Eastern Railroad Discussion > Mt. Storm Coal Drag at Beryl, WV - 22 January 2020

Loaded coal drags going to Dominion  Power's Mt Storm, WV power station utilize crews / power on each end of the drag. Departing Keyser, WV, the helper crew will lead west to Bayard, WV. on the Thomas Sub. Once at Bayard, the train will reverse with the other crew now leading to transverse the Stoney River Sub on the final leg to the power station. 

1) Helper crew B877-21 leading the Mt. Storm Drag at Beryl, WV on the former Western Maryland Railway Thomas Sub.

2) Load Coal Hoppers, Empty Yards.... Coal Drag passes the empty CSX railyard and the empty Verso wood yard both that once served the Verso paper mill across the river in Luke, MD

3) On the other end, T051 crew starts shoving their train as their come around the curve at Beryl, WV.

Tim W.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/20 03:38 by DTWilson.

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Thank you Tim for all the photos and updates from the Cumberland area and especially the former Western Maryland.  My gut feeling is once the Mt. Storm Power Plant either converts to natural gas or some other fuel, the rest of that former WM line will be history.  Are there any other customers on that line receiving any kind of freight service?
John in White Marsh, Maryland

ClubCar Wrote:
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> Are there any other
> customers on that line receiving any kind of
> freight service?
> John in White Marsh, Maryland

John,

Mettiki Coal still loads trains off the Thomas Sub. Mettiki has also recently has sent coal to Mt. Storm.
Domino Power has made Mt. Storm a "peaker" plant. It's future is uncertain but highly unlikely it will see conversion to gas. 

Tim W.

DTWilson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ClubCar Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Are there any other
> > customers on that line receiving any kind of
> > freight service?
> > John in White Marsh, Maryland
>
> John,
>
> Mettiki Coal still loads trains off the Thomas
> Sub. Mettiki has also recently has sent coal to
> Mt. Storm.
> Domino Power has made Mt. Storm a "peaker" plant.
> It's future is uncertain but highly unlikely it
> will see conversion to gas. 
>
> Tim W.
Thanks again Tim for your reply.
John

Tim,
Great to see your pictures again.  ClubCar beat me  to the question on Mt Storm   converting to gas. I hope your right!
Doug

DTWilson Wrote:
> Mettiki Coal still loads trains off the Thomas Sub. Mettiki has also recently has sent coal to Mt. Storm.
> Domino Power has made Mt. Storm a "peaker" plant. It's future is uncertain but highly unlikely it will see conversion to gas. 
> Tim W.

Thanks for your coverage, Tim. When you say Dominion has made Mt. Storm a "peaker" plant, does that mean it's only run (or only run at peak capacity) during periods of peak consumption?
/Ted

Nice report Tim. I would love to see one of those trains grinding upgrade on that twisty-turny Stoney River Sub up to Mt. Storm.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/20 06:37 by perklocal.

Usually a "peaker" plant only runs at peak load periods and is idle at other times.  Gas turbines are typical of today's peakers as the can be quickly started and then take off line when the daily peak is past.  Sometimes hydro is used for peaking during low water times when there is insufficient water for continuous operation.  Traditional steam units, either gas or coal fired take, time to start and put on line.  If they are using such units for peaking, I suspect that they either keep the unit on line at minimum load, or keep the unit off line until peak season, say the hot summertime period.