Robinson Gap Coal

[Kitsuo]

Will it be possible in the future to purchase our coal locally from Robinson Gap Coal rather then having to send a car out to interchange? or is the local coal an inferior quality that is bad for our engines? Perhaps It could be a future milestone adding a an extra track and a tower to fill your coal hoppers from.

[germanicus12]

Probably not, since that type of coal is not used for engines Railroads run. They are a type of coal for power plants.

But there is a mod on the discord that lets you use it to buy coal for your own use if you want that.

[thebear05]

On a further note, coal mines would genially not sell directly to a customer. All your coal car recipients come through the interchange. Although it could possible be done under the table. I wonder what the game would do if you kept one car back and used it yourself, or placed an extra car on the end of the empties being delivered.

[Kitsuo]

Originally posted by germanicus12:

Probably not, since that type of coal is not used for engines Railroads run. They are a type of coal for power plants.

But there is a mod on the discord that lets you use it to buy coal for your own use if you want that.

Ahh i havnt seen what type of coal they output yet (nor have i looked up the mines historical info) , i only just unlocked that part of the railway.

Originally posted by thebear05:

On a further note, coal mines would genially not sell directly to a customer. All your coal car recipients come through the interchange. Although it could possible be done under the table. I wonder what the game would do if you kept one car back and used it yourself, or placed an extra car on the end of the empties being delivered.

perhaps not , but if your company formed a contract with the mines parent company i dont see why they couldnt set aside coal for you directly from the mine. especially since you are handling youre own transportation of the coal would save them on transit costs.

[germanicus12]

Yeah, there are several different types of coal, Steam engines (in the USA) use Bituminous Coal, since it was more readily available than the better burning Anthracite coal, more commonly used in the UK and Europe.

I assume the mine at Robinson mines the useless Brown coal that is bad for Steam engines and are used by power plants.

[Oilman25]

Originally posted by germanicus12:

Yeah, there are several different types of coal, Steam engines (in the USA) use Bituminous Coal, since it was more readily available than the better burning Anthracite coal, more commonly used in the UK and Europe.

I assume the mine at Robinson mines the useless Brown coal that is bad for Steam engines and are used by power plants.

Actually railroads used whatever fuel they can get their hands on, from piss poor Brown coals types to Bituminous and Anthracite coals and fuel and diesel fuel as well and so buying coal from Robinson Gap Coal Mine would be nice thing to have.

And I think the coal that Robinson Gap Coal Mine is mining is of at least Bituminous Coal given that we are in Appalachia, and good quality Bituminous coal is mined from Appalachia and one last thing given that we get contracts to move coal from Robinson Gap Coal Mine to the various interchanges.

I think its possible to get a contract if the game developers aloud it, is to aloud us to give a contract to supply coal to our own railroads instead of getting coal from the interchanges like been doing since the game start.

[DorniNerd]

Thanks for the suggestion, it is something we are considering.

[Oilman25]

Originally posted by DorniNerd:

Thanks for the suggestion, it is something we are considering.

Your welcome DorniNerd happy to help.

[philbill]

Can I suggest that advanced contracts be allowed where you can get more money using your own purchased hoppers to ship coal like you can with other goods.

[Oilman25]

Originally posted by philbill:

Can I suggest that advanced contracts be allowed where you can get more money using your own purchased hoppers to ship coal like you can with other goods.

That and also aloud buying of Gondolas as well for moving coal, rock and ore too.

[Thomas Jefferson]

Great idea!!

[Comrade Dyatlov]

So in theory, would the coal need to go to a breaker or be graded for size first or would this straight from the mine be suitable to dump in a tender and go?

Second the thoughts of buying having gons for coal and of buying your own coal cars.

[kildar501]

I drive truck and used to haul coal. It is generally separated by size at the mine itself. Which size you bought depended on the setup you had at the power generation point. Also depended on whether it was used for power generation or for steel making.

On a historical note, N&W was one of the last railroads to go diesel simply because they had such a good relationship with the mines they hauled from. The coal, Appalachian just like at Robinson Gap, was readily available and they would most likely get a discount because they would be a good customer for the coal company to sell to. The coal in the Appalachians has a good BTU rating and a decently low amount of sulfur making it some of these most ideal coal to burn. However, it is getting more and more difficult to get to since so many mines are decades old. Coal in the Midwest like in Illinois actually has a higher BTU rating but is also much, much higher in sulfur making it super dirty. It is easier to get to which made it still somewhat attractive until EPA regs kicked in and took away any real incentive to use it. Powder River Basin in Wyoming is perhaps the most famous US coal to attain. It is extremely low sulfur and close to the surface which is why it is so popular. Unfortunately, it is also of very low BTU rating so you need more tons to get the same effect as the Appalachian or Midwest coal. So, just a little tidbit of info for anyone interested.

[Thomas Jefferson]

Originally posted by kildar501:

I drive truck and used to haul coal. It is generally separated by size at the mine itself. Which size you bought depended on the setup you had at the power generation point. Also depended on whether it was used for power generation or for steel making.

On a historical note, N&W was one of the last railroads to go diesel simply because they had such a good relationship with the mines they hauled from. The coal, Appalachian just like at Robinson Gap, was readily available and they would most likely get a discount because they would be a good customer for the coal company to sell to. The coal in the Appalachians has a good BTU rating and a decently low amount of sulfur making it some of these most ideal coal to burn. However, it is getting more and more difficult to get to since so many mines are decades old. Coal in the Midwest like in Illinois actually has a higher BTU rating but is also much, much higher in sulfur making it super dirty. It is easier to get to which made it still somewhat attractive until EPA regs kicked in and took away any real incentive to use it. Powder River Basin in Wyoming is perhaps the most famous US coal to attain. It is extremely low sulfur and close to the surface which is why it is so popular. Unfortunately, it is also of very low BTU rating so you need more tons to get the same effect as the Appalachian or Midwest coal. So, just a little tidbit of info for anyone interested.

Thanks for this information!

[moron_with_a_gun]

This topic has been a lot more informative than I anticipated!
I'd also like to see a gameplay loop similar to the wood loading spread to the other industries. Not to stop at coal, but also all the industries that use dimensional lumber too. So long as it doesn't screw up the game mechanics that is!

[kildar501]

Originally posted by Thomas Jefferson:

Originally posted by kildar501:

I drive truck and used to haul coal. It is generally separated by size at the mine itself. Which size you bought depended on the setup you had at the power generation point. Also depended on whether it was used for power generation or for steel making.

On a historical note, N&W was one of the last railroads to go diesel simply because they had such a good relationship with the mines they hauled from. The coal, Appalachian just like at Robinson Gap, was readily available and they would most likely get a discount because they would be a good customer for the coal company to sell to. The coal in the Appalachians has a good BTU rating and a decently low amount of sulfur making it some of these most ideal coal to burn. However, it is getting more and more difficult to get to since so many mines are decades old. Coal in the Midwest like in Illinois actually has a higher BTU rating but is also much, much higher in sulfur making it super dirty. It is easier to get to which made it still somewhat attractive until EPA regs kicked in and took away any real incentive to use it. Powder River Basin in Wyoming is perhaps the most famous US coal to attain. It is extremely low sulfur and close to the surface which is why it is so popular. Unfortunately, it is also of very low BTU rating so you need more tons to get the same effect as the Appalachian or Midwest coal. So, just a little tidbit of info for anyone interested.

Thanks for this information! :c3pick:

Sometimes, my font of useless information will hide a hidden nugget that is useful. :-)