i happened to come across the Martins Creek Power Plant in Bangor, Pa while browsing with google and am wondering how the coal is unloaded, where it is stored and in general, how is the plant constructed because it looks like the coal may be stored and handled under ground.
The image from google shows three strings of unloaded coal cars. It looks like there is a small red switching locomotive. And I am wondering if the white concrete structure with rails are some type of unloading facility that may be similar to that shown in Modern Hopper Car Unloading video on YouTube.
Certainly not my era, but interested.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
Can't say about the white structure, but that black blob center right looks awfully like a site for 'dump it on the ground' storage. There's another structure that shows up on the larger map at about the 10 o'clock angle from the unloader.
Looking at the entire plant, the coal-fired units (close to the road) are small, while the big units close to the river (with about ten times the capacity) burn either oil or natural gas.* Seems to me that the company tries to minimize their use of coal, so there wouldn't be that much of it around. Maybe later in the year, when air conditioning loads peak...
* Googled the plant to get info. Nothing about coal storage, unfortunately.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - coal fired steam, and big power dams on the river)
The coal fire units were not operating when the photograph was taken, otherwise there would have been steam coming from at least one of the cooling towers. They have been closed since 2007 (http://pplweb.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=12270&item=20329). Those hoppers were probably being stored.
The units closer to the road look like they are probably gas turbines; maybe combined cycle (I am not sure).
"No soup for you!" - Yev Kassem (from Seinfeld)
The white area is a containment dam for the tank car unloading rack. Follow the piping to the storage tanks. There are six or so tank cars on the siding just beyond the unloading racks.
I discovered the PPL news release about the same time Dante did. Judging by the general looks of the place there's not much activity going on there.
In this photo from when the plant was still operating (1/27/2001) you can see a coal conveyor and the concrete coal silos at the plant itself however I can not find a photo of the car unloading area.
http://www.newhopepa.com/DelawareRiver/87a.jpg
It was usually in an enclosure 1) to contain the dust and 2) to provide a means of thawing the cars prior to dumping.
Good Luck, Ed
gregci happened to come across the Martins Creek Power Plant in Bangor, Pa while browsing with google and am wondering how the coal is unloaded, where it is stored and in general, how is the plant constructed because it looks like the coal may be stored and handled under ground.
Nothing to be seen in the photo because the plant, or at least the coal burning part, was torn down circa 2007/2008: http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/surveys/ppl-martins.pdf
Here is, hopefully, a link to what I knew to be the PP&L Montour Power Plant near Washingtonville, Pa.: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.068921,-76.6698107,4799m/data=!3m1!1e3
I worked on the installation of the two main turbines starting back in 1971 or so.
If you zoom in, you'll see the coal pile just to the south west of that large stack that appears to have two tubes down it's center. That three-legged thing between the stack and the coal pile is a stacker/reclaimer. Its purpose was to either dump coal (stack) onto the pile where the bulldozers worked, or pull the coal back from the pile to be used in the plant (reclaim). It moved along that track that goes from lower right to upper left.
If you move to the upper left end of that track you'll see the main conveyor system that would distribute the coal to where they wanted to handle it. You'll see one conveyor that moves to the upper right that carries coal to the plant itself.
Just to the north of this conveyor system you'll see the rotary dumper. The long white building that goes up and to the left of the dumper is the thaw shed.
A smaller facility, B.L. England Generating Station in Beesleys Point, New Jersey, is here: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.2898556,-74.6343075,616m/data=!3m1!1e3
Has much of the same equipment. Worked there a lot, too.
Take a look at this location in Google Earth vs Maps. Earth includes a date slider so you can see the location at different points in time. In 2006 you can see the coal pile and the coal burning generator plant. In 2008, the pile is gone, but the plant is still there. In 2010 the plant is also gone.
In the Maps view of picture you posted, the grassy area just southwest of the cooling towers is where the coal pile was.
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carl425Take a look at this location in Google Earth vs Maps.
I might have to try that. But I think you have to download something to use Google Earth...is that correct?
I hesitate to download anything unless I absolutely have to, because I generally end up with something unwanted that cawses a conputter isue, lkie mispalings and twsted wrds.
thanks for the correction.
here's a website that provide historical views of Martins Creek when it still used coal
maxmanJust to the north of this conveyor system you'll see the rotary dumper. The long white building that goes up and to the left of the dumper is the thaw shed. A smaller facility, B.L. England Generating Station in Beesleys Point, New Jersey, is here: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.2898556,-74.6343075,616m/data=!3m1!1e3
is a rotary dumper the most common way to unload coal at such a facility? I'm not sure I saw one at B.L. England Generating Station
maxmanI might have to try that. But I think you have to download something to use Google Earth...is that correct?
gregcis a rotary dumper the most common way to unload coal at such a facility? I'm not sure I saw one at B.L. England Generating Station
There is a rotary dumper. It's been some time since I was there, but I'm pretty sure the dumper is enclosed inside the building with the two conveyers coming out of it. The narrow building up and to the left from the conveyer is the thaw shed.
The rotary dumper is the most efficient way of emptying out a hopper if there are many to unload. And even more so if the cars have rotary couplers so that you don't have to uncouple them from each other.
But there are other ways to unload a hopper. The following location is (hopefully) the Deepwater power station in Pennsville, New Jersey. Another place where I spent some time. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6812444,-75.508553,77m/data=!3m1!1e3 Just to the left of the water tower along Canal Street (gee, all these years and I never knew that street actually had a name) there is a rectangular building that straddles the tracks. They had a rectangular framework type thing that got lowered down and sat on the top frame of a hopper. They opened the hopper doors and turned the machinery on. What this actually was was a large car vibrator that shook the car until it emptied. Very loud.