Coalology: The story of the famous Lethbridge Imperial Coal
Coalology: The story of the famous Lethbridge Imperial Coal by Murphy, E. F. (author) (1915). Full text and reference in the Mountain Man Mining Library.
Public-domain full text preserved in the Mountain Man Mining Library. Original source: archive.org.
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There were many mighty earthquakes, “We won’t say how many or when. There were many volcanoes in action, ‘The heat of the earth was. intense.
As the mountains toppled over The pressure was immense. . Then other plants grew and flourished And later turned to peat. The earth’s queer actions still kept up And nature was storing up heat. These changes kept going for ages And then when the time was come The Lord finished the great creation And saw that it was done. — —P. T,
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The Formation Of Coal
ARK. back with me a little while— Ten thousand years or so— To the time this earth was without form And wandered to and fro.
The Lord looked down from Heaven above;
The sea and land were made,
And ferns and trees did thrive and grow On the hill and in the glade.
These ferns and trees grew tall and great And died and fell to earth,
And other trees among them grew, Of plants there was no dearth.
This growth and fall kept up for years And formed thick beds of peat,
Which in later years were turned to coal
And used by man for heat. Remember, these things we are telling Came before there were any men. There were many mighty earthquakes, We won’t say how many or when. There were many volcanoes in action, The heat of the earth was. intense.
As the mountains toppled over The pressure was immense.
Then other plants grew and flourished And later turned to peat.
The earth’s queer actions still kept up And nature was storing up heat.
These changes kept going for ages And then when the time was come
The Lord finished the great creation And saw that it was done.
—P.
Coalology
VOL. I. No. 1
TO THE You know about the Lethbridge COAL Coal. Jor years, it has been the TRADE standard fuel of this country. Our Imperial Mine, which is in the heart of this district, has the deepest shaft and hardest coal in the entire field. In a word, it is the oldest “Made in Canada” product. ;
We guarantee the Lethbridge Imperial Coal as representing the highest standard of quality, condition, service and reliability. Thousands of satisfied customers throughout Western Canada ean be found to back this warrant.
Jecause we desire, in the open market, to make a fair and earnest effort to secure. your permanent patronage, we are here attempting to set down the story of the mining of our Leth- bridge Imperial Coal, and the procéss to. which it is subjected in preparation for shipment.
UNDERCUTTING Tn the Imperial Mine, SHOOTING AND which is operated by
LOADING OF COAL special machinery, coal is undercut by
compressed air, the lines of which run to all parts of “the workings.” The machine is drawn closely to the coal face and set upon an inclined table as shown in the accompanying photograph. The machine’s operations con- tinue until the entire room has been cut to the depth of four and one-half feet, the cut being twelve inches high at the front, and three inches at the rear.
This being accomplished, the miners drill a hole in the centre of the room and blow it down by powder. This process is technically known as “shooting.” In the open air these ripping - charges into the sides
Page Two
of old King Coal would be of terrific detonation, but in the lifeless, leaden atmosphere of the stratum the sounds are muffled and indistinct.
When the smoke has cleared away, the coal.
is loaded into cars and hauled along the entries or tunnels to the bottom of the shaft, where it is placed on the cages and hoisted to the surface.
This process of undercutting preserves the coal from being over-fractured and enables us to supply large lumps of coal for domestic use in- stead of the “slack,” dust, and fragments so frequently foisted upon the long-suffering consumer by the selling agents of ill-equipped mines.
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Page Three
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HOISTING If you get into one of these
down-going cars, we will show you how our Imperial Coal reaches the sur- face.
Leaving the sharp intensity of the sunlight, vou are suddenly dropped into a pit of black- ness for nearly seven hundred feet. Being vour first trip, you have a sense of swift adventuring; vou feel yourself rolled into a tight little ball. and every nerve as hard as a nail; you hope the long, lithe cables of steel which hold the cage are stronger than they look; you wonder if you will
come out feet foremost in the Antipodes, and if it will hurt very much. : But presently, having reached the shaft bot- - tom you are surprised
Page Four
to find yourself in a large entry, the ‘walls of which are built of concrete and the roof of which is supported by massive girders of steel. . Instead of the silence and black impenetrableness “you were expecting, you find a blaze of electric light and the busy clangor of steel on steel, for this is one of the best-equipped,. most up-to-date mines in the whole of the Canadian coal fields.
