Nicholas Sheran
Narrow gauge locomotive
View of the town of Blairmore
  • Indigenous effigy made from coal in the form of a bison

    Early indigenous people transform coal found in seams in foothills and mountain regions into effigies.

    Most of the effigies depict bison, usually cows, with tongues out, indicating either running or being in labour. The specimens have all suffered damage from ploughing but are still remarkable and accurate anatomical reproductions of bison.
    Source: Royal Alberta Museum

  • First record of coal in Alberta, Peter Fidler’s Journey page

    The presence of coal in Alberta is first recorded by a European explorer.

    In the February 12, 1793, entry of “Journal of a Journey over Land from Buckingham House to the Rocky Mountains in 1792 & 3 by Peter Fidler,” Fidler describes his coal discovery.
    Source:  Hudson’s Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba, E.3-2 fo.30

  • First commercial coal mine in Alberta, Sheran mine in Glenbow, Edmonton, 1948

    The first commercial coal mine begins operation in Alberta.

    Nicholas Sheran’s mine, 1881
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-1948-2

  • First large-scale commercial coal mine in Alberta. Nicholas Sheran’s mine, 1885

    The first large-scale commercial mine begins production in Alberta.

    The entrance to Galt Drift Mine No. 1 in 1885 near present-day Lethbridge; Sir Alexander Galt establishes the mine to exploit the region’s abundant coal deposits. Galt also establishes the North Western Coal and Navigation Company in the same year to supply coal to the Canadian Pacific Railway.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-3188-43

  • A view of International Coal and Coke Company at Coleman in the Crowsnest Pass, ca. 1912

    Coalmining begins in the Crowsnest Pass region of Alberta.

    A view of International Coal and Coke Company at Coleman in the Crowsnest Pass, ca. 1912, eleven years after production started; the region yields a high volume of industrial steam coal.
    Source: Image courtesy of Peel’s Prairie Provinces, a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries, PC003325

  • Early Brazeau Collieries at Nordegg, Alberta, in the Coal Branch mining region, ca. 1913

    The Coal Branch mines open southwest of Edson, Alberta, in the Foothills region.

    Early Brazeau Collieries at Nordegg, Alberta, in the Coal Branch mining region, ca. 1913; German immigrant and entrepreneur, Martin Nordegg, establishes the mine operation, which leads to the founding of the Town of Nordegg in 1914.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-4093-52

  • Pit ponies pulling loaded coal-filled wooden mine cars underground at Newcastle Mine in 1914

    First large commercial mine in Drumheller Valley starts production.

    Horses pull coal-filled wooden mine cars underground at Newcastle Mine in 1914, three years after Newcastle opened in Drumheller Valley.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A6152

  • An initial gas explosion triggers a larger coal dust explosion, killing 189 miners. The initial fatalities estimate reported in the Edmonton Capital newspaper on June 19, 1914, was later revised

    Alberta’s deadliest coalmine disaster occurs at Hillcrest, Alberta.

    An initial gas explosion triggers a larger coal dust explosion, killing 189 miners. The initial fatalities estimate reported in the Edmonton Capital newspaper on June 19, 1914, was later revised.
    Source: Image courtesy of Peel’s Prairie Provinces, a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries, Ar00113

  • Strikers from One Big Union (OBU) at Drumheller, Alberta, in 1919

    Cost of living rises by 65% since onset of World War I in 1914, contributing to coal industry labour unrest and heightened union activity.

    Strikers from One Big Union (OBU) at Drumheller, Alberta, in 1919; the union forms after labour workers broke away from the United Mine Workers Association union. Miners are drawn to OBU because of their deepening economic crisis.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-2513-1

  • Newcastle Mine in the Drumheller mining district of the province after ten years of expansion in 1921

    The province is divided into thirty-two coalmining districts as the industry expands broadly.

    Newcastle Mine in the Drumheller mining district of the province after ten years of expansion in 1921; Drumheller is one of thirty-two districts created to facilitate keeping track of the booming industry’s developments, inspections and infrastructure requirements.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A6081

  • A view of the booming International Coal and Coke Company Ltd. at Coleman, ca. 1945

    The Second World War begins to revive Alberta’s economy and coal industry, which had declined during the Great Depression.

    A view of the booming International Coal and Coke Company Ltd. at Coleman, ca. 1945; increased demand for steam coal during the war years led to greater production within the industry.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NC-54-2930

  • On February 22, 1947, an issue of The Western Examiner proclaims the discovery of the Imperial Leduc #1 oil well as the birth of a new Alberta oil field.

