[PRCo] Burning Leaves--and Coal
Dwight Long
dwightlong at verizon.net
Mon Oct 21 16:29:57 EDT 2013
Fred
But when the RRs went to stokers did they not have to buy sized coal rather than mine run?
Dwight
----- Original Message -----
From: Fred Schneider
To: Western PA Trolley discussion
Sent: Monday, October 21, 2013 4:00 PM
Subject: Re: [PRCo] Burning Leaves--and Coal
Ah yes, the smell of coal smoke. Remember there was an Allegheny County ordinance in 1949 prohibiting the use of coal for home heating. We moved out in August 1949 forcing the new owner to put in a gas furnace.
But I remember that my father was CHEAP in all capital letters. Graded or lump coal cost money. Dad installed a draft blower on the furnace so he could burn crap instead of lumps. I think run of the mine was about $3.00 a ton back in the 1940s. For those unfamiliar, "run of the mine" was the same stuff locomotives burned … just as it comes from the mine … big lumps, little lumps, boulder size lumps of coal, slate, dirt, dust. But it was cheap and ten tons would go a whole winter … can you imagine heating an entire house for a winter for $30 bucks? That, adjusted for inflation, would be about $530 today. You want to put this into real perspective? A 275 Gallon tank of No. 2 heating oil in this state would cost $880 today and you would probably burn about four tanks full a year. Dad commented later on, after he found what oil cost him, that you never minded pushing the thermostat up to 85 degrees in that Pittsburgh house. At what he was paying, it was like it was free.
As Paul Harvey would say, and now the rest of the story. During the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s, the price of run-of-the-mine bituminous went from $13 to $30 a ton. How do I know? I was working part time for the Strasburg Rail Road and I know what they were paying to fuel their engines. Why did it suddenly jump? Might have had something to do with the fact that four out of the five largest coal companies were owned by major oil companies and they knew that industry would pay it …. it was still cheaper to run a power plant on coal than oil.
On Oct 21, 2013, at 11:04 AM, Dwight Long wrote:
>
> Herb
>
> In Beaver burning next to the curb was OK on concrete streets (we lived on one) or brick ones (still several left in the 50s) but not on asphalt nor tarred ones!
>
> Tar? When I was in first or second grade I came home from school for lunch. On the way back to school the alley that I used as a shortcut was being freshly tarred. I followed the tar dispensing truck, fascinated. When I got to school I was sent home immediately. I looked like the proverbial tarbaby. Lots of turpentine and stiff scrubbing later, and a new suit of clothes, I returned and was admitted.
>
> And we still had plenty of coal furnaces in our town back then, although our house used gas. I well recall the smell of the coal burning on cold winter days whilst delivering the Pittsburgh Press to my paper route customers. The last time I encountered that smell was just a few years ago in a suburb of Budapest while fotting the trams there. Brought back many memories!
>
> Dwight
>
> From: Herb Brannon
> Sent: Monday, 21 October, 2013 10:48
> To: Western PA Trolley discussion
> Subject: Re: [PRCo] Burning Leaves
> When I was a child, in Akron, the common practice was to burn the leaves
> in the street but along the curb stones. Sometimes the piles of leaves were
> so large that the fires would become too large and would spread to the
> treelawn. Then the fire department would be called to put out the fires. It
> made for an exciting day or evening. Ranking right up there with the smell
> of burning leaves are also the smell of coal smoke and the smell of fresh
> tar.............three of the "little joys of life" now gone by the wayside.
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 21, 2013 at 10:33 AM, Dwight Long <dwightlong at verizon.net>wrote:
>
>>
>> Herb
>>
>> I can remember back in the 50s coming back to Beaver from auto trips to
>> the East that involved the Pa Turnpike—we would use the Warrendale exit and
>> the back roads to Beaver. Coming down into the (Beaver) valley off the
>> hill the whole floor of the valley would be engulfed in leaf smoke.
>>
>> Unhealthy, they say, but it sure did convey the impression that Autumn was
>> upon us!
>>
>> Dwight
>>
>> From: Herb Brannon
>> Sent: Sunday, 20 October, 2013 10:36
>> To: Western PA Trolley discussion
>> Subject: Re: [PRCo] Phil asked about music
>> You mentioned something I really miss.............the smell of burning
>> leaves in October.
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Oct 20, 2013 at 8:37 AM, DF Cramer <alto_trombone at hotmail.com
>>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Well, what have I been up to? The beginning of the month I performed
>>> Copland, Brahms, & Dvorak with the Butler County Symphony,our (my wife
>>> plays cello) 28th season with the ensemble. I am back at IUP and
>> delivered
>>> two arrangements of French Noels from the Baroque period to begin the
>>> semester and last week conducted a first reading of my "The Eternal
>> Flame",
>>> a commemorative piece for double trombone choir and narrator I wrote to
>>> mark the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. All of that will
>> be
>>> performed on November 19 at the university. Next week I perform with IUP
>>> brass & organ faculty at Zion Lutheran in Indiana for Reformation Sunday
>>> and the following week we are doing Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights" in
>>> Butler. Chaplin created the musical score for this silent film and we
>> will
>>> be showing the film as we perform. (Side note: if you want tickets let me
>>> know as soon as possible--I usually get 4 free ones)
>>> Other than that, I spent quality time with Ed at the Alle-Kiski
>> Historical
>>> Society, led a new operator training class at PTM, printed and stuffed
>>> ballots for PTM, and am going to the opera today to see Aida (football
>> fan
>>> alert--Franco Harris is leading the Grand March in the opera today)
>>> I spend lots of time practicing and cleaning up leaves. I mulch some and
>>> burn others---yes we are still permitted to burn here.
>>> If you missed it--I also performed at the PTM 50th Anniversary luncheon.
>>> See the most recent issue of PTM Trolley Fare, Fred Schneider took some
>>> great images.
>>> Dennis F. Cramer
>>> http://home.windstream.net/dfc1/
>>>
>>>> Date: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 05:49:49 -0700
>>>> From: pcc_sr at yahoo.com
>>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>>>> Subject: Re: [PRCo] still having issues
>>>>
>>>> Stereo-vision isn't it Mr.Cramer! Soapbox opportunity; make the most
>> of
>>> it!
>>>>
>>>> You have not recently mentioned anything about your concert or music
>>> engagements.
>>>> I find them fascinating. Music is not at all unlike laughter is it;
>>> both speak a universal language.
>>>>
>>>> Yes; BB are the last posts I have seen. There was not much of anything
>>> before your BB posts for several weeks. You mentioned a book in relation
>>> to this; please tell more.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Phil
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --------------------------------------------
>>>> On Sat, 10/19/13, DF Cramer <alto_trombone at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Subject: [PRCo] still having issues
>>>> To: "pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org" <
>>> pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org>
>>>> Date: Saturday, October 19, 2013, 3:52 AM
>>>>
>>>> it seemed very interesting that after
>>>> I posted on the list, several emails came through. I assume people
>> were
>>> responding with reply all. I have received no posts from the list other
>>> than those dealing with Billy Baxter.
>>>>
>>>> Dennis F. Cramer
>>>> http://home.windstream.net/dfc1/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Herb Brannon
>> *In Pittsburgh...*
>> *......the Greatest City In The U.S.*
>> Let's Go Pens
>> Let's Go Steelers
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> Herb Brannon
> *In Pittsburgh...*
> *......the Greatest City In The U.S.*
> Let's Go Pens
> Let's Go Steelers
>
>
>
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