Going, Going, Gone part 4 − Coal Trains

: Knoxville, TN. Winter, 1970
: Prince, WV. Sep. 9, 2019
: Helper, UT. Sep. 10, 2014

The blog “Boxcar Red Collection” marked the 10th anniversary in February last year, before even I noticed it. Also is that many things are going or gone in this decade before I hardly noticed it. So, let me look back at what we’re missing or missed.
　
　
Hauling coal was supposed to be the earliest object of building a railroad. It was the biggest motive for the invention of the railroad. However, unfortunately, it is no more. Environmental and/or economic issues bundled the coal off from the leading role of energy to a bit player.


Coal trains, like a CSX one in the hole at Prince, WV, or a UP one departing Helper, UT with the manned helper, are relatively rare today.

Coal mines, like the one at Somerset, CO, on the former D&RGW North Fork Branch reduced calling coal hoppers for shipment. Coal mines along the former D&RGW Craig Branch used to call 4 to 8 coal trains a day, but there is none of them today.

Coal haulers like Utah Railway at Martin, UT, stored and later transferred their locomotives after losing their entire coal shipment.

The excess coal hopper cars are stored all across the county. Instead, railroads found a way to hauling intermodal units.


The Black Mesa & Lake Powell Railroad established in 1973, a 78 miles coal hauler in Arizona, was entirely shut down in 2019 due to the closure of the Navajo Generating Station. It was once introduced in Oct. 1974 Trains magazine as "America's finest railroad". The coal-burning Navajo Station was opened in 1976, but closed in 2019, and demolished in 2020.

: Somerset, CO. Sep. 6, 2017
: Martin, UT. Sep. 10, 2014
: Cisco, UT. Sep. 10, 2017
: Kayenta, AZ. Sep. 13, 2014
: Page, AZ. Sep. 14, 2014
: Apr. 2010 Trains

The economic issue was the main cause of the fall of coal in Japan. Not a coal train is operated here in Japan today. The mining and shipping cost of domestic coal production could not win the competition with the imported coal.

The Mitsui-Ashibetsu Railway out of the coal mine at Ashibetsu, Hokkaido shown below was abandoned in 1989 due to the closure of the mine. Today, a locomotive and a hopper car are preserved on the bridge crossing the Tanzan (means coal mine in Japanese) River.

The generating station at Ebetsu, Hokkaido used to burn coal produced at the Akahira coal mine that existed near Ashibetsu. However, unfortunately, the generating station and the spur shown at the bottom ceased their operation in 1991.

: Ashibetsu, Hokkaido, Japan. Aug. 25, 2018
: Ebetsu, Hokkaido, Japan. Aug. 26, 2018
　　
　　
気が付いたら、このブログを始めてから10年以上経っている。記事を改めて見直すと、長いようで短い間にも色々と変化があることに気付く。そんな回顧を「Going, Going, Gone」というタイトルでまとめてみた。
　
　
タイトルにある「Coal Trains」とは、ここでは運炭列車または運炭鉄道を指す。そもそも、鉄道は石炭を運ぶ目的で発明されたはずなのに、そうではなくなってきたという話題である。

鉄道による石炭輸送は日本では絶えて久しいが、北米においても近年急に減ってきた。環境政策および価格競争力低下を受けてのことである。Trains誌2021年３月号によれば、一世を風靡したワイオミング州Powder River Basin産石炭の鉄道輸送量は、2008年をピークに2020年には半減した。

炭鉱は減産または閉山し、余剰となったホッパー車がそこら中に留置されている。運炭列車の主な行き先だった石炭火力発電所も同じ運命にある。人気の観光地であるアンテロープ・キャニオンの横で威容を誇っていたNavajo Generating Station は、その専用電気鉄道であったBlack Mesa & Lake Powell Railroadもろとも2019年に廃止されてしまった。その線路はモニュメント・バレーからグランド・キャニオンに向かう道路に一部沿っていたので、見かけた人も多いと思う。