THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN

AND

JOURNAL OF THE COAL AND IRON TRADES.

Vol. CXII.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1916.

No. 2909.

COAL AND SHIPPING.

VII.—Coal Shipping at Southern Ports of the U.S.A.

The United States of America has held the record of
being the largest coal producing country in the world
since the year 1899, prior to which date the greatest
output was furnished by the United Kingdom. Since
then, moreover, the production in the States has rapidly
increased, until now it is approaching double the output
of this country, the figures for the year 1913 being
504,520,000 tons and 287,410,000 tons respectively. Not-
withstanding this, the exports from the United States
have been comparatively small, whereas, of course, the
exports from this country are high compared with the
production. It may here be mentioned that the total
exports of bituminous coal from the United States during
last year were 14,413,000 tons, of which nearly 8| million
tons represented supplies to Canada, whilst, of the
balance, a million tons were consigned to Cuba, about
564,000 tons to the Argentine, 527,000 tons to Brazil,
392,000 tons to Mexico, and 343,000 tons to Panama.
As regards European shipments, Italy called for over
1| million tons, and requisitions for Greece and Spain
amounted to slightly over 100,000 tons for each country.
These figures relate only to bituminous coal, the total
export of anthracite during 1915 amounting to 3,682,000
tons, of which 3,621,000 tons were supplied to Canada.
In comparing these figures with the previous two years,
it is found that the total exports of bituminous coal have
decreased, being 15,702,000 tons in 1914, and 16,083,000

By F. J. WARDEN-STEVENS,
M.I.M.E., A.M.I.E.E., &c.

500ft. in width and 35ft. deep; the port of Newport
News is near the mouth of James River at the north of
Hampton Roads, whilst the port of Norfolk is at the
south. The port of Norfolk includes Bewails Point, and
Lamberts Point, which is situated further south, near
the mouth of Elizabeth River. The distances to the
Atlantic from Newport News is about 28 miles, from
Lamberts Point about 27 miles, and from Sewalls
Point about 22 miles. The ports of Newport News and
Norfolk are both in the State of Virginia, and serve for
the shipment, from the Western Virginian fields, Of the
well-known New Rivenand Pocahontas bituminous coals,
the best seams of which produce the highest grades of
steam coal available in the United States, and compar-
able with the Welsh steam classes of this country. The
average analysis of New River coal shows 76 per cent,
fixed carbon, 18 per cent, volatile and 6 per cent, ash,
with a heating value of 14,800 British thermal units,
the average analysis of coal from the Pocahontas seams
being almost similar, with perhaps slightly lower vola-
tile and higher ash contents. A third coal field adjoining
is the Kanawha, which produces a coal with a higher
volatile content averaging about 33 per cent.

Newport News.

About two-thirds of the total tonnage dealt with at
Newport News consists of bituminous coal, the ship-

steel, hopper type electric transfer cars of 100 tons capa-
city, thus providing for the contents of two wagons of
50 tons capacity, or one of 100 tons capacity. The
weight of these transfer cars is recorded automatically
while passing over track scales when they leave the
dumper. They are then elevated, by electric hoists, to
the pier deck—a height of 90 ft. above low water level.
From the elevators these cars pass on to rail tracks, and
travel along the pier deck to one or other of a series of
bins, where they are discharged. At each side of the
pier, beneath the deck, there are 33 of these bins, situ-
ated 30 ft. apart, each of which has a capacity of 110
tons. The equipment is in duplicate, there being two
car dumpers and two hoists, one for each side of the
pier, and the combined capacity totals 6,000 tons per
hour. There is a depth of water at the pier of between
33 ft. and 36 ft. at low tide, and as the average variation
of tide is only 2| ft., large vessels can come alongside
the pier for loading cargo or bunkers, and several
vessels can be loaded at once. The hoppers serve a
length of 1,000 ft. on either side, and allow of loading
into all the hatchways or ports of a vessel at the same
time by means of adjustable chutes connected with the
bins.

Sewalls Point.

Concerning the port of Norfolk, the Virginian Railway
serves the coaling piers at Sewalls Point, and the Nor-
folk and Western Railway the piers at Lamberts Point.
At Sewalls Point there is a steel and concrete trestle
pier of 1,045 ft. in length, with a deck 65 ft. wide, at an
elevation of from 69 to 76 ft. above water level at high
tide. There is a rail track on the deck of the pier at
both sides for the loaded cars, which serve 31 hoppers
of 60 tons capacity on each side, and a central track is

.g;, L-.

tons in 1913, thus indicating that the European war con-
ditions affecting coal supplies have not been to the
advantage of the total coal exports from the U.S.A.

