[PRCo] Coal and Smoke

[John Swindler]

When anyone (railfan) talks about four-track main lines in the US, they immediately think of the northeast corridor.  And those of a certain age will remember the PRR and NYC.  
 
But there is another four-track main line in U.S.  Where is it??  
 
This was a surprise from recent issue of Trains magazine.  Apparently what started as a single track spur serving the Power River coal basin has grown over past several decades with sidings and siding extensions to what is essentially a four track main line heavy duty railroad.  Perhaps being in Wyoming, this growth has flown under the radar of most railfans, myself included.
 
As for smoke control, it gets politicians re-elected by those who don't, or can't, make a connection between their jobs and industry.
 
 
 
 
 

 
> From: alto_trombone at hotmail.com
> To: pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
> Date: Mon, 26 May 2014 07:15:32 -0400
> Subject: Re: [PRCo] Coal and Smoke
> 
> Full disclaimer---I come from a long line of coal miners. My grandfather Cramer was a fire boss in the mines around Hecla and my dad ran the brought the coal up the cage at Versailles until that mine closed and then he ran the cleaning plant at Carpentertown Coal & Coke outside of Templeton, PA. I worked the beehive ovens there for two summers to pay for college. So i am pro-coal. Nothing better than the smell of burning coal. Maybe that comes from living in Liberty Boro as a child and smelling the Clairton  Works.
> The biggest issue the coal industry faces in western Pennsylvania & West Virginia is competition---they cannot compete with the coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. It is cheaper to mine and has a much lower sulfur content than Appalachian coal. Lower sulfur helps power plants meet current requirements.
> I had to opportunity to witness some of the coal traffic on the UP & BNSF in western Nebraska last summer. I have never seen so much freight traffic anywhere. See attached image from Alliance, NE.
> The two following links provide much more detailed information.
> http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/energy/Coal_Resources/PRB_Coal.html
> The top 10 producing coal mines in the country are located in the Wyoming portion of the Powder River Basin. These mines produced about 375 million short tons in 2012.Coal mines in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming employed over 7,000 personnel in 2010.Quick FactsThe electricity used by one out of every five homes and businesses in the US is produced from coal mined in Wyoming.Over 100 coal trains enter Wyoming empty and leave loaded and bound for all points daily.Nearly one in six Wyoming workers are directly or indirectly employed in coal development.The largest US coal mine, Black Thunder, lies within the Wyoming portion of the Powder River Basin.
> http://large.stanford.edu/publications/coal/references/docs/052992.pdf
> 
> 
> Dennis F. Cramer 
> http://home.windstream.net/dfc1/
> > 
> > Someone wrote:
> > "We all know that smoke control is a done thing in Pittsburgh but it is
> > fascinating reading back in the 1940s when the opposition … the miners, the
> > coal industry, and the factories were fighting to make sure it didn't
> > happen.   They were all taking the stance that smoke is good for the
> > economy."
> > 
> > They still are taking that stance. Now they say everyone is waging a "war
> > against coal". They also say that they now mine "clean coal", whatever that
> > is.
> 
> > Herb Brannon
> 
>  		 	   		  
> 
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