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Quote from Mr. Hutchinson's memoirs:

"When I arrived the mine had just been taken over by a Montreal syndicate who were planning extensive developments."

"There were three seams in the measure but only the upper one, which had a thickness of fourteen feet, was being mined. The operation was done on a room and pillar system from a level entering from the surface. No mining machinery was employed and no pumps were needed on the level. The loaded cars emerging from this level were assembled in a yard. They were picked up by a small steam locomotive and hauled to the tipple several hundred yards away and dumped. This tipple was a log structure and operated a retarding flight conveyor. It delivered the coal to a loading bin alongside the standard gauge tracks some 125 feet below.

From the lower yard the loaded cars and returning empties were handled by a Hillcrest Co. train crew. The private railway was about two miles long and crossed the Crowsnest River on a long, curved, wooden trestle bridge just before reaching the CPR sidings.

The original owner of the mine, C. P. (Chippy) Hill, was very proud of his railway and was often heard to remark, "My railway is quite as wide as the CPR although not quite so long." The CPR was then taking the bulk of the output of the mine. Very little preparation was required and the mine was making money.

"The new company was figuring on producing 2000 tons of coal a day or more so this meant the sinking of slopes from which to extract coal from the lower levels of the syncline. Power would be required for sinking, hauling, ventilation, etc., and this would necessitate the building of a fully equipped power house to supply steam, electricity and compressed air."

"Almost immediately upon my arrival a start was made on the sinking of a slope to be called No. 2 mine."

Continuing Mr. Wm. Hutchinson's Memoirs:

"When I arrived in 1910 the original mine office was still in use. It was a large log building situated on the north side of Hillcrest Creek, alongside of what was then the only wagon road to the mine. The stables and stable boss's house were to the west of the office and there were three or four small cottages east of it, in one of which the mine manager lived. C. P. Hill, the original owner's house was on the slope of a hill behind the office and was situated in a grove of trees. This just about constituted the original Hillcrest mine layout."

"A townsite had been acquired on the flat at the bottom of the hill, and a hotel, store, a one-roomed school and other buildings necessary for a small town were put up."

"The log office referred to above had a lean-to to the west side of it. On the other side of the building there was an inside partition behind which the two clerks and the accountant had their desks. On pay days the miners assembled in the office and received their cheques. I did my drafting and other work here also until the new offices were built in the townsite."

This article is extracted from Crowsnest and its People: Millennium Edition (Coleman, Alberta, Crowsnest Pass Historical Society, 2000) .  The Heritage Community Foundation and the Year of the Coal Miner Consortium would like to thank the authors and the Crowsnest Pass Historical Society for permission to reprint this material.

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