Domestic coal onesy-twosy handling question

[NW Mailing List]

Coal comes in different grades depending on its intended use and most mines
(after the mid-1920s) had  3 to 5 loading chutes to provide different sizes
of screened coal, such as slack, pea, nut, stove, egg, and lump. Price would
by mine and size since different mines and coal seams produced different
quality of coal based on chemical composition. As an example, page 350 of my
book “Coalwood” (available for the commissary), shows a price list for
domestic grade coal from five different mines operating in different in
different coal seams. Olga Coal from the Pocahontas seam sold nut coal for
$8.25/ton, stove coal for $9.25/ton, egg coal for $9.75/ton. General screen
sizes for grades of Bituminous coal were ¾-inch, 1-1/4 inch, 2 inch, 3 inch
and 4 inch for lump.

 

Mines also provided run-of-mine coal that could be unscreened or run over a
one inch screen. 

 

The Norma Mine in Virginia sold egg coal for $8.90/ton, the Guaranty Mine
sold egg coal from the Elkhorn seam for $7.00/ton, the Calora Mine sold egg
coal from the Elkhorn seam for $7.60/ton and the Mary Ellen and Clover Fork
mines operating in the Harlan seam sold egg coal for $7.10/ton. 

 

Besides size, coal was also classified for intended use as each use required
different chemical composition. Use classifications included Beehive coking,
bunkering, By-Product coking, Cement burning, domestic, export, illuminating
gas, locomotive fuel, melting, pulverizing, producer gas, Smithingk, steam,
tile and pottery burning, and water gas usage. 

 

Most coal brokers advertised the mines, coal seams and trade names for the
coal they were selling. In 1930 Fort Dearborn Fuel Company had its general
sales office in the Royster Building in Norfolk, VA with branch offices and
agencies in Charleston WV, Tazewell VA, Halifax, Nova Scotia, London,
England and Genoa, Italy. General accounting office in Cincinnati. [The
office in Halifax might prompt a relook at the question about Newfoundland).
Their products included:

 

Green Valley Pocahontas Smokeless Domestic and Steam Coal from five mines on
the Dry Fork Branch operating in the Pocahontas seam and provided
run-of-mine coal..

Welch and Davy Sewell Seam Smokeless Steam Coal which was run-of-mine coal.

Dearborn Premium Smithing Coal which was delivered with an inspectors
certificate of uniform quality.

Semi-Smokeless domestic coal

Imperial Smokeless Pool One New River All-purpose Coal 

Dearborn Dorothy Premium Splint Standard (Splint was a classification of
coal)

Three Star Prestonsburg Domestic and Steam

Splash dam High Grade By-Product Coal 

Standard Gas Coking Coals

Certified Coal Briquettes

 

Every coal listed had its own chemical analysis that included moisture,
volatility, carbon, ash, sulphur, ash fusion point and BTU. Green Valley
Pocahontas chemical composition was by mine, the Welch and Davy Sewell coal
chemical, The Three Star Prestonsburg analysis was by run-of-mine, Egg and
Lump and nut and slack.

 

Coal brokers generally employed coal inspectors to ensure the quality of the
coal the broker was selling met the chemical analysis the broker was
advertising. As an example the Green Valley Pocahontas chemical analysis
included the disclaimer, “The coarseness of run-of-mine coal from the above
mines will average 42% when measured over 1 inch mesh screen. Individual
cars will run as high as 50% and as low as 40%.

 

Alex Schust  

 

 

From: NW-Mailing-List [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of
NW Mailing List
Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2017 7:43 PM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: Re: Domestic coal onesy-twosy handling question

 

Harry,

    This sounds very much like the movement of fresh fruit and vegetables
from the West & South-West. Load 'em up and send them off toward Chicago or
St. Louis and let the traders/brokers buy and sell them as they move.
reconsign as needed.
     Watching the N&W video of Lamberts Point, one gets the impression that
it was the highest grade of mine output. Can I assume commercial coal was of
a lesser quality? Though I see old newspaper ads touting "Blue Star" coal,
etc... At least from what I saw at the end of the home & business
consumption of coal, a coal yard could get nice lump bituminous on one load
and the next would be what we called "bug dust" on the Great Lakes. The coal
yards I saw received at least three types, bituminous, briquets and
anthracite. By the time I started as a yard brakie at the very end of the
NKP in 1964, I think I helped deliver maybe 2 or 3 carloads of coal. I'm
sure by 1966 that trade was dead in Northern Ohio, as we went looking for
some coal for one of my sisters high school science class projects and we
could find none for sale by looking in the yellow pages.   

    WJPowers


On 3/15/2017 3:40 PM, NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List wrote:

 

 

 

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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