Steam Loco Coal

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

The N&W had a number of places they got coal from in McDowell County, WV when the mines were being opened there.

There was a coaling station at Northfork where the coal came from the Algoma mine about 1895 time frame.

They opened a coaling station at Hemphill from the the original Hemphill mine  about 1902, but they only used the mine for about 1 year.

Around 1914 they built the large coaling stations at Farm (which used the coal from waht became Caples).  This is not the same location where the present Farm coaling station is located.  That coaling station was still functional in 1927, but by 1938 it was gone.  They also built similar coaling stations at Mohawk and Vulcan at the same time.  The Mohawk station used coal from the Mohawk coal mine.  Vulcan is the next county over.

The picture from the VT image base labled FARM coaling station is actually the Mohawk coaling station.  Farm, Mohawk and Vulcan were all built to the same plan.

Newpaper report from 1912 noted there five coaling stations to be built on Pocahontas Division in 1912.  These were to go at Morgan (next to Crozer Coal & Coke at Elkhorn), Keystone, Farm, Vulcan and Borderland.  The only ones that I have found evidence that they were actually built were Farm, Vulcan and Mohawk.   The stations were built of concrete, had a capacity of 700 tons and cost $22,000 each in 1912.

The Pond Creek Colliery served Williamson.  I doubt that the N&W would have hauled coal from Williamson to Auville, Farm or Bluefield, but I don't know where the coal came from that serviced those coaling stations.  At one time the N&W had its own coal mines on the Pocahontas Division.

Alex Schust
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org 
  To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org 
  Sent: Monday, March 27, 2006 9:58 PM
  Subject: Steam Loco Coal 


  N&W Operated several colliery's that I know of for locomotive coal
  may be others.

  Howard Mine, Howard Jr. Mine, Frederick Mine (Chattaroy)
  Vulcan Colliery (Vulcan)
  Pond Creek (Williamson)

  Larry Evans
  Kenova


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