Sited in the Red Deer River Valley, here better known as
The Badlands, and about 22 kilometres south of the city of Drumheller, the
Atlas No. 3 Coal Mine National Historic Site is today the best preserved and most complete coal mining site in Canada. Home to Canada's
last remaining wooden coal tipple, the site also contains several of the original buildings, including managers' houses and a storage shed, as well as rail lines which connected the mine to the Canadian Pacific's main rail line. To the northwest of the mine site still stands a four span Howe truss wooden bridge built by the CPR, probably in 1936.
Of the 139 coal mines which once operated in the Drumheller Valley, The Atlas Coal Mines were the most successful, with the four, all operated by the Patrick family, producing about 20% of the coal mined in the valley. After barely a fifth of a century of operation, from 1936 to 1956, the Atlas #3 mine itself had produced around 5 million tons of coal.
Today the Atlas #3 Mine site has become not only a
Canadian National Historic Site, but a
Province of Alberta Historic Place and a
Coal Mining Museum, as well.
In addition to the remaining infrastructure, the site contains a large collection of the machinery, motive power and rolling stock which enabled the production of a prodigious amount of coal over nearly half a century of operation.
Atlas Coal Mine #3 & #4
The Atlas Coal Mine was among the earliest and most successful ventures in the Drumheller Valley. Although the early work was labour intensive, difficult and dangerous, the Atlas Coal Mine soon became known for its innovation, mechanization and clever marketing. In the winter of 1935/36 the Atlas Mine moved to this site. Every structure, including the massive tipple, was dismantled and brought over from the north side of East Coulee across the frozen Red Deer River by draught horse and crawler tractors. At its peak the Atlas Coal Mine employed over 300 people. The Patrick family owned mines extracted nearly 8 million tons of coal - more than any other company, and nearly 20% of the Drumheller Valley's entire production total. By the time the Atlas Coal Mine ceased production, the old wooden tipple, had sorted nearly 5 million tons of coal. Today, the
Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site is the most complete historic coal mine in Canada and is home to the nation's last wooden tipple. The Atlas Coal Mine stands as a legacy to all 139 coal mines in the Drumheller Valley, and the people who worked them.
From the Plaque at the Site