{"nrhp_refnum":"74000514","name":"Saline Valley Salt Tram Historic Structure","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"N of Keeler between Gordo Peak and New York Butte","address_restricted":false,"city":"Keeler","county":"Inyo County","state":"CA","lat":36.60914304850007,"lon":-117.85708950295404,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-12-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Engineering","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An aerial tramway about 13.5 miles long, built in 1911-1912 across the Inyo Range in Inyo County, California, to carry salt from Saline Valley to Owens Valley near Keeler. Trenton Iron Works began construction.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the tram is significant for engineering, industry and transportation. It had steeper grades than any other tramway in the United States. It is described as one of the most scenic, best preserved, oldest and largest of its kind remaining.","narrative":"A double-cabled aerial tramway crosses the Inyo Range in Inyo County, California, running roughly 13.5 miles from Saline Valley to a terminal near Swansea and Keeler. Built in 1911 and 1912 to move salt out of Saline Valley, it climbs from 1,100 feet to 8,500 feet at the crest of the range, then drops to 3,600 feet. Five sections, each with control stations and electric motors, moved cylindrical carriers holding about 700 pounds of salt, for a capacity of 20 tons per hour. Trenton Iron Works built it after the Saline Valley Salt Company judged a railroad impracticable. Construction used one million board feet of lumber and 600 tons of iron. The cost exhausted the company, and several operators followed. Salt was produced until 1930, and the last operator went into receivership in 1935. It is noted for the steepest grades of any tramway in the United States. Many towers remain, some still holding steel buckets, while the terminals have been stripped.","period_of_significance":"1911-1935","architect_builder":"Trenton Iron Works, a subsidiary of the American Steel and Wire Company (builder)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition marked as deteriorated and altered; terminals and structures near roads have been carted off by wood gatherers and junk collectors, though many towers remain. Status marked unoccupied.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.221787-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/74000514.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000514/725b237b0e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000514/725b237b0e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"LCGS Russ","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SalineTramSummit_89.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">LCGS Russ</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SalineTramSummit_89.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858838","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saline_Valley_salt_tram","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q109973327"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/inyo-county/saline-valley-salt-tram-historic-structure-74000514/"}