A site that has eluded us for several years, the workings of the Cart & Trolley Mine first caught our attention when we saw a video from inside. Knowing roughly where it was in Timiskaming District, we sought for years to find it. Luck paid off in 2021 where we finally identified where it was, and then met up with several other explorers to dive into it.
Location | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ontario, Canada | ||||||
Built :: Closed | Status | Difficulty | ||||
Unknown :: Unknown | Abandoned | ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ | ||||
Hazards Risk | Security Risk | AUE Rating | ||||
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ | ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | ||||
Hazard Observations | Security Observations | |||||
None Specified | None Specified |
As per tradition, it was myself, Brind, and Sloth who made the trek up from the Toronto area. This time around, though, we also met up with a couple of other mine explorers: Ontario Abandoned Mines and local mine explorer Explore Underground. While we had managed to narrow down where the Cart & Trolley Mine was, we certainly didn't say no when they offered to give us a guided tour of it as the first stop of our trip!
While all indications are that the workings of Cart & Trolley are interconnected somewhere underground, for us access consisted of two separate entrances. One of the entrances has seen activity much more recently then the other, with a large amount of equipment in place and intact, as if it was only recently abandoned. The other entrance is much more typical of the Timiskaming area mines, having been abandoned much longer.
Not to say that the second part of the workings were any less interesting; there was still the remains of a cage leading deeper into the workings, the associated hoist platform nestled into an outcrop behind it (sadly, the hoist itself is long removed from the drift), as well as another nearby winze that is begging for further exploration with some ropework.
Needless to say, the 2021 Mine Trip started off with an impressive bang!