This photo is from the modeling appalachian railroads website, so no credit goes to me. This is an Alco owned by the Southeast Coal Company in eastern Kentucky. My father was the construction supervisor for the company and oversaw construction of the coal tipples, flood loaders, and other above-ground structures needed by the company. The company shut down in the early nineties, but I remember seeing this switcher and the other motive power many times as a kid. especially on the few days I was lucky enough to get to go to work with him. My first ride in a train was in one of the company's GP38s. The power was originally a light green similar to the Oneida and Western trains before being painted black in the early 80s. In fact there was a sidebar column about the Southeast Coal trains in an issue of Trains magazine last year. More information and photos here: http://appalachian_railroad.tripod.com/secxphotos.html
Norm- Thanks for the view. Just curious- When you noted your father supervising construction, about when did that occur? Boxcab E50
He went to work for Southeast around 1974 and worked for them until 1993 when he became general manager of a construction company in Lexington. Norm
Yep, cement facility. Stand-on-the-truck-bed-and-shoot-over-the-fence photography! Not a good part of town, either. :tb-wacky:
Well, for the particular facilities he built, they were Southeast property for about 20 years, but then when the company sold off its assets, other companies continued operating them. I moved out of the area while in college, so I don't know what they're doing now. He built lots more than coal tipples. Southeast operated deep mines, so there were exhaust fan houses, electrical apparatus, conveyor belts, silos, etc., but the loadout facilities were the most visible and directly related to the railroads.
Actually it was family owned until it shut down. They entered a contract with Kentucky Utilities to deliver coal at a certain price in the 70s. In the mid-late 80s Kentucky Utilities decided the price was too high and sued the company to get out of the contract. The lawsuit dragged on for awhile, going through several appeals, but in the end Southeast lost, and couldn't survive losing the $100 million suit. They filed bankruptcy, shut down, and the sons of the owner tried to reorganize under a different name, but things didn't work out. That's when they sold off their remaining mines and property. I found this website while reading up on east Kentucky coal and rail operations: http://www.spikesys.com/Trains/App_coal/apcl_3a.html I don't know the guy who wrote the material, but he has done a lot of traveling and research. He summarizes the story of Southeast Coal Company and what happened to their assets after the lawsuit. I was just a young boy and teenager when this all occurred, but the company seemed to treat my dad well while he worked for them. Sorry for the thread hijack everyone.
