US: Historic 113-Year-Old Death Valley Tram Tower Destroyed By Driver Who Used It To Pull Car From Mud

The historic 113-year-old wooden tram tower located in Death Valley National Park in California, US, was knocked over after an individual used the tower as an anchor to pull their vehicle “out of deep mud”.

The incident occurred sometime between April 1 and April 24 of last month, according to the National Parks Service (NPS), an agency of the United States (US) federal government responsible for the oversight of over 400 national parks across the country.

According to the agency, the damage suggests that tire tracks indicate the car had veered significantly off the legal road before becoming stuck. This incident has prompted park officials to launch an investigation to identify those responsible for the damage.

“It appears the 113-year-old tower was pulled over while a person used a winch to extract their vehicle out of deep mud. The damage happened sometime between April 1 and April 24, 2024,” the NPS said in a statement on released on May 13.

According to a video captured from the dashcam of a vehicle and shared on YouTube, individuals who may have been involved in the toppling of the tower were seen.

The 11-minute video, as reported by Outside Magazine, was uploaded on April 27 but was removed on Wednesday, two days following the park service’s call for information regarding the incident. An edited version of the video was also shared on the magazine’s website.

In the edited footage, approximately two minutes in duration, the scene begins with a man pulling up alongside a woman dressed in a pink bikini top, jean shorts, and a trucker hat. The woman informs the driver of her need for a winch.

“We went a little too far into the mud, and there’s nothing to press the winch onto,” she’s heard explaining.

Subsequently, the video depicts a white truck with a camper stuck deep in mud, with the tram tower already lying on its side at the edge of the screen. The footage also includes the woman and a man in a flannel shirt and jean shorts after their initial attempt to free the vehicle fails. Ultimately, a second line is required to extract the truck, although the video concludes before the outcome of this attempt is revealed.

It remains uncertain whether the couple or any individuals shown in the video were responsible for the tower’s collapse, however, the magazine included an image of the man in the flannel shirt removing a winch from the fallen tower, as per the Los Angeles Times report.

The wooden tower held historical significance as part of the Saline Valley Salt Company’s infrastructure, which constructed the 13-mile aerial tramway in 1911 to transport salt from Saline Valley to Owens Valley. Notably, the tramway scaled over 7,000 vertical feet at steep grades of up to 40 degrees.

“Saline Valley Salt Tram is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is considered nationally significant because of its age, length, steepness, preservation, and scenic setting,” the NPS stated.