineering manpower to build railroad tracks up the mountainside along a steep 12% grade. The steep mountainside terrain made it unlikely that they used steam shovels. They built most of the rail tramway by hand with a pick and shovel.
The tramway was chosen for its cost-effectiveness and efficiency, as horse and wagon transport proved costly and unreliable. Built in 1886, the Crescent Tramway benefited from the era’s narrow-gauge railroad boom, which allowed Shay engines to navigate mountain terrain more easily. Investors hoped it would run year-round, especially during winter, to move ore for processing and reduce shipping loads out of Park City. The tramway terminated near the Main Street mill, where the ore was processed. The narrow-gauge tramway could not run during the snowy season, after all. It also derailed frequently.
The first Shay engine used on this rail earned the name the Maud Withey, named after the tramway’s chief engineer, C.H. Withey’s wife.
The Maud Withey made its last run on the Crescent tramway when it shut down in 1900. That same year, the Silver King Mining Company built its state-of-the-art gravity-run aerial tramway. This technology reduced the costs of transporting material to and from the mountain by over 90%. Eventually, a total of three aerial mountain tramways were built around town for different mines.
You can reach more story sites in this audio tour by retracing the route Maud Withey once chugged. Head uphill along the rail-lined Crescent Tram Way towards Empire Avenue and the Treasure Hill Trailhead. Look at our tour map for help navigating. It’s not too far away.