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Grouped Material: View Maps - Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Coal Branch View Photos - Mountain Park Mine, 1927
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Grand Trunk Pacific Coal: Inspection Tour, September 15, 1920

O
perated from Bickerdike to Coal properties as follows: the Park Coal Company property at Mountain Park and the Cadomin Collieries at Cadomin are producing a Bituminous Coal of fair quality, principally used by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTP) for Locomotive Fuel.

The GTP.Railway uses some Hart Convertible Ballast Cars, 40 tons carrying capacity when not in use in ballasting the line, with a few foreign gondolas 40 to 50 tons capacity available occasionally. The Principle shipments are handled in 35 tons capacity GTP box cars.

These branch lines are poorly constructed, mostly skeleton track with very little ballast, heavy grades, some places over 3% and much curvature. With present power the maximum train load of empties into Coalspur is 14 cars. This governs the out shipments which are handled between the Coal Mines and Coalspur by two or three “turn around” trips per day. These branch lines require such work done on them and a supply of suitable coal equipment is necessary for their economical operation. From Geo. O. Somers

Source: PAC RG 36, 35, Vol. 15, File: Field notes, Somers.