Museum/Pocahontas Coal Mine and 1883 Aban/N&W #1, #2 & #3Tunnels near Pocahontas, VA

Museum/Coal Mine: (Satellite)

Tunnel #1: (Satellite, I used a road map because the trees hide Laurel Fork in the satellite image.)

Tunnel #2: (Satellite, I based the locations on the topo map below.)

Tunnel #3 (Western Branch): (Satellite)

Pocahontas was a company town for the adjacent mine, and the tunnels are on the 4.5-mile branch that N&W built to serve the coal mines.

The tunnels were built in 1883 and Tunnel #2 was reinforced with concrete in 1915. [AbandonedOnline (This web page has a map of the three tunnels.)]

Museum/Pocahontas Coal Mine

Karin Nordlander, Jun 2025

Street View, Jun 2024

"The Southwest Virginia Improvement Company opened Pocahontas Mine No. 1, the first to exploit the rich seams of the Pocahontas Coalfield, in 1882. An extension of the Norfolk and Western Railway soon followed, bringing industrial development to Southwest Virginia and linking it to Norfolk. The mine brought a mix of ethnic groups from neighboring states and Europe to the area, including African Americans, Hungarians, Italians, Russians, Germans, and Welsh. Miners produced about 1,000 tons of coal a day by 1883 In 1938, a closed section of the mine opened as the nation’s first Exhibition Coal Mine, which educated visitors about the industry. Mining operations ceased in 1955." [hmdb]

Tunnel #1, 201' (61m)

reddit
sgernabcaga comment:

The Pocahontas Branch, located near Pocahontas, Virginia, is a defunct 4.5-mile coal-hauling rail line that spans approximately 4½ miles. The branch includes the Pocahontas No. 1 and No. 2 Tunnel (the third and fourth tunnels before part of the branch line became the main line), which were constructed in 1883. One of the last coal preparation plants on the line closed in 1974. While plans were to utilize the abandoned line for tourist train purposes, it never materialized.

I've posted more photos and history of the branch line here.

BridgesTunnels

"The Pocahontas Branch served only four coal operations, split evenly between the Pocahontas Fuel Company and Pocahontas Big Vein Coal Company. 2 Pocahontas Fuel operated its original No. 1 mine in Pocahontas until October 13, 1955. 1 2 During its reign of 73 years, it produced more than 44 million tons of coal. The preparation plant in Boissevain operated until the early 1970s, while another facility in Pocahontas was open until 1974. The rail line was mothballed afterward, preserved in the event another mine would be developed in the vicinity."

Tunnel #2, 366' (111.6m)

Facebook Reel

Tunnel #3, 90' (24.4m)

This source says the tunnel was only 37' (11.3m) long. There were 22 bridges on the N&W branch along the Laurel Creek.

Mark Petrishen posted six photos with the comment: "Pocahontas Tunnel #3. Pocahontas, Va. 80 feet long.  Former N&W R.R. This is across from the old high school behind the tennis/basketball court. Most people don't not know about this one."

1

2

3

4

5

6

All Tunnels

1968 Anawalt and 1962 Bramwell Quads @ 24,000

I looked for a Google Earth image that had less tree leaves. The red line on the right is #1, and the line near the center bottom is #2.

Google Earth, Dec 2003 plus Paint

The town's website brags about being ATV friendly.

Trail/Montour Greer Tunnel near Hendersonville, PA

(Satellite)

This view shows the slight curve in the tunnel.

Mackenzie Warnick, Nov 2023

Dave Kuntz Drone Photos posted four photos with the comment: "Greer Tunnel on the Montour Railroad near Hendersonville, PA.  Approached by a bridge on both ends.  The tunnel is curved but you can still see through it.  The western portal was substantially rebuilt last year due to tunnel deterioration.  Now a great rail trail."

1
[Southern portal]

2
[Northern portal]

3
[This is the southern bridge, and it goes over the Chartiers Creek.]

4

The northern bridge goes over a former Pennsy route.

Grant Myers, Oct 2024

ebreedon, Dec 2024

Mackenzie Warnick, Nov 2023
[The following map shows the Pennsy route that they had to avoid and Mine #4.]

1953/55 Canonsburg and Bridgeville Quads @ 24,000

Scajaquada Expressway and Gasometer in Buffalo, NY

(3D Satellite)

Deborah Brown posted two photos with the comment: "A 1960s aerial view of construction of the Scajaquada Expressway. Scajaquada Creek is barely visible under the ice and the newly constructed viaduct. On the south side of the creek along Bradley St., the large gasometer of The People's Gas & Coke Company Towers over everything. Last photo same area now."

Sean Sweeney: Worst travesty in terms of Buffalo transportation projects in my opinion. Right thru an Olmsted park.

Jim Myers shared

1

2

3D Satellite

Is this the Olmsted Park that Sean referred to? Out of frame to the right is just a golf course and a cemetery.

