147 Comments for McMyler Coal Dumper

I remember the days in the late 90's when me and my friends would play and hang out on that old coal dumper and the adjacent buildings all day. It's a great view of lower Manhatten and Staten island when your on the top. Good times there ended after 9/11 when security was tightened for an adjacent refinery and you could only get to the dumper by water. Now the refinery is shut down so I might visit it again sooner or later..

Dangerous. Deadly. & there's a reason we arrest people & charge them with criminal trespass- this isn't a victimless crime, this is a huge liability nightmare for the property owner. If somebody gets killed, injured or sick they love to sue, even though its clear to everybody with a lick of sense that they've got no business there, & no trespassing signs are posted. Trespassers think of themselves as victims & want somebody else to pay their bills. They'll lose the case, but a few of those cases a year can bankrupt a company; after all, it's not like they're going to recoup their expenses defending themselves in court from the trespasser!

But hey, the rest of us can enjoy the foolish fruits of trespasser's labour. It's not like we are at risk.

I worked on this coal dumper when I was 19 years old, that was 41 years ago, and seeing those pictures made it feel like yesterday, thanks for the memories

My father worked as a watchman at Port Reading in 1954 -55. He then went to take a job as a patrolman with the Metroplitan Police department in Washington D.C. He died in 2012 at the age of 79. My Grandfather worked on the tugs that pushed the coal barges. He took my brother and I on the tug for a ride in the late 60's. My Great Grand father and his brothers mined coal in the Scranton PA area in the late 19th, early 20th century. I now reside in Winchester, Virginia.

Driven using opposed props. I ran a ferry similar to this. Each wheelhouse has it's own linkage to the engines/reduction gear. You throw a selector switch which "tells" the engines which throttle station you're using.

Excellent title!

Ten bucks says that thing still rotates

Such a shame, its got such a nice design. I wonder how intact it is up close though...

Thanks Motts, and everyone else who answered my question!

I bet those produced alot of noise when revving up

The film showing the machine operating in Sandusky OH just gave me new respect for a sight I take for granted. When you go out on Lake Erie in a pleasure boat you see the rusting metal hulks of several "elevators" the were used to load barges that plied the Great Lakes. There has been a lot of noise in Cleveland about preserving the ones just outside the Cuyahoga River. I do not think they are exactly this type, but seeing the operation and massive machinery in this post gives me more respect for the remains. They should be preserved. Thanks Mr Motts for a very educational post.

The Inter-webs!

All I get is 2 monkeys exchanging brains- am I wrong?

Straight out of Metropolis!

This is steam punk at its best. It looks dirty, creepy and dangerous. I wonder how many accidents there were when this place was in operation