Re: Coal from Crested Butte area....where did it go?

Craig:

There was six coal mines around Crested Butte and one on the Floresta branch. The largest was the CF&I "Big Mine," which was the largest coal mine in Colorado for many years. The Pershing, Peanut, and Smith Hill mines on the Anthracite branch north of Crested Butte were anthracite coal mines and some of the few anthracite mines west of the Mississippi. The mine at Floresta was also anthracite.
The biggest customer for the coal was the CF&I steel mill in Pueblo, but a lot of coal also went to the smelters at Salida and Leadville. Coal was also shipped in C&S ng cars to a smelter at Kokomo on the C&S near Leadville. Crested Butte coal was also shipped to the US Navy in San Diego in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Coal from Crested Butte was shipped to the RGS at Ridgway and was sold for home heating all around the narrow gauge. In 1930, a newspaper article described how Crested Butte coal was being shipped to Silverton.

In 1930, enough coal was shipped from Crested Butte to make a train from Crested Butte to Sargents. During WWI, two trains a day were required to ship all the coal and in the 30s and early 40s, trains as long as 90 cars were commong. The longest train ever run on the D&RGW narrow gauge was a train of empty coal cars from Sargents to Gunnison in 1943...125 cars. The CB branch had been shut down by snow and the mines needed empties.

Jerry Day
Longmont, CO



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2009 09:51PM by Jerry Day.