Coal Mining Cars, Canmore, AB, Canada
N 51° 05.826 W 115° 21.506
11U E 614944 N 5661904
These full-size, static coal mining cars have been converted into flower beds in the historic coal mining town of Canmore.
Waymark Code: WMC8GM
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 08/08/2011
Views: 20
The city of Canmore was established in 1886, when Queen Victoria granted a coal mining charter to the area. The first mine opened in 1887, and coal mining was a major source of income for the town, with peak production in 1944 when mining employed 300 men. The work enticed men from all over Canada and also Europe to come work in Canmore. The town boomed, and businesses were built to accommodate the needs of the citizens. Mercantiles, barber shops, hotels, bars, eaterys, churches, all sprang up in the town.
By the 1970’s the market for coal was declining. Mines in Georgetown, Anthracite and Bankhead all closed. Then, on July 13, 1979, 140 men lost their jobs, when declining markets and the expense of transporting the coal caused the Canmore Mines LTD to close permanently. It was the last mine in the Bow Valley. In the year that followed, nearly all of the mining structures were torn down, as a safety measure, with the exception of the lamp house and a couple of mine entrances.
There is surprisingly little surviving equipment from Canmore's coal mining days. A rare bit of concrete peeping out from heaping vegetation, the occasional skeleton of a piece of rusting metal poking up from the earth, facts that make these two coal mining cars an important link to Canmore's past. And since Canmore became the gathering place for displaced workers from the neighboring coal mines that closed before Canmore's closed, these rail cars could also be the last link for the coal mining ghost towns of Georgetown (closed in 1917) and Anthracite (closed in 1890).
ermanent residents.
Type of train car: Coal Car
Location: Roadside park
Price (In local currency): 0.00
Interaction allowed: yes
Visiting hours: From: 12:00 AM To: 12:00 AM
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Visit Instructions:
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