You have already stepped aside until two mine cars, each containing about one and a-half tons of coal, take your place on the up-going ‘age. The signal having been given, the coal is hoisted till it reaches a house, high above the eround (see photograph), at what is called “the dump level.” Here the cars, which have been automatically locked, are now automatically released and sent travelling in tandem fashion on their wav to the rotary dump.
Page Five
DUMPING On approaching the rotary
dump, the full cars push off the empty ones, which are automatically returned to the back of the cage, in position, to replace the next cars hoisted.
The two full cars which are held in the dump are turned over slowly (see photograph), the coal being discharged with a sliding motion to a shield or apron, which distributes it without drop to the head of the first screen, thus avoid- ing all possible breakage. These upper screens are set on an angle of twenty degrees, and con- ist of long bars of steel so spaced as to permit
— of proper screening. This Jump coal slides off the bars into two baskets,
Page Six
one. for each screen, where itis weighed and the amount of coal credited to the miner. w hose check was on the ear.
As the word igomae means to throw
violently, and was, of former times, applied with propriety to the tempestuous torrent of coal which was thrown from the hopper-bottoms: to
the iron screens, thus breaking the coal, it would seem that a more fitting and desorip tive: word
might be applied to this process-as at pres cenit
conducted in our Imperial Mine.
Page Seven
THE SCREENING From the weigh bas- AND PREPARATION kets the coal is releas-
BM BERIAISGOAL ed into reciprocating feeders, which auto-
matically feed the coal over two second s lanting sereens (shewn covered with coal at the rear of photograph), and having a spacing of the bars slightly wider than those of the first screens. From the second screens, the coal passes into two picking belts, each sixty-five feet long and five feet wide, which travel at a rate of fifty-five feet per minute. On these it is carefully picked over, all slate and Black Jack being thrown Upon a smaller centre belt, which delivers this refuse to special ears which carry it to
Page Bight
the waste heap. The picked coal slides from the belts on to a cross conveyor, which runs at right angles, where it is again examined and re- picked. —
At the end. of this belt is a shaker screening chute, which feeds the coal into the railway cars, and which eliminates from it the’ smallest particle of slack,
The slack taken from the first screens is car- ried to a shaking screen by means of an_elevat- ing conveyor, where it is separated into nut coal and straight slack, These products can be mixed if so required,
The nut coal, after being screened, is also run over a separate picking belt where all the slate is picked out preparatory to loading the clean pro- duct into the railway ears. The slack from the last screen at the loading chute is used in the Colliery boilers.
It will thus be seen that our. fsquentty repeated claim of selling only “hand-picked coal” is an assertion which both the dealer and the purchaser may rely upon with entire security.
Page Nine
LOADING OF To load our Lump Coal IMPERIAL COAL With the least amount of breakage, a latest design of cradle box-car loader is installed. This loader is mechanically operated, and when the railway car is in place, the centre part of the first car is loaded; the loader then tilts the car at an angle sufficient to permit the coal, as it is loaded at the door, to gently slide to the extreme end of the car. When the centre and one end of the ear is loaded, the railway car is then tilted to the opposite angle and the other end loaded. his cradle loader then brings the car to a horizontal position completing the loading of our Lump Coal with practi- cally no breakage.
Page Ten
HAULING LOADED When the railroad car is loaded, it is
RAILROAD CARS ; switched to-the yard
tracks, where it is picked up by our locomotive and, as soon as a train is made up, hauled to our track scales to be weighed. ;
Page Eleven
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Map Of Western Canada Showing Location Of Our Mines
Page Twelve Page Thirteen
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WEIGHING OF Before the railway cars IMPERIAL COAL ¢ placed at the loading
plant, they are inspected and all refuse is removed. ‘The car doors are then boarded up and the cars weighed on a 150- ton Track Scale, so as to obtain the accurate tare weight of the car, and a ticket is automatically punched showing this weight.
After the railway cars are loaded with coal, they: are again weighed, the same ticket being punched giving the gross weight.
