Inside a Coal Loadout Silo

[@canvids1]

very interesting Justin its nice to see something that most folks would never see in their life time

[@PAmining]

Thanks. A lot of these big coal plants do not allow any cameras, so it is a pretty exclusive view from inside.

[@PAmining]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.

[@BPEngr99]

That's the railroad I work for. That's pretty neat!

[@ComputerTechTV]

Sweet video stuff you do not see everyday!

[@Trainfan1055Janathan]

This was interesting to watch.

[@FedotenkoFan17]

Very cool video, we have local coal trains that serve a power plant in Tampa, FL.. This is a very neat prospective of where coal trains start their journey and how they are loaded.. We have collected quite a bit of coal from the tracks..

[@mrbluenun]

Hi, And thank you so much for the upload of this really detailed video.

[@PAmining]

Thanks. This is a pretty exclusive view

[@69rd96]

Hats off to anyone who can build an N or HO scale model railroad replica of this loading method, Go knows I tried.

[@WhiteRiverRails]

Really nice view of the process!!

[@iLoVeSD70Ace35]

Outstanding video!! I love it!

[@Starcar4900EX]

Great video. Kyle

[@towny72]

Appreciate the documentation..

[@lowboy1one1]

Awesome vid!

[@PAmining]

On smaller operations sometimes the cars are loaded by a wheel loader, but at a big operation like this it's faster to load the cras from a silo.

[@25mfd]

Nice vid. Coal dust blowing off the tops of the heaped piles can cause serious issues with drainage along the right of way. Some older cars had lids on them. Kept the dust from escaping.

[@PAmining]

Thanks!

[@stephenrichard5191]

In the Early 90's I worked for the company that had put in that System (KSS Kanawha Scales and Systems) they are still around and have some nice systems out there.

[@pwalpar]

good video, Ive seen it unloaded many times this is the first time i saw them being loaded however

[@PAmining]

On smaller operations sometimes the cars are loaded by a wheel loader, but at a big operation like this it's faster to load the cars from a silo.

[@beckymhad]

Wow that is some pretty cool stuff. We don't have anything to do with coal around here, have never even seen a piece of it.

[@AlexKhvedor]

Interesting process!

[@PAmining]

Oh yeah these mines are part of some of the largest mining companies in the nation! The operator inside the silo controls the chute and coal feed. The engineer is keeping the train moving at about .4mph so the cars can get loaded. Once he has a full load, he'll be signaled by the controller and then it's full steam ahead to the power plant.

[@drumbasher]

100 ton x 98 cars = A chunk of weight. That's 19,600,000 pounds...or approx 435 big trucks.

[@FlyToChina0071]

Nice video. A question: How do they keep the speed of the train at a steady pace? They have to more and more power as the train gets heavier... Cheers Adam

[@PAmining]

+FlyToChina0071 That's what the engines are for, pulling the cars through at a constant speed

[@FlyToChina0071]

+PAmining Yes, that is clear to me, but as the train gets heavier you will need more and more power. Is that adjusted manually or by some control system?

[@choupi4719]

+FlyToChina0071 Sometimes it can be a cable placed under cars that pulls a bogie on train's head

[@timothybarney7257]

+FlyToChine0071 Sometimes the engines, when assigned to this duty regularly, are equipped with special low speed controls that will maintain a set speed through the loader and automatically alter power to hold that speed as the weight of the train changes. If not so equipped, the engineer will do it manually.

[@Randpage]

I heat my house near Syracuse NY with a coal stove that burns anthracite coal (oiled rice). The coal comes from Reading Pennsylvania originally. It's pretty cool to see where it comes from. I wonder if any of my coal came from the mines you film at?

[@PAmining]

+RMosher11 Very cool, and it probably did. If it was stamped Reading Anthracite I have filmed there many times.

[@Randpage]

Awesome. Just the thought of the machinery that handled that coal and all the work that went into it before it gets dumped into the back of my truck and shoveled by hand by me into my coal bin is incredible.

[@PAmining]

+RMosher11 Yes and the work done to get the coal is what drives the cost. All of this earthmoving, manpower and operational costs get factored in the price for one ton of coal.

[@Randpage]

Compared to other ways of heating, anthracite is very cheap, at least here in central New York. I've burned about 3,500 pounds so far since I fired the stove up in late November. Most I ever go through is about 5,000-5,500 lbs. in a season. It goes for $265.00 bulk where I buy it. And they always make sure to advertise it as Reading PA. coal. Beats using fuel oil or propane that's for sure! Anyway, my daughter and I look forward to your videos, she loves watching the big excavators and shovels. She even know what a walking dragline is lol. And when I'm not home she makes my wife watch them with her!

[@PAmining]

Thanks. In the United States, coal provides about 45% of the electricty. It's a big industry

[@BNforever2009]

nice video

[@mariahhaarstick591]

Awesome

[@Ahohuasca]

Not used to the silo loading, or the 4:10ths loading speed either. My site has 2 kanawha loadout towers side by side, with 2 bins per tower loading at 1mph. Fill a car in 38 seconds, you can probably guess what company that is

[@jix177]

Great video - that's a far cry from those small mines like Alfred Brown! Does the guy working the chute also control the train or is the train driver just moving forward at a slow speed? Here in the Irish midlands we have the inverse in a peat burning station where trains arrive with cars loaded with peat and unload it (they actually roll upside down to do so). The locomotive disconnects and the cars attach to a device beside the track which pulls the set along, stopping and starting as needed.

[@iRECKONER]

is this a PPLX train ? Oh wait nevermind I see the BPRR toward the end. Buffalo Pittsburgh I assume. Thanks!

[@pauljason632]

May god bless and protect our coal miners and all transportaion personnel involved in moving it. Thank president Trump for making and using americas vast energy resources, we shoul never have to depend on anyone else for this countries power needs. I send a "THANK YOU"to all the hard working people who make it possible for Americas enormous energy consumption to be met for now and into the future,I salute you all.

[@jeh6421]

front loading big time.