In 1864 Sherman Day and C.E. Hawley built a rail line to carry ore from the mines on Mine Hill to the lower town furnaces. Transporting ore to the furnaces by horse and wagon had been slow and expensive, while production and demand had increased greatly. This gravity-aided tram moved thousands of tons of cinnabar ore across steep terrain from shafts and sorting sheds to the furnaces. Loaded ore cars traveling downhill helped pull empty cars back to the top with cables. The rail line had three steep inclines, almost three miles of track, and was used for some 40 years.