Images
Black & white photo from Bell Laboratories Record, August, 1952, page 330.All other photos taken August 2000.
Select an image to view a larger version
Information and photos courtesy of Terry Michaels
Mt. Rose is a radio relay station on AT&T's first transcontinental microwave route, and was noted in AT&T publications around the time of its construction as being the station with the highest elevation on the route at 10,075 feet. This section of the transcontinental microwave route was opened for service on August 17, 1951.
The Mt. Rose repeater was originally constructed as a single story concrete building, with four delay lens antennas placed on a steel grating type platform mounted on the roof of the building. Later, a 50 foot tall steel self supported tower was constructed alongside the building, supporting two horn reflector antennas aimed eastward to the repeater site at Churchill Butte, NV, and two additional horn reflector antennas aimed westward to the repeater site a Cisco Butte, CA. The building appears to have been enlarged since its original construction by the addition of a new two story section to the original building.
The nearest point by public road is at about 8000 feet elevation, from there a winding gravel road 4 to 5 miles long leads upward to the site. AT&T apparently gave consideration to the considerable winter snowfall on the top of Mount Rose, they installed a cable car type tram from a point alongside the access road about 800 feet below the summit, leading to a landing next to the repeater building. In addition to the usual ground level entry door, there is an elevated, covered walkway leading from the tram landing to a door on the upper floor of the building, presumably to provide for accessibility even during times of deep snow cover.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Created on July 17, 2002 at 22:21 by Albert LaFrance