Kit WillmotLadysmith Historical Society
In the 1890s, Nanaimo was the centre of a flourishing coal industry, surrounded by many mines; one of these was South Wellington, just north of Oyster Harbour. When the coal seam was nearly worked out 1897/98, a new mine was opened at Extension, some seven km northwest of the harbour.
James Dunsmuir intended to take the coal to the harbour at Departure Bay, Nanaimo, where there were existing coal bunkers, wharves and other facilities and he started to build a rail track. However, to do so he would have to cross over land belonging to the New Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Company to whom he applied for permission. Some time before, the same company had applied to Dunsmuir for permission to cross his land, permission which Dunsmuir had refused, so needless to say his request was denied.
Dunsmuir decided to build a shipping port at Oyster Harbour; he built a railway from the mine alongside Virostko Road, alongside the west side of Extension Road, crossing over White Rapids Road, down what became a logging road then crossing over what is now a quarry to meet the Esquimault and Nanaimo Railway at Fiddick’s Junction (We are indebted to Parker Williams and Garry Britt for this info).
From here, E&N trains hauled the coal wagons to Oyster Harbour and the first ship was loaded with coal in December 1899.
At this time, the British Army was fighting a war against the Boers in South Africa, the latter besieging Ladysmith.
After 118 days, General Buller and his troops raised the siege and when Dunsmuir received the news, he renamed Oyster Harbour, Ladysmith.
The arrangement at Fiddick’s Junction did not work well as there was much congestion with both coal and E&N traffic using the same line, so Dunsmuir started to build a new line from the mine.
Crossing over Haslam Creek and Nanaimo River, the bridge over the latter had two spans with the centre resting on a pier in midstream, the spans each being 100 feet long.
Apart from a heavy cut near Extension, the ground was fairly level, allowing high speeds. It was completed in 1902.
The Extension mine closed in 1931, and parts of the railway were used by the Comox Logging & Railway Company for their logging operations when they started in 1936.
