Hi Tim,

I would agree that Most coal from Cape Breton must have moved by water, even if only around the Gaspe Peninsula and up the St. Lawrence River. But what about coal from Springhill??? With 40 ft. tides, said to be the highest in the world, at the northeast end of the Bay of Fundy, and the Minas Basin being one huge mud flat at low tide movement by water does not seem likely. I am not aware of anyplace on the Atlantic side of the isthmus connecting the major part of Nova Scotia to New Brusnwick where coal migh have been loaded for movement by sea either.

While I agree that the major development of the Western Canadian coal fields is largely a post STMFC occurrence I also suspect you would be surprised at the level of coal mining in BC prior to WW II.
But it is the Nova Scotia coalfields I am concerned with. It would seem the CNR must have moved much of it from the Springhill area but I've found little evidence of it.

Thanks for your response,
Don Valentine



--- In STMFC@..., Tim O'Connor <timboconnor@...> wrote:

Don, the Nova Scotia coal field is adjacent to the ocean.
Most of the coal must have moved very short distances by
rail, if it moved by rail at all. The mining is on a far
smaller scale than in western Canada. The map shows Sydney
as the location of the port.

http://www.mininghistory.ns.ca/lfrost/lfcfa00.htm
http://www.mininghistory.ns.ca/lfrost/lfhist.htm

The distance from B.C. to Toronto by rail is much, much
further than from the eastern U.S. I think the stripmines
in B.C. and Alberta didn't really crank up production
until long after the STMFC era.

Tim O.