Shovels .Cranes & Trains

SHOVELS, CRANES & TRAINS - BY G.B.REID

Stories told by George Rideout & Doug Gourlay

Slag Track Maintenance

This was no small job as you were responsible for the track switches, and moving the track out to the edge of the dump about once a week. When they were dumping seven pots of molten slag, which was being tapped from the fuming furnaces approximately every 2 hours, they would haul 7 pots to the dump. In a 24 hour period this would average out to approximately 84 pots. So in the course of a week, the build up along the track became considerably wide, resulting in serious work for the track maintenance crew as the track had to be moved out to the outer edge of the dump. This required skillful techniques at times, of driving rods down into the slag dump, bending and shaping corrugated tin, then gently dumping molten slag into the selected area to help shore up the surface so it would support the slag trolley, pot and load of slag, which the pot contained. This weighed approximately 20,000-25,000 lbs.

The above picture shows the dump in some of its peak years. This picture was taken in the 1970's and you can see the height of the dump and the accumulation of shells that came out of the pots, along with the molten slag, so building and maintaining a track on a surface like this was no small job.

The man who was responsible for this was George Rideout. George is certainly no stranger in our community as he came here from Bishopfalls, Newfoundland on July 15, 1952. George hired on with HBM&S on August 16, 1952, and as it just so happens when I sat down to discuss this with George, it was 60 years to the day that he got hired. George married Iris on November 23, 1953, and they raised 4 children – Gary, Glen, Guy & Sherri. George spent 10-11 years working in the Fuming Plant and that is when I first got to know George. After his term in the Fuming Plant, George took charge of the slag dump and there he remained for another 10-12 years. This was a very hot place to work in the summer and probably one of the coldest places in North America to work in the winter. We didn't deal with wind chill factors in those days and if we had, George would never have been able to find a crew that would want to work long enough to move the track. In the early days on the dump, the shack for warming up, eating their lunch, storing their tools was made from corrugated metal. When you look at the lunch rooms and facilities of today, George's tin shack was a long ways from the Hilton. George went on to talk about some of the men who preceded him; they were John Balabas and Lloyd Halderson. He also talked about some of the men who he worked with such as Henry Vanderbelt better known as Dutchie, Richard Trubiak, Gary Hagley and Barry Dickens better known as Moose.

George still has a twinkle in his eye and enjoys talking about how things once were and how the work place was a place where we had fun and cared about each other, and still did our job under some very tough conditions and managed to go home each and every day safe and sound. He went on to say that in the late 70's when radio communication became part of the train crews modern equipment, it made the job much safer and movements much more accurate. This helped remove misunderstanding of signals and improved communication all the way around. The same thoughts were expressed by Elwood Strom.

Another very difficult task that George and his maintenance crew periodically had to deal with, was when an unplanned and unexpected runaway occurred; an event when slag would run down into the tunnel beneath the reverb furnace or fuming plant. The track and rails would be covered, and it was not a pretty site. The slag would have to be cooled, then jackhammered, and then removed. In the early days this was done with shovels and wheel barrows... not a nice job. In later years, some of this hard labor was eliminated when a Bobcat was employed for the task. Often, the ties and rails became bent and twisted from the heat, and this meant replacement as well. George said many times the job just became too big to accomplish within a limited time. So on many occasions, the open pit track gang would be called to the smelter to assist George and his crew, and production was on hold until the repair work was done. These were emergencies that one could most certainly live without. Also, there was also the matt tunnel on the south side of the reverb furnace, where the matt was removed from the furnace to the copper converters in the converter pit. This also presented problems on occasions when there were runaways. So you can see that looking after the needs of the slag train, the tunnels, track and switches, was a full time job.

The job of the brakeman on the slag train was extremely cold in the winter months and extremely hot in the summer months. The use of these radios was greatly appreciated by the train crew as they were able to communicate extremely well with each other and also, were able to communicate with the Fuming Plant office. If there was an emergency or maintenance required, it was on its way within minutes.

This picture here shows brakeman Ernie Hahn and motorman Bill Martinot returning from the high dump to the tunnel at the north end of the Fuming Plant.

