Shoemaker mine rail hualage replaced

Doug · **Posted:** Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:54 pm

When I visited Summit Breaker on my last trip, they said they had a customer upstate that took a semi or so a year. The local Amish yard had pallet sized tote bags but I didn't recognize the company.

Miner Dave · **Posted:** Mon Mar 18, 2013 8:14 am

When we visit my grandparent's cabin, in the spring, we go to an Amish greenhouse. In it, they have 3 small furnaces in a pit in each greenhouse that they use to heat water that they circulate to keep the plants warm. Out back, they have several pallets of bagged coal, which I presume is anthracite because I can never see any chunks of sulfur in them. I once fell into on of the pits (I wasn't looking where I was going) and some coal got into my shoe! I ended up with black feet for a week!

fredmcain · **Posted:** Mon Mar 18, 2013 8:47 am

chemistry1969 wrote:

Fred,
If you get a chance to talk to the guy that you get your coal from, ask him if he knows where in NEPA he gets it.

Sure, I can ask him. He might be a little evasive, though. I'm not sure why it is, but some people don't like to make it public where they get their coal from. Has any one else on our group encountered that too?

Before I was buying out of the coal yard in Topeka, I used to get coal from a Mr. Herb Reffit out of Hamden, OH, I think it was. He had both anthracite and bituminous. He had his own truck and was a helluva nice guy. I really liked him. He had the "Stove size" anthracite in addition to the chestnut which is why I started buying from him. No one around here had stove size.

He would leave his home in Hamden with an empty truck and drive to eastern PA, pick up the coal and drive it to Indiana and other Midwestern points for delivery. Anyhow, the reason I brought this up is that he was really secretive about where he got it from. Absolutely wouldn't tell me. I tried to explain to him that I only wanted to know because I was interested in mining. No dice.

Then one year he just didn't come. The months went by, summer turned to fall then winter began approaching. I tried calling him. I'd lost his number so I had to call information. Never did reach him but I ended up finding his cousin. He told me he'd quit, sold his truck and had gone to work in a local factory. Too bad. He provided a great service.

Regards,
Fred M. Cain

fredmcain · **Posted:** Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:05 am

Miner Dave wrote:

I once fell into on of the pits (I wasn't looking where I was going) and some coal got into my shoe! I ended up with black feet for a week!

[color=#FFFF40]Whew!!!! I'm glad to hear that pit wasn't an abandoned mine shaft!!!!

I know what you mean, though. Those coals are HOT. Just this past Saturday I was shaking my stove and inadvertently popped one out onto the carpet. Poof! It produced a puff of acrid smoke. The carpet is an old, beat up thing that I put in front of the stove just in case such an event occurs so it doesn't fly out onto the linoleum. We just got new linoleum last summer and it was NOT cheap !!!!

Regards,
Fred M. Cain[/color]

Miner Dave · **Posted:** Mon Mar 18, 2013 10:43 am

It wasn't burning. By coal, I meant a piece of anthracite. The furnace wasn't in use because it was spring, so they didn't need warm water circulating around to keep the plants from freezing. It was just a random piece of coal, and I only noticed it when I dumped sand(the soil at the cabin is sand, no dirt whatsoever) out of my shoe, and out came a chunk of coal! It was pretty dusty, so my socks were black.

fredmcain · **Posted:** Mon Mar 18, 2013 11:17 am

Miner Dave wrote:

It wasn't burning. By coal, I meant a piece of anthracite.

Oh, I see. I guess I didn't read that carefully enough. I thought you meant it was a hot coal.

Regards,
Fred M. Cain

Shoemaker mine rail hualage replaced

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