    The discovery of a major oil deposit at Leduc, Alberta, foreshadows a decline in the province’s coal production.

    During the decade after the 1947 discovery, many mines close and most coal towns decline significantly. On February 22, 1947, an issue of The Western Examiner proclaims the discovery of the Imperial Leduc #1 oil well as the birth of a new Alberta oil field.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-789-80

  • A heavy-duty truck hauling coal at the Wabamun surface mining operation near the TransAlta Power Plant demonstrates the advanced mechanization propelling Alberta’s modernizing coal industry in the 1960s

    Large-scale surface mining begins in Alberta near Lake Wabamun to fuel a large thermal electric power plant.

    A heavy-duty truck hauling coal at the Wabamun surface mining operation near the TransAlta Power Plant demonstrates the advanced mechanization propelling Alberta’s modernizing coal industry in the 1960s.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, gr1989.0516.1088#1

  • The Whitemud Creek Mine in Edmonton’s river valley in 1968

    The last mine in Edmonton’s river valley closes.

    The Whitemud Creek Mine in Edmonton’s river valley in 1968; this operation is the last of Edmonton’s coal mines to close in 1970. At this time, the mine continues to rely on horses to haul coal to its opening.
    Source: City of Edmonton Archives, EA-20-4998

  • Atlas Mine in Drumheller Valley after restoration.

    Drumheller Valley and Canmore mines close after decades in operation.

    The Atlas Mine in Drumheller Valley stops production in 1979 and officially closes in 1984. The large structure is the last wooden tipple standing in Canada. The mine is a Provincial Historic Resource, a National Historic Site and one of the region’s star attractions.
    Source: Courtesy of Sue Sabrowski and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

  • The retired Marion 360 Stripping Shovel at the Diplomat Mine site near Forestburg, Alberta.

    Mining near Forestburg ends after more than seventy years.

    The retired Marion 360 Stripping Shovel at the Diplomat Mine site near Forestburg, Alberta; the interpretive site is a Provincial Historic Resource and Canada’s only surface coalmining museum. The kind of large-scale surface mining conducted near Forestburg requires massive equipment such as the Marion 360.
    Source: Diplomat Mine Interpretive Site

  • The Wabamun power plant in the final stages before destruction.

    Wabamun coal-fired power plant is retired and demolished after almost fifty years in operation.

    The Wabamun power plant in the final stages before destruction it begins generating electricity in 1962 by burning coal mined at large-scale surface operations near Wabamun Lake. The planned closure of the plant is featured in an Edmonton Journal article on April 2, 2010.
    Source: Edmonton Journal

Play Timeline

The Steam Engine, the Industrial Revolution and Coal

The history of coal use in England stretches back far earlier than the development there of the steam engine. It has been mined and used at least since the Romans occupied the island. During the Middle Ages, coal fueled the ovens of blacksmiths and artisans. As the growing population consumed more and more of England’s forests, coal burning became widespread enough to inspire laws against its use due to the smoke and pollution burning it produced. Nonetheless the market for coal continued to grow as

it preserved the limited timber growth. The hungry market required a solution to a problem that challenged the British mining industry. This solution was Thomas Newcomen’s 1712 invention of a simple single-piston pump, the first machine to successfully direct steam to produce work. Newcomen engines were quickly put to use all over England to pump out the water that regularly flooded the coal mines. In allowing coal mines to delve deeper into the ground, the Newcomen caused an expansion in England’s coal industry.

The Newcomen was, however, expensive to operate. The engine consumed huge amounts of coal and was, therefore, not used outside of the mines that produced its fuel. It was James Watt who came up with a solution to the flaw in Newcomen’s design, which required continuous reheating and cooling. His addition of a separate cooling chamber greatly increased the engine’s efficiency. Watt began developing his steam engine in 1773 and in three years had built a working, single-acting steam engine that was ready to be put to work. In 1782, he patented an improved double-acting steam engine. This improved engine was four times more coal-fuel-efficient than the Newcomen engine, which gave it practical use beyond the mining industry.

The steam engine resulted in the creation of semi-automated factories, and it increased goods production in places where water power was not available. In the 1800s, once coal-fired steam engines had been adapted for use with railways and ships, the international trade of goods and resources expanded tremendously.

While the causes of the Industrial Revolution that spread from Great Britain through Western Europe and the United States are multiple and complex, steam power was at the heart of industrial developments. The engines powered by steam increased the ease of operating boats, ships, railways, factories, mills, mines and farms. And these steam engines were fueled by coal.

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