Crested Butte history

From the current issue of the CB Weekly:
Fifty years ago this week after a one week shut down for repairs, Crested Butte's Big Mine reopened. The mine, owned and operated by Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I), closed along with a number of other operations owned by the company for the week. In addition to temporarily closing the Crested Butte mine, CF&I closed their Monarch limestone quarry. The whole shut down began when the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad closed down at Salida to repair their "barrel" transfer equipment. The railroad used the barrel to transfer coal and limestone from narrow gauge cars such as those that Crested Butte used. With out the use of the railroad CF&I had no way to move their material from around the state to their headquarters in Pueblo. Compounding the situation, the steel workers at the Pueblo steel mills had gone on strike. Looking toward the future CF&I announced their plans to reopen the Big Mine for only three days a week. They had recently closed down their coal mine in Canon City permanently. This closure gave the people of Crested Butte hope that since the supply of coal had been cut their mine would need to remain open for years to come. (Source: Gunnison News-Champion)