George went on to explain that in the 80's they began to dump slag into the Open Pit. This was to help stabilize the walls of the Pit. This process was only carried out on day shift, as the track ran alongside the Open Pit which had in the neighbourhood of 150 ft. drop. In the picture below you can see how this process was carried out. Doug Gourlay, the superintendent of the Surface Department (interviewed later), spent most of his career with the open pit and was very familiar with this operation. He said with moisture and rain, the clay at the walls of the Open Pit became unstable at times and began to shift. With the use of the slag to shore up the walls, they were able to rectify this problem.

Slag was used for just about everything imaginable – building roads, backfilling for foundations, backfill in the Mine. It was a multi purpose by-product which came from our Smelter.

Doug also shared a very interesting story with me. He said that when they were preparing the tracks and the wall to dump the slag into the pit to help secure the walls, there was a quantity of loose rock that he wanted moved. His surface blasting crew were working in Snow Lake but he was told no problem, the mine dept. would send him a couple of experienced miners. Blasting on surface is somewhat different than blasting underground. The miners came to surface and Doug figures that they put almost a case of powder amongst the loose rock and he said he heard a hell of a bang, and in about a minute, his phone began to ring. When he went out of his office, he could smell powder and the dust was still floating in the air and his first thoughts were, what in hell did they do now. He noticed that they had blown all the windows out of the west side of the crusher but his first phone call came from the Lab., saying that the west side of the building which contained the library and offices along the west side as well, many windows were gone, as it had been showered by flying rocks. His next thoughts were: "Is everybody okay?" And fortunately they were. One thing that he said he had learned over the years, don't bring a miner to surface and ask him to blast.

In this picture you can see fine granulated slag which was used for many purposes including roads, sidewalks etc. Also you see larger pieces, one containing some metal, and two containing very little or next to none. When I look at the slag dump of today and see how it is being used, for many purposes within Hudbay, it is a stark contrast from the slag dump in its peak years, shown in the picture immediately below.

Then

Now

This photo shows the slag dump today as over the last 15 years Hudbay have been working on environmental improvements which are beginning to show in our community. It is great to see the improvements to the South Main Shaft area, the tailings dam and grounds around Triple Seven. This certainly improves the appearance of the community.

Doug Gourlay – 4l years with HBM&S. During my search for information about the handling and use of slag and the use of shovels to move the slag, the sand and the ore of the Open Pit, I knew of one individual who would be able to give me a very accurate account of this information and he happened to be Doug Gourlay. Doug hired on with HBM&S in 1943 and retired in 1984 after 41 years of service. In 1943, Doug started in the Open Pit as a laborer and worked his way from the bottom and retired in 1984 as Superintendent of Surface & Transportation - a pretty remarkable career. When I asked Doug about slag cars that became derailed and were too big a job for the slag track gang to put back on the track, he explained to me how they went about this. He said they used jacks and re-railers such as butterflies, which are objects that are placed over the rail; and when the car was pulled up onto it, it would take it back onto the rail. He said the biggest problem was the heat that came from the slag dump itself. During the winter months it was somewhat bearable but during the warmer seasons it was almost unbearable.

Shovels were one of the next items that I discussed with Doug, one of which, was a big shovel at the slag dump that was used to load slag into side dump cars and then hauled to areas where it was used. There was another shovel of the same make and size that operated at the Flux Pit. This is where they loaded about 16 cars of flux or sand per day, and hauled it to the Smelter to help in the separation of the waste rock from the copper that was being produced. These shovels were called Marion shovels – 4160's, which were manufactured in Ohio. I went on and asked Doug about the shovels that were supposed to have come from the Panama Canal after it's construction. He went on to tell me that these shovels, and he believed that there were 8 in number, did come from the Panama Canal as they were purchased from an equipment broker. Doug had seen the paper work on this transaction many years ago. He says he cannot recall all the finer details but he said that he knows for sure that the origin of the 8 - Model 450's that were brought to H.B.M.&S. helped build the Panama Canal prior to coming to Flin Flon. He also went on to say, but was not 100% sure, that these shovels were built and designed for diesel or electric. When they arrived in Flin Flon they were equipped to operate on electricity. In latter years, he believed, one for sure was converted to diesel, and maybe two. One of the last major projects that the 450's worked on in Flin Flon was the building of the Fuming Plant in 1949 & 1950. They were used in rock excavation, and probably one of the last jobs that Doug could remember, was a 450 taken to Dickstone mine, near Snow Lake, in the 1960's. Doug recalls these shovels being sold for scrap, and said that he can't recall the numbers, but the price for the scrap wasn't that far from what HBM&S had paid for them.

