The BIG Hook

We’ve sat on this one for a long time. When you have dozens of posts coming down the pipes some things are bound to get set aside for later. In the interim we’ve been doing research about the place as time permits, digging, prying and asking around but so far have come up mostly empty*. We think we know what the building was but have no solid data to back it up. Here in lies the problem. We hate guessing, even if we have some expertise. Heck, let’s write about it anyway. It’s a visually interesting subject and we should be able babel on enough to make this post informative and entertaining. Should we know more down the road we’ll naturally update this piece.

We’re in the Crownsest Pass of Alberta, a stone’s throw from the British Columbia border. It was once an active coal mining centre, but today a rather sleepy little grouping of communities in a scenic valley. We so love that backwater vibe and wandering about all the historic stuff found there always takes us back. It’s a delightful mix, small town hospitality, spectacular landscapes and so many reminders of a once vibrant past. It’s a little heaven on earth for us outdoor adventurers and we’ve made it our second home. And no one’s ever asked us to leave.

The building here was part of a huge coal mine complex that operated from the early 1900s into the 1980s. The firm had a number of surface and underground workings up and down the valley to feed it over the years – Tent Mountain, Vicary, Racehorse, McGillivray Creek and the Intentional. Collectively this made it the largest coal company in the area in terms of volume mined and the longest lasting. Over the years it had many owners and was involved in many mergers and partnerships, stuff beyond the scope of this article.

When the plant closed, it marked the end of almost ninety years of coal mining in the Crowsnest region. A firm today is working to open a new mine, so coal may yet return to the Pass. There’s still a lot of material left in the ground.

While our subject was part of a mining complex, where coal was processed and shipped out, it’s well separated from the rest of the buildings (some of which still exist behind a fence). Research suggests this structure acted as an electrical substation. A mine requires huge amounts of power and this would be used to step down the high voltage so it can be put to use and redistributed throughout the plant. If this scenario is correct (more in a moment), then the interior would have been filled with transformers and the like.

During research we found a map showing a high tension line leading to the building. From there, others marked low tension fan out towards the main plant and with some appearing to go underground via a connecting tunnel to the International Mine deep below. That this building is away from the rest of the plant further suggests the purpose we spoke of. Substations could be a fire (or explosion) hazard (rarely but it happened back then), so keeping them distant from people and valuable stuff makes sense.

One historic paper describes the building as a “hoist house”, perhaps in reference to the overhead crane inside, the only thing of size left behind. In mining circles that term means a housing when an elevator of sorts is located that’s used to access underground workings, but I don’t think that was their intent when describing it so. Such a set up would require much specialized machinery – big motors, drums, cabling and so on – and the layout and form of the building, and its location, just doesn’t seem to fit. Still, we keep an open mind till we know more.

The building is made of brick separated by columns of concrete with some steel supports and a wood roof (that’s showing signs of deterioration). There’s one large main room and off to the side, an office maybe and what looks to be a small parts store/workshop. Big roll up doors allowed trucks easy access. Inside, it’s pretty much empty, save for that large overhead travelling crane we touched on earlier. It’s a big hunk of steel used for placing and moving about heavy stuff. They often stripped these places bare for scrap metal when a mine closed so we’re curious why it’s still here.

This crane comes from Pawling and Harnischfeger, a firm today called P&H, a well known maker of mining and industrial machinery. The serial number tells us it’s an old one (pre-1910 we think). Interestingly, we think the building here is newer (circa 1940s is hinted at) suggesting the crane was recycled from another building. That hook! Here’s our old metal fix for the day…ahhhh.

There’s some rails embedded in the floor for some sort of trolley set up, another way to move big weighty things.

Vandals have made their mark here with not a single window untouched. Glass is always the first to go.

The hillside next to this building was used for coal storage and dumping of slack. From the International Mine at the base of this slope came fourteen million tonnes of the black stuff, over fifty some years.

The whole building has a ’80s horror movie feel to it. Images of Jamie Lee. We picture some poor soul bound up and hanging there, impaled by the hook, cold and lifeless, their face frozen as thought witness to absolute terror. It’s here where victims of the “Crowsnest Slasher” are discovered to hang each October full moon. Stand by a west facing window and say his name three times, slowly, and he’ll appear. HE’S IN THE BUILDING…BEHIND YOU! Comes blood curdling screams and in an instant, dead silence. Emphasis on dead.

True story, I swear! A girl my second cousin went to band camp with saw it happen to her sister! And now she’s cries all the time and is crazy. They found the remains but she was so brutally chopped up they kept it from the news. Fact!

Or not.

The views out have us looking at some majestic peaks. What an interesting contrast it must have been when the mines operated. Dirty old industrial plants in a beautiful setting. Stepping outside all squint-eyed, it’s one last look and we’re gone. The building is showing it’s age yet still is standing proud. We ponder its future and come up empty. No one we spoke with seems sure what will become of it.

*A lack of resources means we have to produce these articles quick and on a strict budget so sometimes it’s a best-we-can effort. It’d bring tears to your eyes to see what we have to work with.

They’re saying…

”Wonderful articles on small forgotten towns. Several that I knew very well. Thanks for doing this.” Jan Tooth.

Mine ruins…
Coal Mine Hoist House – BIG machinery!
Yankee Girl – Higher and higher.
Mining Under Moyie Falls – In a dramatic gorge.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date of Adventure: June, 2019.
Location(s): Crownsest Pass, AB.
Article references and thanks: Alberta Coal Mining Records @ AER.

Looking up, it’s this overhead crane.

The prefect horror movie set.

We’re at a former coal mine.

It’s believed this was a electrical substation.

The BIG menacing hook.