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Emitting exhaust, H16-44s 8723, 8604 and CPA16-4 4052 accelerate through the yard at Natal with an eastbound freight on July 11, 1970. Natal, 14.6 miles west of Crowsnest, was a coal mining centre. The Crowsnest Pass area has large high-grade bituminous coal reserves. With the completion of the CPR here in 1898, this became the biggest coal-producing area in western Canada. For some seventy years, the CPR served numerous mining centres in the area, including Hillcrest, Frank, Blairmore, Coleman, Michel, Natal, Hosmer, Fernie and Morrissey. By 1954, the railways had largely dieselized, devastating the coal industry.

Photograph from Trackside around British Columbia 1966-1982 with Matt Herson..

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