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Coal was often sent into houses via a coal chute directly to a storage bin. Coal may have been delivered by truck in more "progressive" communities, but was also hauled by horse & wagon into the 1930s. One thing to remember is not to underestimate how much work was done by hand. There were a lot more labourers around in those days than today. And if your era creeps into the 1930s (during the Depression) a lot of men would be available for physical labour - type jobs that might otherwise be automated in some fashion. Many people would assume today that, for example, ash pits must have some sort of mechanism to clean them out. In reality, it probably was one guy with a shovel, and a gondola or flat with wood sides parked nearby... Just think about the hand fired steamers - a switcher like an 0-6-0 might go through 8 tons of coal during an 8 to 12 hour shift - all shovelled by hand! By one guy! Rain or shine! In the heat of the cab! Holy moly! It was truly a different kind of life... Andrew
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