Whilst the State of Pennsylvania has by far the
greatest output, and produces nearly one half the total
coal raised in the United States, Western Virginia ranks
second in this respect, and produces the classes of steam
coal in most demand for oversea export and bunker
supplies, in competition with the Welsh steam coals of
this country. A considerable proportion of the coal has,
of course, to be railborne long distances, and Western
Virginia coal provides the largest railway mile tonnage
of any of the bituminous coal fields, although the pro-
duction is only about one-half of the production of
bituminous coal in the State of Pennsylvania.

A reference to some of the principal coal shipping ports
of the United States is at the present juncture opportune,
a,s it is doubtless the intention of that country to extend
the oversea markets for its coal, and the Panama Canal
is, of course, expected to aid that object considerably.

Hampton Roads.

It is proposed to refer first to the Hampton Roads
ports, which have come into prominence on account of
the facilities now afforded for coal shipments from the
Western Virginian coal fields. Hampton Roads claims
to be the largest coal shipping centre on the Atlantic
coast, providing important railway terminals for coal
traffic and modem coal shipping equipment, enabling
some twenty vessels to be loaded at one time.

Hampton Roads are entered from Chesapeake Bay, on
the Atlantic Coast of the United States, about 165 miles
south of Baltimore, there being a deep-water channel

Coal Shipping Pier and Lifts at Newport News.

ments of which during 1913 amounted to 3,061,000
tons; and this quantity was increased during 1914 to
about 4,000,000 tons. The coal is railborne from the
mines, an average distance of about 400 miles, by the
Chesapeake and Ohio railway, in train loads of about
5,000 tons, and the storage siding tracks at the port
amounting to 72 miles in length, are capable of accom-
modating no less than 4,000 railway wagons. To give a
further indication of the extent of the coal traffic it may
be mentioned that the above-named railway company
possesses about 36,000 wagons for coal, many of which
are of large capacity—50, 75, and 100 tons; and, in fact,
the whole of the New River coal tonnage shipped from
Newport News is conveyed over the Chesapeake and
Ohio railway. There are five piers at Newport News
equipped especially for coal shipments, the smallest of
these piers being 342 ft. in length and 45 ft. wide; whilst
the largest, which was completed as recently as 1914,
is 1,200 ft. long and 67 ft. in width. All these piers are
of the elevated trestle design, the older ones being of
timber and pile construction; but the latest is con-
structed of steel and is supported on concrete pillars. It
should be stated that this newest pier is now almost
exclusively used, owing to the special equipment pro-
vided, which allows for rapid loading and, therefore,
quick despatch. As an example of this, it may be
mentioned that 7,469 tons were loaded in 2| hours, of
which about 200 tons represented bunkers—an average
loading speed of over 2,700 tons per hour.

It will be of interest to briefly refer to the arrange-
ment and equipment of this pier. The railway wagons
gravitate from the service sidings to an electrically-
operated car dumper, whereby they are discharged into

available for the return of the empty cars. The equip-
ment provided for this pier includes a car dumper, the
cradle of which will take railway wagons 50 ft. in length.
This dumper is operated electrically by two motors, each
of 130 horse-power, and is provided with another
motor, of similar power, for hauling the loaded wagons
up the inclined approach track into the cradle of the
dumper. The dumper discharges the wagons into
transfer or pier cars, which are of the hopper type, and
have a capacity of 60 tons. There are 10 of these
transfer ears, all electrically equipped with two motors for
travelling, the electricity being taken from an overhead
trolley wire system on the pier deck. The operation of
the hopper doors and the brakes of the cars are effected
by an air compressor on the car, and they are controlled
from a driver’s cabin at either end for travel in both
directions. The transfer cars from the dumper approach
the pier by an inclined track with a gradient of 1 in 4,
instead of being raised by lifts as in the case of Newport
News. After leaving the dumper, the loaded cars are
weighed automatically while gravitating over a track
scale, and are pushed up the inclined track by a track
trolley operated by an electric haulage winch. They
then travel electrically along the pier, and are dis-
charged by their hopper doors into the bins, which, as
mentioned, are operated by compressed air, there being
four doors, which can be opened and closed either inde-
pendently or together. These transfer ears, when dis-
charged, travel on the central track, and gravitate by
way of another but longer incline of slighter gradient
back to the dumper for another load. Connected with
each of the bins on the pier is a hopper, which is capable
of vertical adjustment in elevation, having a range of