JUNE 2000

    Okay fellows, a number of you have been asking for some time about information on company coal traffic in the steam days.  Before we explore this interesting subject, let me announce that this month's column is dedicated to Spencer MacLaren Wilson our new son born just three weeks ago.   Maybe someday he will read these words and find out more about what fascinated his daddy around the time he was born.

    As is usually the case, I will restrict my writing to aspects of CNR operations with regard to company coal traffic.  Those interested in the CPR, TH&B, ONR/T&NO and other Ontario roads will likely find some principles which can be applied to their situations.

    Unlike the anthracite delivered in most retail coal shipments (see Retail Coal Traffic, November 1999), railway company coal was industrial grade, bituminous or "soft coal".  While the mining of hard coal was restricted to narrow geographic areas (Eastern Pennsylvania, plus a bit in Alberta and Nova Scotia), soft coal was extracted over a much broader territory.   In the United States, bituminous coal mining took place over five regions:   the Appalachian Basin (Pennsylvania, East Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama); the Illinois Basin (Illinois, Indiana and West Kentucky); the Rocky Mountains (Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Montana and Wyoming); the Great Plains (North and South Dakota); and the Gulf Coast (Texas and Louisiana).

    The latter three regions are of no concern to us, due to relatively tiny yields and uneconomical transportation costs.  That leaves the Appalachian and Illinois Basins providing steam era bituminous coal traffic to Southern Ontario.  Taking the time period 1945 to 1959, let us examine the principal origins of the black diamonds at each end of the interval, and rely on interpolation for the intermediary years.  West Virginia is the largest single source, commanding 27% of the yield at the beginning of the time period and growing to 29% at the end.  Second in importance is Pennsylvania, dropping from 24% to 16% over the decade and a half.   Illinois is next, boasting 13% and 11% of the soft coal mined in 1945 and 1959 respectively.  East Kentucky comes in next, at a consistent 9%.  Ohio grows from 6% in 1945 to 9% of the total in 1959.  Virginia and West Kentucky, with 3% and 4% of the yield in 1945, each produce 7% of the total in 1959.  Indiana and Alabama stay at 4% and 3% respectively.  Finally, Tennessee is a minor producers at 1% at each end of the interval.  Even without any data, a glance at home territories and hoppers rosters of American railroads would readily show which roadnames were likely to show up in Southern Ontario carrying soft coal.

    For a case study, we will zoom in on the CNR London, Ontario roundhouse in June 1950.  At the time, this terminal serviced and fuelled almost 1000 engines per month (all steam, all coal-burning... the way it was meant to be).   These locomotives worked three divisions (London, St. Thomas and Stratford), as well as yard assignments and the Car Shop.  An average of 5 to 6 tons of coal was unloaded to each engine at the dock.  Over the month, this amounted to about 5530 tons of soft coal into the tenders.  To feed the mammoth coal trestle, 103 hopper car loads of fuel were delivered to the CNR London roundhouse during the month.

    What was the nature of the company coal traffic, what type of hopper cars were involved, and what roadnames did they carry?

    Typically, three or four cars were unloaded per day, averaging between 53 and 54 tons per car.  For the most part, the coal was imported through Sarnia, with a few loads coming across the river at Windsor.  The remainder of the tonnage was drawn from the stockpiles at Sarnia.  None of this coal was delivered in a company coal drag; every one of the cars was American-owned, and accruing demurrage charges after two days.

    Even half a century ago, the CNR had a close relationship with the Illinois Central.  In June 1950, the vast majority of the hopper cars (59%) carried IC markings.  Next in line was New York Central (NYC) at 12%, followed by the Pennsylvania (PRR) at 7%, and the Louisville & Nashville (L&N) and Chicago & Eastern Illinois (C&EI) at 4% each.  Other roads amounted to the remaining 14%.  Over the course of several years, these roads associated with a fraction of the coal traffic to CNR London included Atlantic Coast Line (ACL), Baltimore & Ohio (B&O), Clinchfield (CC&O as well as CRR), Chicago & Illinois Western (C&IW), Chicago Northwestern (CNW), Delaware & Hudson (D&H), Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (EJ&E), Georgia (GA), Gulf, Mobile & Ohio (GM&O), Grand Trunk Western (GTW), Lehigh Valley (LV), Milwaukee (MILW), Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT), Missouri-Illinois (Missouri-Illinois), Missouri Pacific (MP), Norfolk & Western (N&W), Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis (NC&StL), Nickel Plate (NKP), Northern Pacific (NP), Pittsburgh, McKeesport &Youghiogheny (PMcKy--subsidiary of Pittsburgh & Lake Erie), Reading (RDG), St. Louis-San Francisco (SLSF), Southern (SOU), Texas & New Orleans (T&NO), Wabash (WAB) and Western Maryland (WM).

