Domestic heating in US cities

[Guest Jack Benson]

A recent plea for guidance about what are the essential industries served by the railroad in small town upstate NY until 1952 produced some very helpful suggestions.

 

• Milk distribution from farm to city, upstate NY was dairy farming (team track or depot platform)
•  Cannery, again food product by large scale market gardening and meat products
• Feed mill
• Agricultural merchant, seed, machinery, fertiliser
• Fuel supplier coal (still king) and wood, propane

The last one did surprise me but domestic coal was still a ‘thing’ in the early ‘50s, this interesting link might help set the scene click here 

 

This image of a small local coal merchant might be familiar to those of a certain age, 

 

Thanks

 

 

 

[pH]

That coal merchant is Canadian.

[Guest Jack Benson]

Vancouver, BC, actually. It seems that pedantry has crossed the pond

 

StaySafe
 

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by Jack Benson
The missing u

[peach james]

So, coal availability- it was available in Toronto as late as 1990, from the merchant on Mount Pleasant Ave... I know, I bought at least one bag from there, though it was fairly near useless for live steam use.  (the blue bags from the place in Hamilton were far better...)

https://jamiebradburnwriting.wordpress.com/2020/05/07/past-pieces-of-toronto-dominion-coal-silos/

I'd suggest that perhaps reach out to the US modelers, as they will have good gen on what to do.  Trevor's web page ( https://themodelrailwaydotshow.wordpress.com/port-rowan-in-164/ ) has a bunch of interesting info on modeling a rural (SW ontario) area in that sort of time frame.

[Guest Jack Benson]

Very interesting and a lovely layout.

 

I was perplexed by the comment about domestic coal distributors as UK domestic coal usually arrived in small 16t open wagons for mandraulic unloading. In the US, most coal was moved in 40t hopper cars by the 1900s BUT I suspect that some (not all) domestic coal was delivered as part loads in gondolas. Although some larger coal distributors had coal stages/trestles for hopper car drops, this was not universal in small communities along a shortline route.

 

 

One comment gleaned from a coal distributors in Jacksonville (photo above) stated that the railroad allowed the customer just two working days* to return the car to service, this was a ‘mare in winter as coal froze and had to heated by burning tyres to shift the muck.

 

Or incur a daily charge of demurrage by the railroad. 
 

StaySafe

[Patrick SPF]

Not just hoppers and gondolas but also box cars and even stock cars (extra boards were needed to keep the cargo in)

[doctor quinn]

The trucks used for local delivery are interesting too, the body has a scissor mechanism to raise it above front fences for delivery http://www.whippanyrailwaymuseum.net/exhibits/equipment/vintage-equipment/coal-delivery-truck