was there a center point for coal loads to go west or east

[NW Mailing List]

No, it’s not that simple. 

Coal went where the customer wanted it to go. The railroad did not decide that. Not all coal is the same. Coal went from the mine to a local yard and then to the larger mainline yards (Bluefield and Williamson). Most cars had a destination as they came out of the mine (sometimes, there were cars loaded with unsold coal which would then be held until there was a buyer). Since most of the mines were between Bluefield and Williamson, it made sense that coal going west went to Williamson and coal going east went to Bluefield since why would the railroad first haul it the wrong direction before sending it in the right direction. So coal ended up in Williamson because it was going west and in Bluefield because it was going east. Destination determined which yard it went to rather than which yard it was in determining destination.

Since the length of haul affected the transportation costs, mine location was a factor in who bought the coal. Consequently, mines closer to Bluefield were more likely to have their coal go east and mines closer to Williamson were more likely to have their coal go west. But that was only one factor.

-- 
Larry Stone
lstone19 at stonejongleux.com





> On Nov 22, 2023, at 6:37 PM, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
> 
> Did most coal out of Williamson go west and most coal out of Bluefield go east?
> What about Iaeger and Dry Fork Branch?  
> North Fork Branch to Bluefield, then east?
> 
> Or is it not that simple?
> 
> Mike Rector
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