    Despite a commonly-held belief that triple and quad hoppers were favoured for carrying the lighter bituminous coal, the majority of the deliveries were made in twin hoppers.  From a representative sampling of IC cars delivered over the years 1950-56,  78% were 50-ton twin hoppers, 17% were 50-ton triples and 5% were 70-ton triples.  Of thirteen NYC cars sampled, one was a 50-ton twin, 8 were 55-ton twins and 4 were 70-ton triples.  A seven car PRR complement was split between four 50-ton twins and three 70-ton quads.  All the L&N cars were 50-ton twins.  For the C&EI, two of a sample were 50-ton twins, 9 were 55-ton twins and one was a 70-ton triple.

   Armed with this knowledge, I spent my Sunday afternoon checking for available plastic hopper cars in HO scale at the time of writing.  An earlier (1920s era) 50-ton rib side twin hopper is available from Athearn.   Both Atlas and Athearn make a 1934 AAR 50-ton offset twin hopper.   A USRA 55-ton rib side twin hopper is available from both Tichy and Accurail.   A 55-ton fishbelly side twin hopper is offered by Stewart; the same company also carries a superb 1935 AAR 70-ton triple offset.  Triple rib side and offset hoppers are marketed by Model Die Casting.  Quad hopper cars are available from Bowser (PRR prototypes) and Athearn.  With the possible exception of the fishbelly car, all of these offerings represent tens of thousands of cars built and operated during the steam era.  While all of the kits are prototypically accurate, the modeller may wish to upgrade the appearance of most of them (with the exception of the Tichy cars, they all have cast-on grab irons and oversized steps).  For the craftsman, resin cars of a number of common and rare prototypes are available from Westerfield, Funaro & Camerlengo, and other manufacturers.

    A quick word on CNR terminals in Southern Ontario:   large roundhouses at Spadina, Mimico, Hamilton, London, Fort Erie, Sarnia, Belleville, Brockville and Niagara Falls had major coaling facilities.  Additional mainline installations were present at Paris Junction, Glencoe, Washago, South River and Cobourg.  Smaller roundhouses at Brantford, Stratford, Palmerston, Allandale, Gravenhurst, Lindsay, Midland and Trenton commanded timber coaling towers.   Branchline coal docks stood at Beeton, Guelph Junction, Yarker and Peterborough.   Finally, there were the humble coal bunkers (for hand-loading) located at Goderich, Meaford, Kincardine, Haliburton, Bancroft, Southampton and Algonquin Park.  At Owen Sound, engines were clam-fed from gondola cars.

    Company coal trains (the only occasion on which home road cars were seen carrying coal) were operated for the requirement of moving stored coal to a coaling facility (such as from Sarnia to Spadina or Allandale).  Otherwise, the coal was carried in American cars, delivered in regular manifest and way freights.   Readers of Steam at Allandale will be familiar with the coal reserves at that division point.

    A gameplan for the modeller?  Determine the frequency of company coal deliveries required for your facility.  On my layout, I will have two yard assignments and about seven road assignments per day, amounting to 63 engines serviced over a six-day working week.  Using the figures quoted above, that translates to about 7 cars delivered per week, or one or two per working day.   Acquire a suitable number of hopper cars.  With some allowance for geographical location, the incidences of roadnames for deliveries to the London roundhouse may need to be adjusted for other terminals, but based upon observed photographs the findings should be more or less applicable.  More than half the cars should carry IC markings.  Throw in some NYC, PRR, L&N and C&EI cars.  For variety, choose a few single cars from the other roads listed.  Incorporate daily (or weekly, etc.) company coal deliveries to your fuel facilities as part of your operating scheme.   When the hoppers are empty, consider loading them with gravel or stone from a nearby pit (such as those which existed at Colwell, Durham and Paris) for a revenue movement toward home rails.  Now get to work and let me know how you're doing! (ian@canadianbranchline.com)

Ian Wilson
May 29, 2000

[HOME] [ Topics ] [ Books ] [ Weblog ] [ Contact Us ] [ About Us ]