Re: Crested Butte 1952

Sharrod Wrote:
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> Are these functional or abandoned coke ovens?


At this time they were not. Jerry Day shared this comment with me about the removal of coal slack from Anthracite: "Also, the reason the gons are sitting by the coke ovens is that coal slack was being hauled from Smith Hill (end of the Anthracite branch which had been pulled up in 47). The company doing the work, built a couple of loading ramps on top of the coke ovens and loaded the cars there. This slack operation kept the Crested Butte line active for one more year after the Big Mine closed. The slack company objected to the Marshall Pass line being torn up and said they would be shipping slack for a few more years, but the PUC had already approved the D&RGW request for abandonment. The slack company hauled the slack to Salida in 1954 in trucks and loaded onto gons there, but the trucking over Monarch was so expensive, they stopped after that year. That is why there is still a lot of slack at Smith Hill."

Appreciate Jerry's comment and knowledge on this area.

William
aka drgwk37