The Hanging Rock Coal Trestle

The Hanging Rock Coal Trestle (HM9SN)

Location: Salem, VA 24153
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Country: United States of America
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N 37° 19.545', W 80° 2.542'

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Inscription

Hanging Rock Battlefield Trail

The Hanging Rock coal trestle functioned as a coal unloading facility, and was built by the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1943 from a standard plan used for this type of structure.

At the turn of the century, most industries utilized a self-contained boiler plant that heated water for steam radiator systems and also provided hot water for hygiene and cooking. Coal was the essential fuel for such systems.

In many cases, coal was delivered directly to the consumer by hopper carloads. The alternative to direct delivery was the transloading facility, of which the Hanging Rock coal trestle is an example. Here the coal was unloaded from the rail car to be trucked to the final destination.

With the advent of oil and natural gas heating systems, coal is now used primarily for the generation of electric power. Most coal is handled in "unit trains" bound for a single destination. The days of single carload coal sales are practically gone due to the significantly higher costs of handling.

The Hanging Rock coal trestle stands as a fine example of a rapidly disappearing piece of American history.
Details
HM NumberHM9SN
Tags
Year Placed1999
Placed ByCounty of Roanoke, the City of Salem, and the Hanging Rock Battlefield and Railway Preservation Foundation
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, September 28th, 2014 at 12:56am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17S E 584842 N 4131439
Decimal Degrees37.32575000, -80.04236667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 37° 19.545', W 80° 2.542'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds37° 19' 32.70" N, 80° 2' 32.52" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)540
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 2324-2422 Hanging Rock Battlefield Trail, Salem VA 24153, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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