Satellite

Wheeled Excavators

(Satellite)

Steven J. Brown posted at RWE Power AG - Tgb. Hambach in Niederzier, Germany
RWE Power Bagger 293 (built 1995 as MAN TAKRAF RB293) is a giant bucket-wheel coal excavator. It is 315' tall, 740' long and weighs 14,200 tons. It is recorded in the Guinness World Records as the heaviest terrestrial vehicle (shared with a sibling). The bucket-wheel itself is 70' in diameter with 18 buckets, each of which can hold over 530 cubic feet of material. It works in the largest open-pit mine in Europe. Hambach, Germany - September 8, 2022.
David P. Reaves III: What a huge machine! This hole-in-the-ground is, simply stated, immense. (We've driven past the area; no good view from the main highways).On Google Maps, it appears to be nearly five miles across. From what I've learned, brown coal is really, really dirty, BTW, but it's right at or just below ground level, so relatively easy to scoop out.
https://www.google.com/.../@50.9064099,6.../data=!3m1!1e3

Screenshot @ 1:45
The world's largest wheeled excavator mines coal

W1's posted
Bucket Wheel Excavators excel in coal mining excavation with continuous digging and high efficiency. Their massive rotating wheels scoop large volumes of material, enabling fast and cost-effective mining. Durable and powerful, they are vital for large-scale surface mining operations.

Facebook Reel

16:31 video @ 2:29
Bagger 293: The Largest Terrestrial Vehicle on Earth

Audubon Parkway bridge over and "The River Queen" B-E 1650 on the Green River

(no Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

I spent some time looking for the Bridge Hunter post for the bridge over the shovel until I finally remembered that they don't document UCEBs (Ugly Concrete Eyesore Bridges).

Donna Grady Ebelhar posted
Green Coal shovel moving down Green River closely under the Audubon Parkway bridge when it moved from Rockport to Spottsville.
January 1989
Roger Shocklee: I pumped water out of the barge after it was loaded during Christmas 1988. We worked 12 hour shifts waiting for the river to drop so it would fit under the bridges.
[Winter is generally the low water season for rivers.]
Matt Weyand shared
Gibson Smith: 1650-B
Wendell Bennett: That's showing somewhere around 50' tall stripped down .
Devery Patterson: Looks like the 1650 that was at vogue & Alston.
Pretty sure it’s the one we dismantled at vogue. We took it to Alston surface and built it back.
Wayne Pruitt: This was the shovel named “The River Queen”. It came from the River Queen mine and arrived downriver at Spottsville Ky. Green Coal Company put her to work there. I was oiler on this same machine for several years. She was laid to rest at the Spottsville mine in the mid 90’s

There are certainly a lot of land tattoos for strip mining near Rockport.

Map

Vicki Embry Dant posted two images with the comment: "The first picture is of a postcard from Green Coal Company. The second picture tells about the machines."

Terry English: Great pictures. The shovel was the BE1650B and the dragline was the Page that pulled back for the BE1650B at the Green Coal Company Panther Mines.

1

2

Jim Bartlett posted
1650 Pit 1983
Terry English: We had a BE1650B Shovel, BE1050B Shovel, BE480W Dragline and a Page Dragline....

Retail Coal Silos Were Still Standing in 1981 in Lombard, IL

(Satellite)

This photo helps me understand the ubiquity of coal retailers until the middle of the 20th Century.

Andy Munzing posted
Lombard Illinois Truck 52 was a 1968 Mack/Pirsch with a 1000GPM pump and a 85' aerial. Taken 1981

Dennis DeBruler commented on Andy's post
I wondered where there used to be retail coal silos still standing in 1981. The silos were next to Main Street.
 https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4...
[USGS stored this photo with South at the top. I was really confused until the park east of Grace St. made it obvious that I had to rotate the photo 180 degrees.
AR1VALM00010028 1962-03-01 @ 24,000]

Lombard Historical Society posted

Here's an aerial photo of the iconic Hammerschmidt silos that once stood as a major landmark along Lombard’s railroad corridor. The Hammerschmidt silos stood next to the  Chicago and North Western Railway, the Union Pacific Railroad today. 

Unfortunately, there is no recorded date for this photograph in our collection, but it offers a fascinating glimpse of the towering silos that once dominated this stretch of Lombard’s landscape!

Joseph Obrien shared

Brittany Kubish commented on the above post, cropped

Tom Richardson commented on the above post
[Elmhurst Stone Quarry]

Mark Kaspar commented on the above post
Here’s another view in color….

Bonus: A retailer on the south side of Chicagoland.

Bill Robinson posted, cropped
Does anyone recognize these silos. They are being tore down August of 1967. It looks like it says Homewood????. I can't make out anymore. This is Harms Excavating of Dolton doing the demo work.

Moving Page (P&H) 757 Draglines Across the Country

A Page 757 dragline was moved from Mississippi to North Dakota.

