H.K. Porter #2438 Narrow Gauge "dinky" - Fernie, BC - Locomotives on Waymarking.com

Located in Fernie's Rotary Park, this small machine looks more like an oversized child's play toy than a retired piece of industrial equipment. It looks nothing like the typical powerful-looking locomotive, not even like the cabless Hudswell Clark Locomotive located outside the Fernie Visitor Centre (visit link) And with no plaque or signs, it's hard to be certain what this locomotive was used for or where is was used.

According to www.steamlocomotive.info, this locomotive is a 0-4-0T narrow gauge locomotive, built in 1901 by H.K. Porter (#2438) and operated by the Crowsnest Pass Coal Company (visit link)

There is little doubt this small locomotive was used in the Fernie coke ovens. On the nearby British Columbia Heritage Marker (visit link) , there is a (very faded) image that appears to show a similar (and possibly the same) train pulling a single small hopper over the top of the coke ovens (that image can be viewed here: (visit link) ). The role therefore would be to load relative small amounts of recently mined coal (from nearby Coal Creek or possibly other nearby mines) into the many coke ovens that one operated in Fernie at the beginning of the 20th century.
And then there's this statement (along with two photos of this exact locomotive and hopper), describing the Fernie coke ovens and the trains that were used to load them. If the train in the park is indeed the "dinky" locomotive, than it would have been put into service around 1902:
Fernie, B.C. : History Printer by DM Wilson (visit link)
"In two double-row’d batteries, they [the coke ovens] were each charged with 6.5 tons of slack coal delivered by a special little bottom-dumping, electric-powered “larry” that moved across the tops of the ovens on rails. Having been filled and sealed and allowed to burn for 60 to 72 hours to reduce 6.5 short tons of coal to 4.4 tons of coke, the side port of the oven was then unbricked and the coke pulled out onto the adjacent quay to be cooled by water before being shovelled into boxcars spotted on the quayside tracks. In 1901 Harry Oldland, also of Pennsylvania, added 112 more at a cost of $640 per oven. The next year the Larry was replaced by a short, tall-sided gondola pulled by a tiny, standard-gauged “dinky” locomotive. In 1908 28 more ovens were built to bring the total to 452. When the plant was in full production and the wind was from the east, Fernie’s streets were choked with acrid smoke and woe betide the dutiful housewife who had her Monday’s washing hanging out on her backyard clothes line."

Locomotive Type: (required): Steam Do you need to pay an entrance fee to view this locomotive? (required): No How accessible is this locomotive display? (Required): Cab access is allowed. If "other" what is the engine type? (optional): Not listed If a fee is required what is the approximate cost for admittance? (optional): Not listed

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Date Logged Log   10/09/2018 Bon Echo wrote comment for it