The Coal Industry
last updated: 10/23/04
all text and photographs
on this site are
© 2000-2004 Dave Honan
unless otherwise noted
David.Honan
@Rose-Hulman.edu
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A study of Draglines
Illinois
| Hutsonville Power Station Hutsonville, IL |
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AmerenEnergy's 156 MW Hutsonville Power Station wasn't doing too well when I photographed it on July 18, 2004. Based on the photo at right, one of my professors thought that "a precipitator was (at least partially) shut down." |
| Wabash Mine Keensburg, IL |
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Wabash Mine, south of Mt. Carmel, IL, is served by NS via a remnant of the old NYC "Egyptian" Line. The mine is owned by Wabash Mine Holding Company, a subsidiary of RAG Coal International. (June 02, 2004) |
| Newton Power Plant Newton, IL |
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AmerenEnergy's 1,126 MW Newton Power Plant burns some 3.5 million tons of low-sulfur Powder River Basin coal annually. (July 18, 2004) |
| Rend Lake Mine Sesser, IL |
 
 
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These photos depict Consol Energy's idled Rend Lake Mine, served by BNSF, CN, and UP. A year and a half prior to capturing these photos, Lou & I had chased an empty UP train to the mine; the facility stopped production in 2002. (August 28, 2003) |
| Orient Mine No. 6 Waltonville, IL |
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Rusting away inside the fence at Freeman United Coal Co.'s Orient Mine No. 6 is a "late-model GP9,"
as identified by Dave Fredrick. The loco formerly belonged to the Peabody Coal Company and currently
carries the number 604. Based on this, research by Eric Augatis seems to indicate that the loco's
frame number is 5599-6, and its heritage is ex-PBCX #4489, exx-CRIP #4489, nee-CRIP #1328 (acquired
from CRIP in 1981). The second photo is a ground-level view of a small segment of the huge piles of tailings that are scattered about the area. (August 28, 2003) |
Indiana
| Chinook Mine Brazil, IN |
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Chinook Mine, owned by Midwest Coal Company and formerly a Cyprus AMAX property, now sits idle
among reclaimed fields south of Brazil, IN. As described by the
Mine Safety and Health Administration,
"The mine has been in operation under various ownerships since 1928, and had the distinction
of being the oldest continuously operated surface mine in the state of Indiana before ceasing
production in November 1998. The last train load of coal was shipped in January of 1999, and the
mine was placed in non-producing status on February 2, 1999. The mine employed 158 miners in
November 1998 and now has six miners performing reclamation work and rebuilding county roads." Of note, the tall silo at left was the rail loadout, while the bridge at bottom carries a 20'-10" clearance over Lower Bloomington Road just west of the mine. (July 10, 2004) |
| Kindill 1 Mine Coe, IN |
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Three views of Kindill 1 Mine near Coe, IN: The processing plant, a detail of the conveyor, and the loadout. The photo of the loadout also depicts the scale track and a unique split-rail expansion joint to limit external influences upon the scales as cars are being weighed. At right are heavy-duty electrical insulators being overgrown by grass alongside an abandoned building next to the mine's gate. (July 10, 2004) |
| Breed Generating Station Fairbanks, IN |
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Breed Generating Station, deactivated in 1994, was a 450 MW coal-fired plant operated by the Indiana & Michigan Power Company. The plant utilized the second once-through boiler unit produced by the Babcock & Wilcox Company of Barberton, OH. Today, the facility hosts a railroad car repair business, and 8,000 acres of I&MP property will be converted into the Fairbanks Landing F&WA. (July 18, 2004) |
| Francisco Mine Francisco, IN |
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At top, a westbound NS train rolls past Black Beauty Coal Co.'s Francisco Mine. The ground storage
is immediately behind the locomotives, and the loadout is at right. (March 22, 2004) Below, portraits of the loadout and ground storage facilities. (July 10, 2004) |
| Gibson County Coal Gibson, IN |