I asked Doug about some of the people who operated heavy equipment in those days that were highly skilled at their job and one of the first names that came to mind was Lloyd Lofgren. We both knew Lloyd and we discussed in length his ability when it came to operating heavy equipment. Doug said that he did a great job on bulldozers and front end loaders. I can personally remember watching Lloyd, level and shape ground with a big 988 cat loader when they were building the copper anode plant. His ability to make this machine do what he wanted it to do, was amazing. It was like spreading butter on bread. He was a calm, cool operator, which any company would be fortunate to have, with his skills operating their equipment. Over the years I knew many men who operated cranes and equipment that I would rate in this category. Lloyd was a leader in his field and always a gentleman. Some of the hot metal craneman that I personally worked with who were equally responsible for precise movements and the safety of all workers through their entire shift were Bill Fieber, Cec Walton and Harvey Wotton. No matter how cold the night, how dark it was or dusty and smokey, they always had patience, and took their time before they made the lift. You had great respect for their skills and knew that they had concern for you and your welfare.

In this photograph, Doug was not sure of the number of this crane, but he definitely feels that this was one that had been converted to diesel in later years. This operation here was the loading of sleighs that transported goods over the ice road to Island Falls, Sask., to the hydro dam that provided the company with their power for a good many years. This was known as Churchill River Power or CRP, which today, is owned and operated by Sask. Power.

This photograph shows a solid boom which was part of the two boom structures that were used on the 450's. The other style of boom is shown in the previous picture. Doug said the largest boom that they used on this equipment was a 70 ft. boom with a 20 ft. jib, and that it was during the construction of the Fuming Plant in 1949-1950. You can certainly see these shovels, crudely as they appear, were quite essential pieces of equipment in the development of HBM&S. from 1928-1960's.

The above photo shows Armstrong drills which operated very much like a pile driver. Doug said he had never seen them work as they were not in use when he was hired in 1943, but he had seen the bits and the steel which they used, but cannot recall whether they were 8 or 10 ft steel. When you think of the drills that we use today, it probably took a good number of days and hours to drill the footage back in those days. Also pictured in this photo is one of the two Marion shovels that were purchased new from the Marion Shovel Company in Marion, Ohio, U.S.A. They were known as 4160's. This was considered a powerful tool back in those days. These shovels were used in the Open Pit, also one of the shovels was used at the Flux Pit loading sand, and the second one spent it's remaining years at the slag dump loading slag. These were both electrically powered.

The Browning crane was purchased new and was probably one of the most valuable cranes that HBM&S had in the early days. It had a load capacity of 35 tons, it was steam powered, the boiler was fired with coal and I heard many stories from individuals who talked about the tasks that this crane performed. It erected a good amount of steel for all the buildings on site. I also remember a story told to me by Duffy Turcott. I worked with this man in the Safety Dept. for about 10 years. Duffy was an amputee and I remember him telling me the story of the morning when he was working on the walls of the open pit, scaling down loose rock. A large piece of rock came away from the wall just above Duffy and came down on him, striking him, pushing his body inward towards the wall; then as it passed by the ledge that he was standing on, it shaved off the lower half of his leg. This was a terrifying experience for anyone, but he told me he sat down on the ledge and took his belt off and tied it around his leg as tight as he possibly could, a very clever move. He said then, that he sat there and scraped up talc that had been created from the drills when they were drilling. This was very much like powder, so he packed it against the stump of his leg and told me he sat there for someone to come and get him. He said it seemed like forever but they got the Browning crane, lowered a basket down the side of the wall and rescued him. He told me he remained conscious until they got him to the hospital, and after many months of rehabilitation and an artificial leg, Duffy returned to work as a safety stores man until he retired. Duffy carried on a very productive life, raised his family, built houses, cabins and repaired anything that required repairing. He was one hardy individual.

This photo here shows the Browning crane erecting a steel chimney for the surface powerhouse. Doug went onto say that one of the first operators was a gentleman by the name of Cece Hope. The Browning crane was used from 1928 into the early 1960's. Doug said it was a valuable piece of equipment to the Surface Dept., as it was used for derailments, assembling buildings, any time there was a lift required and there was a rail track near, the Browning was brought in to help them complete the task. It was powered by steam and fired with coal with a 38 ton capacity for lift.

