Towns and Nature: Toledo, OH: Oregon, OH: B&O+NYC Coal and Iron Ore Lakefront Dock

(Satellite)

The B&O+NYC docks were east of Otter Creek. The docks west of that creek were the C&O docks. All of these docks are now owned by CSX.

CSX also exports coal from a dock in Baltimore, MD.

"CSX’s Toledo Docks is a modern coal terminal and pier facility serving the Great Lakes and overseas markets. The terminal handles vessel and rail transfers of coal and iron ore, and specializes in outbound NAPP and CAPP coals, as well as inbound iron ore. The terminal has also serviced PRB coal trains loading in lake vessels to domestic water-served utility destinations on the Great Lakes. The Toledo, Ohio facility has three docks, and features specialized equipment including a tandem car dumper and a thaw shed for winter loading. The dumper transfers coal to a traveling ship loader system through a series of conveyor belts. The entire coal flow path is equipped with a dust suppression system and the ship loader transfers coal into the holds of the vessel by a telescoping spoon to minimize dust and maintain favorable environmental conditions. Inbound iron ore is off loaded from the vessel and stored on the inventory pad until it is reclaimed and loaded into rail cars for unit train delivery to the customers. Ground storage is available for the iron ore, but not for coal." [CSX]

Marine Historical Societ of Detroit posted
Vessels laid up at the Lake Front Dock and Terminal Co. in Oregon (Toledo) OH in March 1973. At the left is the J.H. Hillman Jr. while the Armco is laid up at the coal dock to the right. Another Oglebay Norton boat is laid up behind the Huletts at the ore dock. A lone scale test car occupies the tracks serving the ore dock during the off season. Richard (Dick) Wicklund photo/MHSD collection.
The Lake Front Dock and Terminal Company was jointly owned and served by the New York Central (later Penn Central) and Baltimore and Ohio Railroads. It was built in the late 1940's on undeveloped land adjacent to the C&O docks, with Otter Creek separating them. Prior to the construction of this facility, both NYC and B&O had coal docks far upstream on the Maumee River. The B&O also served an ore dock upstream.
Dale Pohto: Two of the four Huletts at this dock were relocated from the B&O ore dock near Fasset St. (very near The Anderson's elevator on the east bank). Larger ore boats drew more water than what was available upriver, making it necessary to either move the dock or dredge the river extensively.
Ed Hughlett: Dale Pohto great historical information Dale. I remember the Fasset Street bridge: there one day and gone the next day. !
Marine Historical Society of Detroit shared
Isaiah Cummings: Looks like Reserve is laid up next to Armco.

East Toledo Historical Society posted, cropped
Aerial photo from Maumee Bay showing part of the C&O Rresque Isle dpcks and the Lakefront Docks, beyond that is the Pure Oil and Standard Oil Refineries. c. 1955.

Mike Lusher posted
Here is an aerial view of the Lakefront Docks at Toledo, Ohio. Opened on June 2, 1948, this facility was jointly built and operated by the Baltimore & Ohio and New York Central railroads. All of the coal and ore machines are long gone and ore is now unloaded and transferred to rail cars by conveyor belts.
I worked there as machinist in the Summer of 1977. I remember inspecting and working on several six-axle Conrail Alcos. They hauled coal in and iron ore out.
Daniel Decore: I have the same picture. My dad got it when he was working on the docks up there in Toledo for New York Central railroad.

Mike Lusher posted
Another photo taken at the former B&O-NYC Lakefront coal and iron ore docks at Toledo, Ohio. This photo shows two of the coal dumping machines. The ore unloading machines can be seen at the far right. This facility was opened on June 2, 1948. All of the coal and ore machines are long gone and all that remains is a system of conveyor belts that transfer iron ore from lake freighters to railroad cars.
Dale Pohto: The ore unloading machines are known as Huletts (named for their inventor). These particular machines were transplanted from the B&O ore dock much further upriver but were moved to accommodate larger freighters which require deeper water. For the same reason, the coal loaders were transplants from upriver as well.
David Allen: I have heard those coal unloaders in the photo called Mc Myler's . They use mostly gravity once hopper is spotted. Till the ramp up to the unloader.Then what I have heard called a Barney rises up between the rails engages at the coupler and pushes car up to machine.The machine lifts the whole car up to the shute ,turns it on its side and contents dump.
Fred Bultman: David Allen McMyler was a builder of coal dumpers, along with Heyl & Patterson.
Doug Egert: Was always fun climbing.up oñ the dumpers and knocking brake pins out when cars got hung up in machines

Jackie Hindall III posted
Edmund Fitzgerald docked right down the street from my house at the Toledo coal docks off of Bayshore road.
[Some comments confirm that the left dock is unloading a freighter while the right dock is loading. Note that we can barely see a second loader on the right.]
Dale Pohto: Huletts didn't unload coal... Ore exclusively.
Steve Hooton: There would be a bulldozer in the cargo hold pushing the last of the cargo together so it could be picked up. I witnessed the driver of the dozer look up after hearing the pitter pat on his hard hat, only to be hit in the face with piss. At 3am a drunk crew member came back and pissed in the cargo hold unknowingly or not hitting the dozer driver. Those on deck cleared out to avoid the storm climbing out of the cargo hold. The good ol days.
Bill Bird: If I remember when my Dad was sailing in the 60s there were 4 coal docks in Toledo. Now just one.
Mike Delaney: Toledo Lakefront dock. NYC & B&O.
Stef Abenakis: Use to be my best port Toledo when i was sailing the lakes....
Ken Howard: The Fitz would winter over in the slips next to I280.

