By this time, there were only two ways to get up to Coon Peak. You could drive up with a 4-wheel drive vehicle, or you could fly up by way of a helicopter. But in earlier times, there was a tram that an authorized person could ride.
It was the longest tram in the world. You boarded it down in the valley west of Salt Lake. It was just a little car, but all the equipment to operate it and the huge building were interesting. There was a giant counter-weight that went down into a pit as the car went up the mountain. And of course there were wheels and heavy cables that turned and pulled as the little car was hoisted to its destination.
As I remember, the tram car was red and white. As you approached it, inside its building, it had a plug that charged its batteries while it wasn't in use. When you started it going, the plug would just pull itself out and dangle as you went up the mountain.
There were seven towers going up the mountain. The cables were held between those. Between two particular towers there was even a distance of a mile.
It was great to ride the tram. I can remember going up in the car with my mom and sisters once time, and once with my dad, grandpa, uncle and cousins. Those were the days when nobody said it was "unsafe" but unfortunately, OSHA or somebody like that ruled that it was not fit for carrying passengers. It has been relegated to hauling freight ever since. I miss it.
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