WYANDOTTE at the C&O Coal Dock
Wyandotte at the C&O Coal Dock
This image shows exactly how coal is loaded onto a bulk freighter at the C&O Coal Dock (now the CSX dock). The Wyandotte, a self unloading ship, is shown here with the boom out to the side so the loader can get to the hatches. The coal is dumped from rail road cars onto the conveyor belt and then taken up to the loading rig. This rig then moves out over the boat and is positioned over the hatches and the coal is shot into the hold. You can see that the rig has tracks to move on as it evenly loads the coal into the freighter.
This vessel, the Wyandotte, is a famous Great Lakes vessel for being the first one built with a self-unloader arm in 1908. Not a large boat, only 286’ long, and built by Great Lakes Engineering Works in Ecorse, MI, the Wyandotte was finally laid up in 1962.
Now
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