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wooden tipple at Atlas Mine

I toured the Atlas Mine with the twins Saturday. The wooden structure is the only one left in Canada operated from 1911 to 1979

From Wikipedia: The sub-bituminous coal from the Drumheller mining district was mainly used for home heating, cooking and electrical generation. It was also be used to power the steam locomotives of the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways on the prairies. The flat-lying seams were easier to mine than those found in more mountainous areas, with lower levels of methane gas. The coal-mining era lasted from 1911 to 1984, when the Atlas No. 3 and 4 mines closed. The Atlas No. 3 Mine structures are preserved and form the basis of the National Historic Site, administered by the Atlas Mine Historical Society.[1]

 

The mine features the last wooden coal tipple in Canada. Built in 1937, the tipple is a coal loading and sorting machine. At over 7 storeys tall the tipple now serves as a reminder of the rich mining history of the Drumheller Valley. Old mining equipment, including a working pre-1936 battery powered locomotive and several buildings including the wash house, supply house, lamp house, and mine office still stand at the site. The site preserves the stories and artifacts of the men who once mined the black. The Atlas is the last of 139 mines that once ruled the valley.

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Uploaded on July 19, 2015
Taken on July 18, 2015