- Our.yard scales are periodically inspected by -the:Colliery officials, by the Dominion Govern- : ment, and by the Canadian Pacific Rail- me way ; all these checks per- . mitting of no possible _chance for inaccuracies.
CREAN cece AER LMAD A He Page Fourteen
Front And Back Of Weight Certificate
Page Fifteen
Screening Plant And Power House Building
INTERIOR OF MAIN HOISTING ROOM Berean
Page Sixteen
Interior Of Power House Showing Compressed Air And Electric Plant
Page Seventeen
Map Of The Lethbridge Coal Field Showing Where
The Famous Lethbridge Imperial Coal
Is Mined And Prepared.
Foe. 23 Poe. 22 Roe 2/
; 9 S
4 Where Lethbridge Imperial Coal Is Mined.
co
The Deepest Shaft oal.
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West \of 4% Meridean
Page Eighteen
Briefly Told
Imperial Coal is the best in Western Canada Maximum of heat from a minimum of coal. Picked over by hand.
Easily ignited and almost smokeless. Rigorously inspected before shipment.
Is graded in size for domestic, steam and
ange purposes. All heat and no waste. [range purp
Loaded by specially designed machinery.
Can be stored without weathering. Qutrivals all competitors in heat and hardness, Ash white and non-clinkering.
gee customers satisfied with its value.
Page Nineteen
OUR Our Advertising Depart- ADVERTISING ment is fully equipped DEPARTMENT to take care of all special
advertising work. We maintain our own Printing Department, which enables us to furnish special advertising to, our dealers at short notice.
This ‘advertising creates an increased ‘de- mand for LETHBRIDGE IMPERIAL COAL, as our signs and advertising matter are: promin- ently displayed throughout the Canadian West:
We have undertaken this advertising cam- paign for the purpose of assisting all retailers handling LETHBRIDGE IMPERIAL COAT, and we believe that by doing so we can best serve our retailers and the coal consumer.
FUEL TESTING ano. . If you have any heat- ENGINEERING ing problems, we .in-
DEPARTMENT vite you. to get m touch with our Fuel
and Engineering Department.
We will cheerfully furnish our dealers with any suggestions as to proper design of furnace and boiler grates, also the proper draughting of furnaces, stoves, ranges, ete., to get the most economical results, and best heating value from .. the burning of coal.
Page Twenty-one
Testimonials.
From Some of Our Agents “T have sold several different kinds of coal. But for Prompt Shipments and happy custom- ers, I will take LETHBRIDGE IMPERTAL COAL, Best in the West, for mine.”
“As a dealer, I have handled “Imperial” Coal for over two years, and my experience has been that it is without doubt the best domestic coal I have ever used or sold. T use it exclusively in my own house, and the many customers I have demand nothing else for domestic purposes. There is more “Imperial” Coal sold in K: and district than all other domestie coals put together.”
“T beg to state that I have used your coal, and T find it to be very satisfactory, both in heaters and also in the cook stoves, and none other can compare with the Imperial Coal, and I can fully recommend the Lethbridge Imperial Coal to any one.”
“I was looking through your account the other day, and I find we have had over one hundred ‘ars of your IMPERIAL Coal. I felt it was due you to know how pleased and satisfied we have been with the uniform quality of it, and also
Page Twenty-two
your methods of handling the business. Hope we may long continue to sell IMPERIAL 1 oe voal,
“T find since using the Imperial Lethbridge Coal that I have the best value for my money, both for heating and cooking purposes.”
“Last season I tried your Imperial Coal, and take much pleasure in stating that it gave the best of satisfaction, both to myself and custo- mers.” .
“T have handled your coal one year now, and wish to express herein my entire satisfaction, both as to the quality of Lethbridge Imperial Coal and also the manner of treatment I have received from you in all dealings to date, and I trust that same will continue.”
“We can, with pleasure, testify to the superi- ority of the Lethbridge Imperial Coal, which was used by us during last winter with great satisfaction.”
The above statements are extracts from letters on file at our office.
Page Twenty-three
‘“ Till dazzled by the drowsy glare
I shut my eyes to heat
and light,
And saw, in sudden night,
Crouched in the dripping dark
With steaming shoulders stark The man who hews the coal to feed my fire.’’
—Wilfred Wilson Gibson