Baltimore, MD: 1917 Canton/Pennsy Coal Dock

(HAER; Satellite)

Baltimore has two coal export docks. CSX has B&O's dock in Curtis Bay on the south side of town. This one was Pennsy, and it is now served by the Canton Railroad, which connects to both NS and CSX. This coal terminal was part of a much larger Pennsy waterfront operation.

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1. GENERAL VIEW OF CAR DUMP LOOKING SOUTHWEST, BARGE LOADING PIER CAN BE SEEN IN BACKROUND - Pennsylvania Railroad, Canton Coal Pier, Clinton Street at Keith Avenue (Canton area), Baltimore, Independent City, MD Photos from Survey HAER MD-34

"Strategically located in the Port of Baltimore, CONSOL Energy’s Baltimore Marine terminal is one of two coal export terminals on the Eastern Seaboard with the ability to serve the largest ocean-going ships in the world, and the only one served by two rail lines — Norfolk Southern and CSX Tr6ansportation. With an annual through-put capacity of 15 million tons of coal, the Terminal’s infrastructure and ground storage allow for highly specific blending capabilities to meet customer demands. The Terminal has processed over ten million tons of coal per annum on average since 2010, exported a record 12.9 million tons in 2011, and set a monthly record in March 2016 of 1.3 million tons exported." [CONSOL]

As the foreground car is shoved up the ramp by a cable propelled "barney," you can see the previous car being lowered by the coal unloader.

3:06 video @ 0:53
Some interesting views of the Baltimore coal dumper in operation. Likely filmed in the early Conrail era. From the Railroad Video Productions show "Pennsylvania Power - Volume 8" https://rfd.video/PRRPower8

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20. BARGE LOADING PIER, GENERAL VIEW OF INCLINE, EAST END, LOOKING WEST FROM TOP OF DUMP HOUSE

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24. BARGE LOADING PIER, GENERAL VIEW SHOWING LOADING CRANE AND BOAT SLIP

It used to be that a large amount of the coal was loaded into barges for a short trip to Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point. The 4-ton cable drawn dump cars [HAER-data] have been replaced by a conveyor belt out onto the pier. 

Satellite