The steel making business required massive amounts of raw materials to keep the process moving smoothly. All of the iron ore used in the production of iron and steel was shipped in from elsewhere, coal was plentiful in the area. Mining the coal flourished and facilities were built to process the coal into coke which was the form that the iron and steel manufacturers required. The railroad hauled trainloads of both coke and coal to keep the furnaces running.
Coal strip mines were common in western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The West Pike Run strip mine of the FH&J Coal Company is going strong in this scene on the MMV layout. There were also smaller coal producers in the area served by the railroad as well.
Early on, coke was made in small bee hive coke ovens partially buried in the ground. Doors on the front of the brick ovens allowed tending the fires and removing the finished coke for transport to the iron customers. The raw coal was dumped into holes in the tops of the ovens. This scene shows a hillside with a row of bee hive ovens. A small underground coal mine serves these ovens and is accessed via a wooden trestle crossing over the top of the busy PRR mainline. This oven is located in Naomi, PA and operated by the Hillman Coal and Coke Company. Today, such ovens are no longer used in the production of coke but many are still around underneath bushes and other growth.
While still under construction, a modern coal flood loader is planned for the more efficient loading of coal continuously into a train of hopper cars. In addition, the neighboring Monongahela River has a more traditional barge coal loading facility located across the tracks from the new flood loader.