North Country Ribbons
Beehive at Hearst
Backed by one of the town's historic "beehive" burners (more on these below), the yard scene at Hearst is humming with activity. ONR's 313 has dropped its interchange traffic, finished its work, and is ready to depart as 514 for Cochrane with ONR personnel at the ready for a roll-by and some maintenance work. On the right of the frame, CN 552's power idles away, its crew on duty in just a few minutes to pick up 313's inbound train for Oba via the Soo Sub (formerly WC/ACR). All the while, the formidable logging crane methodically rolls back and forth, moving logs around the mill for processing, while a CAT machine maneuvers mounds of sawdust and snow around.
Beehive burners were used as incinerators by sawmills to burn sawdust and scrap wood, the name referring to their conical shape. These posed obvious air quality issues, spewing large amounts of smoke and ash directly into the atmosphere and were eventually phased out by environmental regulations, the last active one in Hearst running into the early '80s. Just a landmark now, the burner still stands tall preserving some of Hearst's heritage as a leader in the forestry industry.
Beehive at Hearst
Backed by one of the town's historic "beehive" burners (more on these below), the yard scene at Hearst is humming with activity. ONR's 313 has dropped its interchange traffic, finished its work, and is ready to depart as 514 for Cochrane with ONR personnel at the ready for a roll-by and some maintenance work. On the right of the frame, CN 552's power idles away, its crew on duty in just a few minutes to pick up 313's inbound train for Oba via the Soo Sub (formerly WC/ACR). All the while, the formidable logging crane methodically rolls back and forth, moving logs around the mill for processing, while a CAT machine maneuvers mounds of sawdust and snow around.
Beehive burners were used as incinerators by sawmills to burn sawdust and scrap wood, the name referring to their conical shape. These posed obvious air quality issues, spewing large amounts of smoke and ash directly into the atmosphere and were eventually phased out by environmental regulations, the last active one in Hearst running into the early '80s. Just a landmark now, the burner still stands tall preserving some of Hearst's heritage as a leader in the forestry industry.