The train pulls out of the station at 10 mph, chugging and puffing into the Black Hills of South Dakota. The steam locomotive of the 1880 Train not only moves you forward, it transports you back over 100 years to a time of gold mines, Wild West personalities and virgin wildernesses.
As we wound our way through the Black Hills passed views of abandoned mines, high peaks, and mountain streams, the rhythm of the steam locomotive pulling our iron wheeled carriage brought us from Hill City to Keystone and back in about 2 hours. Along the way, an audio description and history informed us of the surrounding area and sights we passed.
The steam engine huffed and puffed as it pushed to make it up Tin Mill Hill with a 4% to 6% grade. Hill City Depot is at an elevation of 4,974 feet while Tin Mill Hill has an elevation of 5,160 feet. Once at the peak we were headed down hill and on to view Harney Peak, the highest peak between the French Pyrenees and the Rocky Mountains, at a height of 7,242 feet. The summit of Harney Peak is accessible to hikers by using trails beginning at Sylvan Lake State Park. The six mile round trip climb is classified as moderately difficult and taking about 5 hours to complete. We did not have the time to climb Harney Peak this trip so it is on our list for our next trip to the Black Hills.
Along the 1880 route we saw abandoned mines including the Holy Terror Mine. The name fascinated us and we wanted to find out the history. In researching we came across an article by Thomas A. Loomis referring to the Holy Terror Mine as reported in the Black Hill Mining Review, March 21, 1898:
“The Holy Terror mine, like most great mines, was discovered by accident. The veteran prospector of the Black Hills, Wm. B. Franklin, now deceased, and his daughter were picking strawberries on the mountainside and, as is customary, carried a miner’s prospecting pick. The daughter sat down on a rock for a rest and was playing with the pick when something bright caught her eye. She called her father to look at it, which he
did, and at once staked the claims. After doing so he went home and told his wife about his latest find. She said to him that he had located a great many mines and that he had never named one after her; he said all right, he would call it the “Holy Terror”.
Reaching the station at Keystone, SD we decided to not disembark since we only had 15 minutes before the return trip to Hill City, SD. Having packed a basket with snacks, we sat in the train car and enjoyed our light repast.
Leaving Keystone Depot, the train again chugged and puffed its way out of the station into the Black Hills. Even though the route was the same, the view was different. We enjoyed the return trip as much to view sights we may have missed on the first leg.
As the train pulled into the Hill City Depot, we left the 1880s behind and were transported back to reality and 2011.
