Honesdale, Pa. Coal pockets barge loading.

[hank2]

Honesdale Coal Pockets, Main & Commercial Streets, between 700 & 800 blocks, Honesdale, Wayne County, PA. Year not recorded.

Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)

[Richard S.]

The amount of manual labor performed to make those waters navigable is mind boggling.

This is map of canals in PA which of course are going parallel major and not so major waterways. I know along the Susquehanna there is very few remnants at least in my neck of the woods.

[Dave 1234]

So they mined up North there ? Or was that a transfer location ?

[mozz]

I don't think they mined there but sent the coal to NYC.

[Richard S.]

So they mined up North there ? Or was that a transfer location ?

I don't know about Honesdale but certainly just a little west of there starting in Carbondale. If you pull up a map of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area and switch to terrain it's a depression starting around Carbondale to Nanticoke, about 45 miles. It's been said you could walk from Scranton to Nanticoke underground when the mines were in full operation, about 35 miles

The finger nailed blue section on top is the Northern anthracite field, you can actually see that finger nail shape from satellite pictures zoomed out because it's now densely populated. On west end of it is Naticoke, to the northeast end is Carbondale.

[Dave 1234]

Very cool ! This blue marble that we all live on is amazing . I'm sure you guys that live in the anthracite region fully understand how rare your geology is.

When I lived in Wyoming my best friend was an oil well drill foreman . He drilled from Texas to North Dakota. It was fascinating to hear him tell about the layers of the earth and what he would find at different depths

[waytomany?s]

Very cool ! This blue marble that we all live on is amazing . I'm sure you guys that live in the anthracite region fully understand how rare your geology is.

When I lived in Wyoming my best friend was an oil well drill foreman . He drilled from Texas to North Dakota. It was fascinating to hear him tell about the layers of the earth and what he would find at different depths

Ok, now you have to give at least one example.

[hank2]

I don't know about Honesdale but certainly just a little west of there starting in Carbondale. If you pull up a map of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area and switch to terrain it's a depression starting around Carbondale to Nanticoke, about 45 miles. It's been said you could walk from Scranton to Nanticoke underground when the mines were in full operation, about 35 miles

The finger nailed blue section on top is the Northern anthracite field, you can actually see that finger nail shape from satellite pictures zoomed out because it's now densely populated. On west end of it is Naticoke, to the northeast end is Carbondale.

I don't know a lot about the northern anthracite fields and mining there, but thanks for the info. The tip of the northern field does extend a little bit into Wayne County. So maybe some mining a bit closer to Honesdale than Carbondale. Maybe Waymart area?

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[Richard S.]

I don't know Hank. I know there is place on there called Simpson. Hudson Anthracite in Pittston was pulling some coal out of there up into the early 2000's. It wasn't very good. They were mixing it in with coal shipped in from Hazleton area. Possibly the last active mining in Northern Field.

[mozz]

Pretty sure when i was getting coal from Hudson, it was white fluffy ash. A tub full was very light. It burned fine, was easy to light.

[Dave 1234]

Ok, now you have to give at least one example.

A couple of stories stuck with me . He is gone now so I can't call him. One that was just so huge you could'nt forget . He was drilling in Colorado , they drill for the ''top of the tank'', that's the top of the cavity that the oil is pooled in . The first layer is called the overburded , that can be several hundred feet of dirt . In this one location , after the overburden , he had to drill through 600 feet of coal . Next rock , then the top of the tank .

He drilled from the early '70's . Also said the massive drilling activity in the 80's, of the Wyoming gas and oil exploration was paid for by the Saudi's . They needed to know what we had , that had'nt been found yet .

[Richard S.]

Pretty sure when i was getting coal from Hudson, it was white fluffy ash. A tub full was very light. It burned fine, was easy to light.

I used to buy a few thousand ton from them each year . Their product was usually good enough to outstanding which is why I dealt with them despite it being a little more than some other suppliers.. On occasion it wasn't that great.

[warminmn]

A couple of stories stuck with me . He is gone now so I can't call him. One that was just so huge you could'nt forget . He was drilling in Colorado , they drill for the ''top of the tank'', that's the top of the cavity that the oil is pooled in . The first layer is called the overburded , that can be several hundred feet of dirt . In this one location , after the overburden , he had to drill through 600 feet of coal . Next rock , then the top of the tank .

He drilled from the early '70's . Also said the massive drilling activity in the 80's, of the Wyoming gas and oil exploration was paid for by the Saudi's . They needed to know what we had , that had'nt been found yet .

Holy crap! 600 feet of coal! Interesting info!

[mozz]

I had the driver's phone number still on my phone, Joseph Knorr coal, he retired, fairly sure he got his coal from Hudson. I can't say I remember any of it being poor quality. I do know I was told to stay away from Kasey Kassa because he was getting coal from up Carbondale way.

[Richard S.]

I had the driver's phone number still on my phone, Joseph Knorr coal, he retired, fairly sure he got his coal from Hudson.

Yes he did, I knew Joe at least to say Hi. It wasn't often they would have a bad product, they were mixing it with the good stuff. Just to be clear when I say bad it wasn't outrageously bad.

I do know I was told to stay away from Kasey Kassa....

Getting it at Caseys was like playing the lottery.