The above photo of the Linn was a picture that I had accumulated over the years from old negatives and prints that people had passed onto me. When I showed this photo to Doug, he said he had driven this #8 Linn. He said it had a nice cab for that day and age, and also said that the Linns were built in Morris, N.Y., USA and the engines were manufactured in Wakashaw, Wisconsin, U.S.A., with a 4 & 6 cylinder gas or diesel engine and were capable of pulling up to 5 sleighs quite easily. They were geared low, and therefore, were very powerful, but steering them was another story. If there was ever an example of armstrong steering, this was it. It was a steering wheel attached to a shaft that went through the floor at a straight 90 degree angle. The steering wheel was about 15 – 16 inches in diameter. Below the floor the shaft was attached to a wheel that had a chain that went to each runner. As you turn right or left, it would shorten one chain and lengthen the other, and in soft snow, this was no easy job. So steering this Linn was probably one of the more difficult parts of driving it. When you look at power steering today, we have come along way.

This photo was another one I had in a file of old pictures that I showed to Doug, which again, produced another interesting story. He went onto explain to me that much of this wood was hauled for use in the Powerhouse, kitchen, bunkhouse, and any other place where heat was required. Wood in those days was a valuable source of heat. I think many of us can remember the old Flin Flon Hotel, and Doug said that in those days, it was not much of a building and heating it was a tall order. In a 24 hour period to keep this place warm, sometimes it took anywhere from 20 – 30 cords of wood. I don't know how this affected the price of beer, but in those days, there was no such a thing as R12 or R20 in the walls, and wood – there was lots of it and a cheap source of heat.

This photo shows another vehicle, but Doug was not sure who manufactured them. They were known as a #15, used for light loads. Back in the 20's & 30's, their use was something like our modern day swamp buggy. They were equipped with winches, allowing them to operate in areas where most other vehicles would get bogged down and have a very difficult time getting out. These were valuable pieces of equipment in building mining camps, roads, etc.

This photo here was one of two steam locomotives known as #101 and #102. Doug said that they were used on the building of the railroad from The Pas to Flin Flon. After that was completed, they were purchased from a contractor and served a good number of years for HBM&S. They were used to build the flux line, for spotting cars in the open pit and hauling gravel from the Schist Lake pit in the early days.

This photo is of #99 Locomotive coming out of the Open Pit. When it came to the locomotives, Doug has a special place in his heart for them as over his years he had the opportunity to operate every electrical locomotive that HBM&S had. I asked Doug about #100 which I recall it operating when I hired on with HBM&S, and he told me that it was also used for ore haul and it had been purchased from the St. Louis Coal Company back in the 1950's. It came to Flin Flon as a diesel unit and it was converted to electric in our local machine shop by our machinists and electrical department. He went on and also talked about the number of operators who drove the locomotives in the early days for HBM&S, some of them being – Gil Gaw, Leo MacKonka, Fred Stubbs, Fred McIntosh, Bert McKenzie, Herb Whitbread, Ozzie Beauchamp, Arnold Kiesman, Eli Djurovich and Doug Gourlay.

This photo here was one that I took in the 70's showing all the remaining electrical locomotives owned by HBM&S. This is rather a sad picture as these locomotives were going to be stripped of all electrical parts of any value, then what was left was to be junked. We had moved into a new era and diesel locomotives were going to meet our needs, and trucks were moving much more so the need for trains and locomotives became reduced. The end of another era.

One final story that Doug related to me was about Ray Kinsley. He said he had worked with Ray for years and had much respect for him. He said he had the warmest hands of any man he knew and when we were working outside in 30 – 40 degree F weather, when my hands got cold, we would change mitts. Ray wore just a plain leather mitt and I wore a leather mitt with a good liner but in no time at all, he would give me back my mitts and they were nice and warm. There was no such a thing then as electric hand warmers, just a good work partner so when it was cold, you know who I preferred to work with.

I would like to thank George Rideout and Doug Gourlay for taking the time to share their thoughts with me, which I have thoroughly enjoyed and also found very enlightning. I feel the words that you have helped me surround these pictures with, have made them come alive, and tell us a story from the past that needed to be told. From two men who helped HBM&S be what it is today – Hudbay.