Dredge No. 4 near Dawson City
Dredge No. 4 in Dawson City, Yukon Territory
I toured Alaska and the Yukon in 2007 and 2014 and both times visited this old Dredge No. 4, a relic of the old gold mining days. These huge machines would slowly move over the ground, scooping up major quantities of earth and running it through crushing and screening operations inside to separate out the gold. The mechanical structures are enormous! This photo set will include pictures from both visits to the site. They are shown here in reduced resolution—they are hosted on Flickr and can be seen in full resolution with available descriptions by clicking on them.
External views
DSC_0192-Pano-1 by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_0207 by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_8120.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_8121.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_0194 by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_8119.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_0204 by
David Casteel, on Flickr
Internal views
DSC_8122.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_8123.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_8130.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_8131.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_8134.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_8152.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_8142.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_8143.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_8144.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_8156.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_8160.jpg by
David Casteel, on Flickr
How it operated
DSC_0210 by
David Casteel, on Flickr
DSC_0213 by
David Casteel, on Flickr
Saw these in California as a barely teenager an awfully long time ago - they somehow created their own pond that they floated in. Thanks for the memory! Nice shots!
Thanks, quixdraw! Dredge No. 4 is one of the largest ever constructed, I think. It's just sitting out there and a tour attraction.
Nice photos. I hate to say anything critical, but Dawson City is in Canada in the Yukon. It is not in Alaska.
btbg wrote:
Nice photos. I hate to say anything critical, but Dawson City is in Canada in the Yukon. It is not in Alaska.
You are right, of course. My bad. I'll fix it.
David it is hard to believe but I worked on the stripping mine, not on the No.4 but on the No.9 dredge. The year was 1954, I was a young men then. I have some photos from that time but the quality is not that great. The dredge No.4 is actually turned around due a flood. I stayed one season April-October. I believe the mine was shot down around 1960. It was that time I found my love for the North Country
blacks2, that is very interesting. I'll bet it was very hard work, and dirty. I was in awe of the gigantic steel gears, etc. in that beast.
Really nice, David. I've driven through Dawson City on my way to Alaska a couple times but didn't know about this. Next time through I will stop for a look. Thanks for posting this.
RC, it's located a fair distance outside of town. Several companies offer tours to it, and I'm sure it is possible to get directions. There are a few smaller sites along the road with interesting artifacts, too. I don't think I'd take a nice car over the road, but tour busses make it OK.
Interesting - I thougt it was all mining and panning. Good Pics.
Nice--always interested in big machines.
Helluva operation for getting the Gold, appreciate seeing this!
Retired CPO wrote:
Really nice, David. I've driven through Dawson City on my way to Alaska a couple times but didn't know about this. Next time through I will stop for a look. Thanks for posting this.
Chicken also has a dredge. you'll be going there.
Dalek
Loc: Detroit, Miami, Goffstown
I wonder where the equipment was made
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