Mike Harlan shared
Kevin Beale: Did she ever enter Buffalo Harbor ?
Mike Delaney: Kevin Beale Highly unlikely as she was contracted for hauling cargo for specific customers. She picked up some non-contract loads to Detroit, Cleveland, and a few other major unloading ports on Lake Erie and Southern lake Michigan. But again only her logbooks could say. She may have been to Lackawanna who knows as at the time was a major ore unloading port. We hauled pellets to Hamilton, Ontario on the Sparrows Point and took corn to Montreal so oddity loads were not too uncommon.

Dutch Ferguson posted
James Evans Now known as TORCO CSXT (Toledo Ore Railroad Co) only handling inbound iron ore.

I added Oregon, OH, to the title because Oregon is across the Maumee River from Toledo. And that is where the docks are today.

East Toledo Historical Society posted, cropped
East Side coal docks shared by Nancy Geho McCoy
Marsha Dombi Gruhler: I believe the "machine" on the left was called "the pig"
Mark Stevens: the machine on the left is number one coal machine... the pig is a for wheeled machine that took the coal cars up to the coal machine to be dumped...

Two photos posted by Mike Honeycutt.

Richard Wicklund
Looking good, the George A. Sloan docked in Toledo ready to load coal, Sept. 9, 1988.
[Was this loader here or in the C&O dock?]

I can tell by the tank farm in the right background that this photo is of the Lakefront Dock.

Richard Stewart posted
CSX Toledo Docks, Toledo, Ohio. January 05, 2009. Photo credit: Michael Harding. https://www.railpictures.net/photo/266193/

Street View

Robert Campbell posted
Tin Stackers are shown in winter lay up. This may possibly be Milwaukee but I'm not sure. The time frame could be late 1930's or early 40's. The Robert Fulton is shown and I see the B.F. Affleck and Simon J. Murphy among the boats.
[The comments identify it as Toledo in the late 1930s. Note the two Huletts in the background to the left of a smokestack.]

The rotary car dump was built by McDowell-Wellman.

GracesGuide

Marine Historical Society of Detroit posted
The Fontana loading coal at New York Central's Toledo coal dock. Unknown date. Claude Lockwood photo/MHSD.

When the railroads came to town, this lakefront area was, at best, a swamp. They built their docks further up river. The B&O was upriver where the river curved West, and the NYC was where the river curved South.

1938 Rossford and Toledo Quads @ 31,680

Bob Ciminel -> Railroads in Black and White
The Maumee River docks in Toledo, Ohio have a plethora of local railroad cars in this 1910 view. Railroads represented are: Hocking Valley, Toledo & Ohio Central, Kanawha and Michigan and the Zanesville & Western.
Dates of incorporation for these lines, which were eventually all related through mergers and acquisitions:
Hocking Valley - 1889
T&OC - 1885
K and M - 1890
Z&W - 1902
The primary cargo was coal from Hocking Valley mines in Ohio or coal from West Virginia. Portions of the HV and Z&W are operated today as scenic railways. Other portions such as the route through Fostoria, OH are owned by CSX because C&O bought HV.

Barry Sell posted
Railroad yard, Toledo, Ohio [approximately 1940]. NYC Coal Loading Dock.
Christine-John Yontz: I believe that is the Cherry St bridge in he background and the elevated double track line is the PRR whose bridge over the Maumee was just north of the Cherry St bridge. All rails shows in this photo are now gone. Bores-Boyer way pretty much goes right down the middle of this and the PRR is now a bike/hike path. Taken from the Anthony Wayne bridge most likely.
Barry Sell: Christine-John Yontz Yes this orientation is looking NNW and Cherry is in the distance.

By 1952, all of the coal and ore docks had moved to the lakefront with C&O on the left and B&O+NYC on the right.

1952/54 Pint Place Quad @ 24,000

(new window) (source) The Edmund Fitzgerald being unloaded with Huletts.

3:41 video of the Huletts unloading the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1963

I wish this had higher resolution, but you can read that red is iron, blue is coal and yellow is grain.

Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association added
Shipping routes for various cargoes on the Great Lakes circa 1950.
[I was amazed that so much of the coal was shipped from the Toledo docks. Does this mean that most of the coal was coming from the Illinois Basin rather than the Appalachian Mountains? And why would grain and coal be going down Lake Michigan? It would be interesting to see this diagram for today. Coal would be going in the opposite direction because of the Powder River Basin and it would be going to power plant docks. There would be more grain and none of it would use the Erie Canal because of the St. Lawrence Seaway. (China owns bit grain elevators in Chicago and Milwaukee.)]

Only Cleveland handles more tonnage.