Rader Sidetrack Wrote:
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> Regular NGDF readers are likely aware that coal moved east on the narrow gauge, but this is the first I have seen that coal & coke moved west (with the possible exception of Monero coal going west to the DRGW tipple in Durango)...
A possible westbound coal movement I've wondered about is Crested Butte
anthracite bound for west coast naval ports. Anthracite is a hard, high-density coal that the US Navy favored in the 19th & early-20th centuries. Most production was in Pennsylvania, but the Crested Butte basin had at least two sites with such high-grade anthracite: the spur/mine by that name, plus I believe at least part of the output from Floresta. Wouldn't it make sense to source anthracite for Pacific ports, as much as possible, from the rockies rather than PA?
This is not a speculative scenario, Crested Butte coal
did indeed go to the Pacific, and in this case a westbound narrow gauge movement could be plausible.
It is, however, indeed possible that Raton Pass was the most efficient route to get anthracite from Crested Butte to San Diego (despite crossing the Continental Divide twice)... but is that the route that would fetch the Rio Grande the most lucrative invoice? Couldn't they bill a higher fee by interchanging at Salt Lake City rather than Pueblo?
Prior to the 1924 Salida barrel transfer, narrow-to-standard gauge coal transshipment would have been shoveled by manual laborers. Bound for Salt Lake, it seems far more efficient to perform the shoveling of westbound CB anthracite at Montrose rather than Salida. Pulling westbound coal eastbound up 4% Marshall Pass does not make sense to me, particularly as a way to stage the load for a run up the steep side of Tennessee Pass.
The argument against this westbound scenario is unit-train efficiency: just bring the anthracite along with all the other coal other loads back east across Marshall Pass, transship them all in Salida, and distribute them all in Pueblo, whether to the steel mill, locals, or interchange. Let the Santa Fe worry about getting it over the Divide again (or haul it back up the Divide from Salida to Salt Lake via Tennessee?).
In any case, I think it remains generally plausible for Salt Lake City-bound coal to transship at Montrose rather than Salida pre-1924. As linked above, this forum has some excellent discussion and information about Crested Butte coal movements, and I see a solid consensus that the bulk of coal movements were eastbound, particularly in the transfer barrel era.
But reviewing these discussions, I don't think we can or should fully rule out westbound coal movements for Montrose transshipments, particularly in the pre-transfer barrel era. Coal-fired ships were still abundant in the US Navy in 1924, but their balance in the roster was in accelerating decline as more and more oil-fired ships came into the fleet via commission & refurbishment. Floresta was shut down by the late 20s. It seems likely that much, perhaps most, of the westbound anthracite shipments predated the Salida barrel transfer.
Eager for any insights/documentation on this topic!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2023 11:56PM by Shavano479.
