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Post by BuckSkin on Apr 29, 2022 6:23:16 GMT
The Coal Tipple at Blue Heron
Big South Fork Scenic Railway
The trestle above/left is a narrow-gauge railroad across the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River that was used to bring loaded coal cars into the top of the tipple.
It is now a pedestrian bridge.
There are five Southern Railway 3-Bay Coal Hopper Cars sitting under the tipple; they are, left to right, 109741, 108776, 112472, 113554, and 111038.
Read HERE and HERE for more about Stearns.
In fact, all of these links deserve a read, especially the first one.
This is a most interesting place.
Although Mine 18 at Blue Heron closed in the early 1960s, the last mine in the vicinity closed in 1987.
This photo was a scan of a rather poor 5x7 print that required a lot of work and many layers to be presentable; however, it serves as an excuse for me to present the links and information about this wonderful place that deserves a visit.
Also, now that I have a "big girl camera", and sort of know how to use it, seeing this photo makes me want to make a return trip and document this place thoroughly, right down to the rivets.
Blue Heron Coal Tipple
Big South Fork Scenic Railway
Stearns, Kentucky
McCreary County
Saturday_15-March-2003
I hope you enjoy it; thanks for looking.
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pontiac1940
CE Members
Posts: 6,357
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by pontiac1940 on Apr 29, 2022 16:05:09 GMT
Interesting stuff BuckSkin. Coal played such a huge coal in the advancement of modern society providing inexpensive energy to heat homes, hospitals, schools and provide electricity and run industries. Lots of coal tipples here in Alberta that faded into obscurity with the advent of diesel engines. Hope it's okay to post this in your thread. This is the Atlas Coal Mine tipple at the Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site, Drumheller, Alberta. Actually, it's at East Coulee. Today, about 10,000 people live in the Red Deer River Valley in the "Drum" area. Back in the heyday, 35,000 people lived in the valley because of the many number of coal mines.  |
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Post by BuckSkin on Apr 29, 2022 16:21:01 GMT
Hope it's okay to post this in your thread.
Yes; it is perfectly fine.
I like anything to do with coal and coal mining; and, I really enjoy seeing photos that others have taken and reading about them.
If you, or anyone else, have photos and information, anything to do with coal or any other mining, I would sure like to see them.
Just an interesting fact about underground mining in Kentucky:
Strip Mining is another story; but, Appalachian underground mines employed very few resident Kentuckians that were already here prior to the mines.
Almost without exception, all underground miners were experienced imports from European countries, with a lot of them being Polish and Italian.
Of course, after the mines closed, these people were so impoverished that they couldn't afford to migrate again, so they stayed and became Kentuckians.
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Post by BuckSkin on Apr 29, 2022 19:11:21 GMT
I just found more interesting information and photos about mining in Kentucky; once at the site, you can scroll up or down for more and more information; the link sort of puts you in the middle of everything.
Very Interesting.
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Post by jackscrap on Apr 29, 2022 22:02:48 GMT
Sounds like a fascinating place to visit, have you been on the train?
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Post by BuckSkin on Apr 29, 2022 22:55:01 GMT
Sounds like a fascinating place to visit, have you been on the train?
Yes, I have, on at least three occasions; however, it has been almost twenty years since my last trip; BUT, it is a safe bet that it won't be another twenty years before I go again; in fact, I have all intentions to go sometime this year......hopefully.
There is one snag that they play down and don't mention on their website; when it first happened and for the first couple years thereafter, they did make a big deal about it; but then, their public relations and marketing people must have decided that what gullible naive tourist types don't know about, they won't wait until you fix things to spend their money on.
For many many years, the train ride made two stops; sometimes switching the order of the stops, but they made two very interesting stops before returning.
Usually, on the first leg of the journey, you passed right through Bartell and made the first stop at Blue Heron, allowing at least two hours (and more like three if I remember correctly) for you to tour Blue Heron; then, on the return trip, there was a two hour stop at Bartell for you to check it out as well.
Then, a few years ago, it came an intense monsoon and a huge landslide took out the tracks between Bartell and Blue Heron.
The next season after the washout, they doubled their prices and only provide the trip to Bartell and return.
At first, their site kept claiming that, as soon as possible, repairs would be made and they would once again continue all the way to Blue Heron; the last few times I have checked the site, they make no mention of Blue Heron whatsoever.
If they would turn the boys at R.J.Corman loose, they would have the tracks back in service in less than a week.
R.J.Corman is based a short drive away in Nicholasville, Kentucky.
EDIT: It could have been a lot worse, the train could have been at Blue Heron when the tracks washed away.
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