 

safe_image for BNI Coal commissions $31 million dragline; coal miner replacing 45-year-old machine
Jeremy Kelley: It was the “liberty bell” when ran in kemper county Mississippi. [My guess as to the location.]
Nate Nowak: Jeremy Kelley it did not run there for long, correct?
Jeremy Kelley: Nate Nowak that’s correct. The power plant dropped the coal side and the mine bellied up. I’m a dragline operator at red hills mine in ackerman, ms. I went down and exercised the liberty bell until it was sold . She is a nice dragline.
Jerry Lacy: Nate Nowak at least the 8200 at red hills isn’t the atrocious environmental green like it was when it was in Illinois. It finished its work in Illinois about 3 miles south of my house.
[BNI Coal location]

"The electrically operated dragline stands 286 feet high and required 214 trucks to deliver it in pieces from Mississippi to the mine outside of Center."
Bob Haare: I'm pretty sure that they mean that it is 186' tall, not 286'. 186' with a 310' boom gives about a 37° boom angle.

Jamie Kelly commented on the safe_image post

The 757 that is being moved is the world's newest Page 757. It was named "Liberty Bell" in Mississippi and it is now named "Legacy." It is replacing "Big Jake." Big Jake was the world's oldest operating Page 757, which had been in service for about 45 years. The new machine could mine coal for another 50 years. [BismarkTribune]

It started digging in Mar 2023 in the BNI Coal Mine near Center,ND.

This dragline had already been moved to Mississippi from Stobswood, UK!

Tim Swaren posted
The "Ace of Spades" P&H 757 dragline at Stobswood. This dragline was dismantled and shipped to the US, not sure where.
Ben Balbach: The 757 was moved to Liberty Fuels mine (MS), right next to the Kemper Power plant project. It was converted to AC at that time and commissioned in late 2013. It never dug much due to the power plant never being fully completed and therefor no demand for coal. The 757 is now being moved to a mine in North Dakota, hopefully seeing full production there.
Bruce Pennington: I saw the P&H at Liberty Fuels north of Meridian, MS. It was sitting on the pad awaiting it’s fate. Glad it is still going to dig. Hate that it had to leave Mississippi.

Nick Stork posted three photos with the comment:

How about a little good news. It looks like this beauty will live to see another day. I will not post details. I'll let others chime in. These photos are both mine. The top is a postcard I had given to me about 15-20 years ago. The other is a photo I took in the last couple of years. That machine is absolutely awesome. The upgrades that were given to her when being assembled in Mississippi make her the nicest dragline on the planet in my opinion.

EDIT: It looks like my postcard was mislabeled. The top picture is the IMC Florida 757. Sorry for the confusion! The bottom picture is the English machine that is the Liberty Belle.

[There was confusion because the 757 from England and the 757 in Florida both had the name Ace of Spades. The third photo wsa provided to Nick with the comment from Colin Imrie of "Ace of spades working the last cut at Stobswood it would walk up the haul road a few weeks later on its final journey."]

Gary Hershey: Was the propel system converted?

Nick Stork: Gary Hershey it looks like the English machine may have already had the P&H propel from the pictures.

Paul Todd: Gary Hershey It does.

Michael Davis: Liberty Belle is the first 757 made after the P&H buyout which is why it has a Marion walking cam

1

2, cropped

3

Colin Imrie commented on Nick's post
My self standing next to one of the 65 yard buckets.
[So a 757 can handle a bucket size larger than 22 or 23 yards that I've seen in other posts. It probably depends on the material being dug.]

Comments on Nick's post

To access this link, you will need to join the HISTORICAL STRIPPING SHOVEL & DRAGLINE ARCHIVE group.

12 images from a Page 757 brochure when it was in Stobswood

To access this link, you will need to join the Historical Surface Strip Mining Archive group.

12 images from a Page 757 brochure when it was in Stobswood

About five years ago, another Page 757 was moved from Wyoming to Texas. 

CoalAge
It is "powered by two 3,500-hp synchronous motors, the unit features a 57-ft diameter roller circle and a 320-ft boom with a 290-ft operating radius at a 38˚ angle; the bucket has a 62-cubic-yard capacity and the unit as a whole checks in at a little less than 7.5 million lb. Walking the machine to its new Texas home was not a viable option. So, Cabot and NA Coal teamed with San Antonio-based CCC Group to begin a 554-day dismantling and rebuild project. It took 180 truckloads, the heaviest weighing in at 157,000 lb, to transport the dragline, and a total of more than 200,000 man-hours to dismantle and totally rebuild it."

CoalAge
"A two-crane lift setting the modified superstructure on the machine."
The electrical rebuild chose to stick with DC motors and generators rather than switch to variable AC motors. They also installed an onboard transformer so that they could upgrade the electric service from 8kv to 25kv.

And then soon after it got scrapped!!!

Spencer Thompson posted six photos on Dec 10, 2023, with the comment: "Not a lot of people got to see this machine before she got scrapped. It too was a North American machine. PAGE 757 from Bridger Coal in Wyoming."

He also posted a 0:58 video that shows the energetic felling of the boom at 0:43.

1

2

3

4

5

6