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Gibson County Coal Company's minehead and processing facilities are located on a hillside northwest of Princeton, IN. The attractively-painted complex is served solely by truck. (Left: September 26, 2004. Right: June 26, 2004) |
| Mt. Vernon Transfer Terminal Mt. Vernon, IN |
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The Mt. Vernon Transfer Terminal is a coal transloading facility at the Southwind Maritime Center, a large port on the Ohio River. This dawn view of the facility is through the northwest rail gate. (June 26, 2004) |
| Hawthorne Mine Pleasantville, IN |
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Peabody Coal Co.'s Hawthorne Mine, south of Dugger, has been idle for about four years. At left is a view of a pit on the north end of the property (where the Marion 8900 is being scrapped), and at right is Motive Rail (MRI) 868, a former N&W GP9 still wearing its original number. Be sure to check out the photos of the Marion 8900 and BE 1250 & 2570 on the draglines page. (Photos from mine property courtesy permission and oversight of a mine employee.) (September 20, 2004) |
| Somerville North Mine Somerville, IN |
 
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This relatively new facility is Black Beauty Coal Co.'s Somerville North Mine. In 2002, the Somerville Complex was the 40th-largest surface mine in the country, producing 3.9 mmst of coal. The bottom photo depicts the loadout constructed along the Indiana Southern Railroad mainline; in the distance is IPL's coal-fired Petersburg Generating Station. (March 22, 2004) |
| Prosperity Mine Union, IN |
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I visited Five Star Mining's Prosperity Mine in March of 2003 while exploring CSX's recently-opened
Hazelton Spur. In the left column, the top image depicts a panoramic view of the loadout and conveyor
(assembled from six images), while below it are the processing facilities at the minehead. (March 16,
2003) At right, V512 (bound for Cinergy's Gibson Generating Station) loads at the mine on Father's Day, 2004. (June 20, 2004) |
Kentucky
| Apex I Mine Biggs, KY |
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These photos are views across the stripmined land of the Apex Energy Corporation's Apex I Mine. (April 06, 2004) |
| Democrat Mine Democrat, KY |
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At left, N941 rolls to a stop at the Democrat block sign to await the arrival of C847. In the foreground of the first shot is a Coastal Coal Company Alco S2m; the unit was ordered from Alco by Youngstown Sheet & Steel and numbered 1503. The unit is now the mine critter at Democrat Mine (right). Below, glinting in the rays of the setting sun, C847 meets N941 at the mine. (April 07, 2004) |
| Apex 2 Dock Elkhorn City, KY |
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CSXT 144 & 7775 shift cars around the Apex 2 Dock, while CSXT 3 & 689 wait with an empty coal train that would head north after dark. (April 06, 2004) |
| Swanee Loadout Isom, KY |
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C847 passes the deactived Swanee Loadout in Isom, KY. (April 07, 2004) |
| Bates Branch Mine Kite, KY |
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CSXT 509 works the Bates Branch Mine loadout. (April 07, 2004) |
| Cimarron Mine Madisonville, KY |
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Andalex Resources Inc.'s idled Cimarron Mine is seen in these views from the Paducah & Louisville mainline and looking northwest at the mine. (June 26, 2004) |
| Warrior Coal Manitou, KY |
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Warrior Coal, another ARLP facility, is served by both CSXT (via the Pee Vee Spur off the Morganfield Branch) and the Paducah and Louisville (via Pee Vee Junction). This image was created from four photos of the mine. (June 26, 2004) |
| TVA Paradise Paradise, KY |
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It is nearly impossible to convey how massive the Tennessee Valley Authority's Paradise Fossil Plant is. These three views depict coal transport infrastructure, the idled prep plant (for when the mine shipped by rail), and the Jersey-esque collection of stacks and cooling towers. At right is a view across reclaimed strip-mining land northeast of the plant. (June 26, 2004) |
| Sebree Complex Sebree, KY |
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Western Kentucky Energy's Sebree Complex: At left, the WKE Green Station, and at right is HMP&L Station Two. (June 26, 2004) |