PRB coal is high in moisture. When it sits for a long time in an uncompacted
state, it can spontaneously combust. I used to work for one of the co-owners of
Plant Scherer. Tracked dozers were used to move the coal around (along with pan
scrapers). Because of the large surface area of the tracks, they did little to
compact the coal pile. Instead, large rubber-tired were used to compact the
coal. This forced the air (read oxygen) out of the coal. We had at least one
fire in a car caused by heat buildup. The car had been loaded weeks before, was
set out for repair and then sat in a yard in Macon, Georgia, apparently for a
bit too long.
Fires are a near constant occurrence in the PRB mines. They occur when the coal
which sloughs off the face of a freshly uncovered seam is allowed to sit for a
day or two.
-----Original Message-----
From: CBQ@groups.io [mailto:CBQ@groups.io] On Behalf Of William Barber
Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 10:39 AM
To: CBQ@groups.io
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Coal fires in cars ?
Leo,
I don’t think that spontaneous combustion was very common it hoppers, but it
certainly was a concern with large piles of stored coal. I believe it is the
weight of the coal on the portion oat the bottom that tends to ignite. The EMD
plant in McCook always had a large coal pile in the back part of the plant
which was used for heating purposes. They had a bulldozer assigned to the coal
pile to continuously turn it over to prevent such fires. The day that the
Titanic started it fateful voyage, there was a fire in one of the coal bunkers
that they were battling. This was not an uncommon experience on coal fired
ships. I think that, because there is not enough weight in the coal in a hopper
car, fires were probably not very common. Of course, the fire could have
started from an external source such as a cast off cigarette from a passing
train. John Mitchell might have more comments of such occurrences.
Bill Barber
Gravois Mills, MO
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