CSX rail road coal?

Hi there. I can get some coal from a friend that got some coal from CSX train company from Baltimore MD. Does anyone know what kind of coal this is and will it work in my Coal stove (Harman Mark 3) What is the difference in the way hard coal and soft coal burns and the pros and cons. Thank you...

Billy

Most of the coal exported from the Port of Baltimore is Bituminous. However, some Anthracite did ship earlier this year to fulfill a one time contract sale of Anthracite coal to Germany. Does your coal look like black rock, hard, shiny and not crushable with your fingers? If so it likely Anthracite.

I just thought of a new summer hobby - walking the train tracks in my area with a wheelbarrow & a shovel

I know this sounds cheap, but I live right next to a rail road tracks, and I have already taken the kids for walks as I take a five gallon bucket and just pick up pieces of coal. Cheap or Earth friendly?

Regardless, the kids love the walks and I get a bucket of coal for free!

Dan

I work for a RR in Wisconsin and I pick up 5 gal buckets of coal also. All Bit coal out of Eastern Kentucky for the University in Madison. Rolls out of the cars on our old tracks. Some times a door opens on a empty car and the extra that didn't get unloaded it spills out. Some times I even get lucky and pick up some coke that falls out of the coke hoppers also. Just break it up in brickette size and toss it in.
All my neighbors are older and remember coal for heat so the smell and smoke doesn't get me in trouble as of yet. Plus they all know I work for a RR. Some of the stories I get downtown in the village I live in and in the neighborhood are priceless about the coal, trains and family's picking up the coal from the dealer. I have found some to still have the coal (bricketts) in the basement or barn. I have bought some of it and WOW the burn you get. And with some of it being 40 to 50 yrs old.

HDFXR1991

Where are you getting your coal these days

aside of the stuff you "pick up"

I got directed to Advanced Chimney Systems in Rockford Il. My up state WI guy (Ripon) hasn't called me to say my 2 ton was in and it got cold.

You're better off dealing with Advanced unless they changed suppliers. Blaschak is better quality coal than Reading. The guy in Ripon did the same thing to me last year. Told me he had lots of coal until I wanted it, then he didn't have any!

Thanks Hammer8. I was getting the feeling that was the case. And yes Blaschak is a better quailty. Rockford is closer and its all big road so it don't take long. Thanks again for the info.

dtzackus wrote:I know this sounds cheap, but I live right next to a rail road tracks, and I have already taken the kids for walks as I take a five gallon bucket and just pick up pieces of coal. Cheap or Earth friendly?

Regardless, the kids love the walks and I get a bucket of coal for free!

Dan

My Mom was poor growing up. She told me how her, and her cousins used to sit by the tracks with a bucket, and throw rocks at the engines as they came by. The fireman would throw coal back at them.

My father told me during the great depression years they would grease the railroad tracks with animal fat to slow down the coal freight trains. Then a bunch of men and boys would climb the rail cars and shovel off the coal. Coal was then picked up by women and girls. The town cop stood guard so that the railroad detectives didn't shoot anyone. The cop was as much in need as the others and he got his share later.

Yes that was a common occurance on all the railroads. I do like the throw the rock at the cab to get the fireman to throw a piece of coal at you.

I got a good one. During the War Between the States the Confederates would sit next to the tracks waiting for a train. They would pull and hold down the saplings along the right-of-way. When the train came into sight the Rebs would do something next to the tracks to get the people to stick there heads out the windows to take a peek. With the people doing that the Rebs would let loose of the saplings to hit the people in the head and knock there hats off. The camp that night would be full of Rebs with new hats. They would do this to there own trains and people. Who needs reailty TV when you could have fun doing it in real time. I don't know if the museum would allow us to do that to the people on a train ride through the camp.

yeah i do believe its anthracite. i friend of mine used to work for conrail nows csx. he told me about a train derailing at one time it had cars full of anthracite. the rail gang just buried the coal for the "clean up". well wouldnt ya know right now someweres along the tracks is tons of the hard stuff just buried lots of $ worth of coal just for the taken if one could "get it"!!