Coal Unloader: (3D Satellite)
I'm learning that the Buffalo, NY, area also used to make a lot of steel.
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| James Cavanaugh Photography posted From my archive. A February 2004 view of the 800 mega-watt Huntley Power Plant in Tonawanda, NY. At it's peak it burned 250,000 tonnes of coal per month generating electricity. The plant was decommissioned in 2016. However, the large electrical substation on the left of the photograph is still an integral part of the NYS Power Grid. It is a major switching station receiving power from Niagara Falls and other areas and redirecting it throughout the grid. Brett Wanamaker shared Jeff Guziec: They were starting to shut the old side down 63,64 units in 2003. Jeff Zak: Units 63 thru 66 we're retired in 2006-7. 67 and 68 in 2016. |
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| Peter Ulrick commented on James' post |
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| safe_image for Tonawanda Coke’s smokestacks to be imploded June 5 [2021] |
This plant shutdown suddenly in Oct 2018 after filing for bankruptcy.
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| 3D Satellite |
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| Jim Cavanaugh posted From my Archive. A 2002 view of the water treatment and coal reserve at the former Huntly Power Station in Tonawanda, NY. The 800MW power plant was permanently decommissioned in March 2016. Jim Cavanaugh shared |
Bubba Dubs posted ten photos with the comment: "Former coal unloader for Tonawanda Coke. It also had a hopper for self unloaders to unload into. On the lower left side it also had a barge loader. All photos taken by myself."
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| 1 Overall view of the unloader and conveyor junction house. |
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| 2 Barge loader on the left side. |
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| 3 Operator cab in the front |
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| 4 Junction house leading to conveyor to the Coke plant. |
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| 5 Conveyor at left goes to unloader. |
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| 6 Former Huntley generating station upper left. |
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| 7 Conveyor crossed under River road. |
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| 8 Upon reaching the plant it took a 90 degree turn. |
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| 9 Coal would be unloaded into the hopper by self unloading lake freighters once they became more common on the lakes. American steamship company had the contract for Tonawanda Coke, and they had a large number of self unloaders that unloaded here. So at a time both the hopper and the clam bucket were operated. |
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| 10 This is an example of a self unloading boom on a Great Lakes vessel. |
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| Michael Metz posted I happened to be picking up equipment on a jobsite and snapped this picture of the unloader, hopper and conveyor system off of River Rd. Word is that it is going to be scrapped. It's pretty cool history but I understand it's useless and a potential hazard. |
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| Jeff Cooke commented on Michael's post I noticed a man-lift over there the other day, a good indication something's going on. I've seen people hanging out on the roof of the upper house, for liability, it's a good idea to remove it. |
I had trouble finding the coke plant because it is not in the city limits of Tonawanda according to Google Maps. In fact, I could not find any town that included that industrial area. That is probably a clever way to avoid property taxes.
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| Satellite |
Jeff Cooke posted two photos with the comment: "05 Mar 2023 - It appears that the demolition of this eyesore landmark will soon be underway!"
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| Justin Brown commented on Jeff's post Just brought both machines over. Should start removing soon. |
Since it is going to disappear, I saved a satellite image.
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| 3D Satellite |
While looking for the coke plant on a satellite map, I found these smokestacks. Obviously it was a power plant. I say "was" because I could not find a label for it. And Bubba's use of "former" in a comment above confirms that it has been closed.
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| 3D Satellite |
So I was surprised that there is still a pile of coal in the storage area. And then I noticed that the stacker doesn't move and that the piles that we see are remnants from the sides of the main pile.
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| 3D Satellite |
Since Bubba's comment provided a name, I can do a web search. Evidently it closed in 2016. And the industries did not dodge city taxes because the closure of the power plant cost Tonawanda $6m in annual property taxes. The plant was owned by NRG when it shut down. [ieefa-transistion] I recognize NRG as the company that bought the former generating stations in the Chicagoland area from the bankrupt Midwest Generating. Midwest Generating bought all of ComEd's generating stations and then proceeded to close most of them. I could not understand how closing plants could be a viable business. It turns out, it wasn't viable. NRG is still running plants in Romeoville and Joliet, IL.
The amount of water that could be diverted from Niagara Falls to generate power was limited, so Buffalo General Electric built this plant in 1916 to meet the power needs of WWI. It was built with 25-hz generators. I could not find when it was switched to 60-hz. It started with three 20mw units. By 1930 they had added 35, 60, 75 and 75 megawatt units. "To meet the growing need for electric power in the Buffalo-Niagara Region, the addition of ten high-efficiency boilers that burned pulverized coal, new steam turbines, and additional stacks substantially increased the station’s capacity. These units and their in-service dates were: 80 MW (1942), 100 MW (1948), 100 MW (1953), 100 MW (1954), 200 MW (1957), 200 MW (1958). By 1950, the Niagara Mohawk Huntley Generating Station had a total capacity of 816 MW (Megawatts)" [TonawandasHistory]
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| TonawandasHistory, Image 6 |
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| TonawandasHistory, Image 12 |
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| TonawandasHistory, Image 18 |
8 drone photos comparing Fall of 2020 to June of 2021 showing the progress of the demolition
Michael Maitland: And across the road from the GM plant as well to the south a few blocks were part of the Curtis Wright and Bell airplane plants Where the home depot is now) Very active during WW2. Curtis built the famous P-40 and Bell the P-39, both outclassed early in the war, except the Russians loved the P-39 as a ground attack aircraft and took thousands of them. [Other comments explain that GM had a foundry that cast engine blocks and it still has an engine plant. (Will it be converted to making electric motors?)]
James Torgeson: Michael Maitland Bell's primary production facility was in Wheatfield (Niagara Falls), which was advantageous as it was adjacent to the airport. Much postwar development in helicopters, spaceflight and such was performed there before Bell moved south. Much of the Wheatfield complex still stands, including the disconnected NYC spur that delivered thousands of GM Allison V-12s from the plant in Indianapolis!
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