HISTORY
MINING HISTORY
MINING EQUIPMENT
MINING HISTORY
MINING EQUIPMENT
EUCLID TRUCKS
1951-55
1951-55
THE ERA OF THE EUCLID TRUCK SYSTEM OF TRANSPORTING IRON ORE TO SCOTIA PIER
April 23, 1951 - September 1955
April 23, 1951 - September 1955
In 1951, the mining company at Wabana stopped using ore cars to transport the iron ore from the mines at the north side of the Island to the piers at the south side. In their place, they started using 20-ton Euclid trucks. As well, Dominion Pier was decommissioned as an ore-loading pier; only Scotia Pier was used for loading ore from this time onward.
The following item appeared in the Daily News of April 21, 1951, p. 5:
New Truck Road Opens Monday. The new truck road which the company started in January is now nearing completion and everything will be in readiness for Monday morning [April 23rd] when the 20-ton Euclid trucks will start rolling with their cargos of ore to the shipping pier. To start with, the ore will be going from No. 3 submarine. No. 3 [sic: No. 4?] and No. 6 Mines will follow later.
The Euclid drivers would back the trucks up to the top of the cliff above Scotia Pier and dump the ore into the natural pocket there. At first, there was only a low wooden wall above the pocket and the trucks would often knock it over. A concrete abutment was then built to solve this problem. This system was used until September 1955, when the trucks were replaced by a Trans-Island Belt Conveyor system. See the biography for Edward Thomas Byrne on the "People" page in the top menu for photos and description of the building of the concrete abutment. See photos of the Euclid trucks in operation in the Lindsay photos under "Photo Gallery" in the top menu. See photos of the Trans-Island Conveyor System and the loading system at the Scotia Pier in the Careless and Southey photos under "Photo Gallery" in the top menu.
The following item appeared in the Daily News of April 21, 1951, p. 5:
New Truck Road Opens Monday. The new truck road which the company started in January is now nearing completion and everything will be in readiness for Monday morning [April 23rd] when the 20-ton Euclid trucks will start rolling with their cargos of ore to the shipping pier. To start with, the ore will be going from No. 3 submarine. No. 3 [sic: No. 4?] and No. 6 Mines will follow later.
The Euclid drivers would back the trucks up to the top of the cliff above Scotia Pier and dump the ore into the natural pocket there. At first, there was only a low wooden wall above the pocket and the trucks would often knock it over. A concrete abutment was then built to solve this problem. This system was used until September 1955, when the trucks were replaced by a Trans-Island Belt Conveyor system. See the biography for Edward Thomas Byrne on the "People" page in the top menu for photos and description of the building of the concrete abutment. See photos of the Euclid trucks in operation in the Lindsay photos under "Photo Gallery" in the top menu. See photos of the Trans-Island Conveyor System and the loading system at the Scotia Pier in the Careless and Southey photos under "Photo Gallery" in the top menu.
The photo below shows 10 Euclid trucks backed up to the Pocket at Scotia Pier, probably for a "photo shoot" when they first arrived on Bell Island in 1951. Photo courtesy of Kirk Gosse.
The c. early 1950s photo below shows Euclid Truck #3 of Dominion Wabana Ore parked behind the Machine Shop in No. 6 Mine Yard. Source: A&SC, MUN Library, Carew Coll-012.
The photo below shows Euclid Trucks #10 and #5 at the garage, located behind the Machine Shop in No. 6 Mine Yard. Pat Ezekiel Sr. is standing in front of the truck. Photo courtesy of Kirk Gosse.
The c. early 1950s photo below shows Euclid Truck #2 of Dominion Wabana Ore. Source: A&SC, MUN Library, Carew Coll-012.
The photo below shows a Euclid truck dumping iron ore into the pocket at the Scotia Pier, c. early 1950s. Photo courtesy of A&SC, MUN Library, Coll-202, Lindsay.
You can see more Euclid truck photos on this website by clicking on "Lindsay" in the drop-down menu under "Photo Gallery."