Domestic coal onesy-twosy handling question

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WJP:
This is not the whole answer, but commercial coal agents would send loads
of yet unsold coal to terminals such as Portsmouth, Roanoke, Potomac Yards.
Consigned to the coal agent, the cars would layover until  some company
needed coal in a hurry or a "mom and pop" coal dealer ordered a car.
The cars were known in the trade as "rollers".  When a buyer was found,
a diversion was issued and the through rate (cheapest) was protected provided.
the cars didn't go more than 10% out-of-route.

The consistency of commercial coal was different from utility coal and most export
coal, therefore it wasn't included in unit trains and export coal for Lamberts 
Point and had to be handled as if it were merchandise traffic. Bluefield would make
a preliminary classification segregating export coal from utility coal and commercial
coal.  After 1959, commercial coal for connections at Norfolk was set off at Portlock, 
so it had to be divorced from coal for Lamberts Point.  Although a merchandise
train, No. 84 would fill to the tonnage rating with commercial coal including the
onesy-twosys.  No. 84 even had a Norfolk-NS classification (coal for Beaufort
County (NC) schools.                                                   Harry Bundy    
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