Re: June 1968 - no spark arrestors

John,

I believe that every steam railroad in Colorado (including the CRRM), buys coal from the same mine in Hesperus, CO. It's about the only mine in the region that still produces lump coal (most of the mines produce stoker coal). I believe is is mostly "run of the mine" coal and it is up to the end user to size it. At the CRRM, we find that we can occasionally give visiting groups of kids hammers (with parental consent, of course) and provide them instructions for the size coal we want, and they will happily "pound coal" for hours on end. Voluntary child slave labor, you know.

There is historical precedence for kids pounding coal. The coal breakers at coals mines around the turn of the last century (especially in the East) used to employ thousands of kids in the great multi-story coal washers to clean and sort coal, sometimes being directed to break the coal as well. Horrible working conditions with a pitance for pay.

Mike