Logging at Stephenville Crossing
Following the completion of the Newfoundland Railway in 1898, a small village of a few families living at the “Prairie” would quickly evolve into a bustling railway town.
The “Stephenville Railway Crossing” quickly grew into a major community on the west coast of Newfoundland. The railway station serviced the nearby town of Stephenville and the Port au Port peninsular. The town’s name would soon be shortened to “Stephenville Crossing”.
The next significant development in Western Newfoundland was the construction of a paper mill in Corner Brook. The construction began 1923, with the first paper produced in 1925. In 1927, the company became the “International Paper Company of Newfoundland Limited.” In 1938, the company was acquired by “Bowater-Lloyd Corporation”.
By 1940, pulpwood was being transported by rail from Stephenville Crossing to the Corner Brook. The pulpwood was harvested in the Harry’s River basin during the winter months and placed on the river ice. In the spring, the pulpwood is carried downstream by the spring freshet and collected by log booms near the river’s mouth.
In the above photo, Harry’s River flows in from the left, where one can see part of the log boom installation. The “Blocks” are permanent structures installed in the shallow waters of the river delta. Booms are linked between the “Blocks” to collect or coral the floating pulpwood.
Both the yellow and the red log booms are used to catch the pulpwood that flows down the river.
A cable is strategically placed in a floating crib which was loaded with pulpwood.
The cable is then looped and lifted by the crane.
The crane then loads the pulp wood onto rail cars.
