VOLGA, W.Va. — One of the state’s newest coal mining operations is opening up production in Barbour County. The new Allegheny Metallurgical operation features a unique loading system to transport coal to market.
The company recently loaded its first train a the new operation in Barbour County. In a press release announcing the commencement of operations, company President Keith Hainer said the process took six hours and 15 minutes to load 11,609 tons of coal.
Allegheny Metallurgical has designed a rail track and material handling system which, in full operation, will allow the loading process to occur in less than four hours. The area is situated in tight quarters and required some study to come up with the best design for their needs. The idea of the loop design was to reduce disruptions to the flow of traffic on Route 119 in Barbour County.
“The rail loop system that we have established is unique in West Virginia,” Hainer explained. “This allows a 130-car train to cross Route 119 without having to stop. This increases the efficiency of filling the train cars and keeps traffic interruptions to a minimum so we aren’t disrupting commuters, buses, and other travelers along the road.”
According to the company, a sidetrack allows a 130-car train to be separated into two sections once on the property. The front section of the train would be backed down the sidetrack, pulled through the system, loaded, and then pushed back down the sidetrack to storage. The back half of the train is then pulled up, loaded, and coupled to the front end. Once fully loaded, the entire train is pulled around the loop and out to the main rail.
Hainer said they explored a number of different options to handle the difficult loading puzzle and came up with the loop system as the best choice to reduce traffic and still efficiently load out coal to be sent to market.
The company has contracted with Buckhannon based A&O Railroad and CSX to get their product to market. The coal, mined nearby, will be high quality met coal shipped to the port of Baltimore and used for steel making worldwide.
At full production, the coal company plans to move around 258,000 short tons of metallurgical coal a month. Company officials said it’s a half-BILLION dollar development and when fully operational will provide 450 jobs in Barbour County.