It's Hard to Spell "Railroad" Without a "C"!

[Anonymous]

Gillette Wyoming News-Record, Sunday, December 19, 2004

Mine worker loads second historic ton of coal

Black Thunder mine was still under construction when the first trainload of coal was loaded on Dec. 14, 1977.

Doug Diedrich was at the controls that day. He was also at the controls on Friday, when the mine reached a milestone never before achieved by a coal mine anywhere in the world.

The Arch Coal mine loaded and shipped its one billionth ton of coal at about 3:30 p.m. Friday.

Mine officials had expected to celebrate the record-breaking ton sometime late Friday night or early Saturday morning, said Greg Schaefer, Arch's vice president for external affairs in the Western region. Diedrich was scheduled to work the night shift and was expected to be at the controls for the historical event.

But train cars apparently were moving through a little faster than anticipated.

"Trains just showed up, one after the other. They called him at home to come in early," Schaefer said. "He came out just to load that train."

About half the train had been loaded when the time came.

The 74th car of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad train was fitted with a placard touting the mine's one-billionth ton.

That placard will remain on the train as it moves across the country this week on its way to First Energy's W.H. Sammis power plant in Stratton, Ohio.

Atlantic Richfield opened the mine 45 miles southeast of Gillette 27 years ago.

When the first trainload of coal was shipped, work on the fourth tank of an 820-foot long slot storage facility was under way. It would be capable of holding 100,000 tons of coal, the equivalent of eight to 10 silos.

The slot was divided into four tanks of equal size. That modification was added halfway through construction after a Nebraska utility insisted on more stringent quality control over its coal, according to News-Record reports. The compartments would allow each customer a separate supply of coal which could be tested to the degree required.

It was being outifitted to handle a maximum production of 20 million tons a year, which mine officials hoped to reach by the mid-1980s.

In 2003, it produced 62.6 million tons. And, Arch recently bought nearby North Rochelle mine, which produced 23.9 million tons in 2003. The only mine that now produces more coal than Black Thunder is Powder River Coal Co's North Antelope Rochelle mine, which produced 80.1 million tons in 2003.

Black Thunder's first coal shipment was destined for power plants in Amarillo, Texas; Muskogee, Okla.; and Sutherland, Neb. Its coal now is shipped to more than 23 states and two foreign countries.

The second-largest mine in North America, Black Thunder employs 650 people and produces almost 10 percent of the U.S coal supply.

- By The News-Record staff

[MP173]

anyone know the routing of that coal train to Ohio?

ed

[Junctionfan]

Probably CSX via Willard Sub. Tons and tons of coal trains run up and down that line and use BNSF power for what I assume come from BNSF that either go to the Ore Docks in Toledo or some place else.

[Anonymous]

"... either go to the Ore Docks in Toledo or some place else."
lakes navigation will be closing. welland canal might already be closed. shouldn't be more than a very short time left if any at all.

[locomutt]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Junctionfan

Probably CSX via Willard Sub. Tons and tons of coal trains run up and down that line and use BNSF power for what I assume come from BNSF that either go to the Ore Docks in Toledo or some place else.

Unless I Totally misread the post,the coal is going to a power plant in Ohio.
I believe that would leave out the Toledo "Ore Docks" [:)]

[adrianspeeder]

Long live King Coal!!

Lehigh Valley: Route of the Black Diamond

Adrianspeeder

[Anonymous]

10% of the U.S. coal supply, that's a lot of coal. wow.

[Anonymous]

Very interesting read!

[ericsp]

I live by two busy mainlines yet no coal trains come by. There used to be some that came through here before UP bought out SP.