Mercoal, Alberta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mercoal, a former coal mining town, is located in the Yellowhead County of western Alberta, Canada. One of several communities along the historic 'Coal Branch' segment of the Canadian National Railway (formerly known as the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway), which once included Robb, Coalspur, Coal Valley, Cadomin, Luscar, and Mountain Park. At its peak in the late 1940's and early 1950's the town had over 800 residents. Mercoal, which shut down its coal mining operations in 1959, is now essentially a ghost town, with only a small number of summer residences remaining. It is situated along the Bighorn Highway (Highway 40), 70km southwest of Edson.
[edit] History
Mercoal's name was an acronym for the McLeod River Hard Coal Company, which ran coal mining operations in the area during the early 1920's.
[edit] External links
- Atlas of Alberta Railways - The Coal Branch
- Rockies, Coal Branch and Nordegg: Overview
- When Coal Was King: Coal Mining in Western Canada
