This picture from a 1960 promotional brochure published by Dorr Oliver Long is testimony to Orillia’s diverse industrial past.

Shown is one of the assembly bays where hundreds of varied mechanical and structural jobs passed through during the course of a year. These ranged from 20 ton mine cars, 65 ton car tipples, 20 foot diameter filters, 15 ton 60 foot mine skips to a variety of smaller equipment of every shape and description.

Each bay was serviced by two ten and twenty ton, single and double hook, traveling cranes with a floor clearance of 28’ 6”.  Shown are several “Granby” mining cars being tested and readied for delivery. These heavy duty cars weighed close to two tons and would tip into a dumping position to remove the ore as seen in the second car from the left. Dorr Oliver Long was one of the leading suppliers of a variety of mining equipment to the North American mining industry for many years.