Ken Mine
A Short History.
Ken Coal Company saw its' beginning in the mid forties, and it would soon become know as Ken Mine, a title that would last over fifty years. This new Ken Coal Company mine started with an older Marion 350 electric shovel. This shovel was an old steam shovel that had been converted to an electric powered shovel prior to being sold to Ken Coal Company. Ken Coal Company purchased the 350 from Old Century Mines in Hopkins County. It was disassembled there, shipped to Ken Mine and resembled just off the Number 19 School road near Chinn Hill. This area was the start of Ken Mine. Now, Ken Coal Company had a "Stripper" working in a strip pit with a 9.5 Cubic Yard Bucket. The Marion 350 shovel was small, by today standards, but a worthwhile machine until the fifties. It was able to remove a lot of overburden and helped place Ken Mine as a productive strip mine. Production of coal started at Ken Mine in December of 1947.
Just a few years later, in 1948, Ken Coal Company purchased a second shovel. This machine was a monster in 1948 and visitors traveled for miles and miles just to view this Marion 5561 shovel with a bucket four times larger than the old Marion 350. In those days, visitors were able to get up close and personal to the mines and all of the equipment. As a teenager, I was able to drive up to a working pit and actually enter the operating cab of any of the machines including the Marion 350 and the Marion 5561. Some of the operators would actually allow a visitor to operate some of the controls. Yeah-Try that now! Anyway, the Marion 5561 was erected in 1948 and with a 40 Yard bucket. Wow, what a machine in those days! This wonderful old Marion 5561 was a mainstay at Ken Mine for years to come. The assembly pad was behind the rail tipple and that area would become the start of a new haul road to the Hi-View pit area of Ken Mine. Things were looking up and the mine was expanding with new miners being added on a daily basis.
Somewhere in the mid fifties, Peabody Coal Company purchased Ken Mine and that would be the start of Peabody in this area. Peabody Coal Company was founded in 1883 by Francis S. Peabody. At that time, this small Chicago coal company, started off with a delivery wagon and two partners. In years to come, there would be good times and hard times, but eventually this company would become one of the world's largest producer of mined coal.
After ten years or so of operation as Ken Mine, a relatively new shovel was purchased from Sinclair Coal's Homestead mine in Hopkins County. A BE 1050-B, with a 36 Cubic Yard Bucket, was disassembled in the fall of 1955 and shipped to Peabody Coal Company, Ken Mine. The erection pad was just off the river haul road and on the old road to Scottown. This road was just down from the old Echols to Hopewell Church Road. The BE 1050-B probably started operation at Ken in the 1956 time frame. Incidentally, when the Peabody Coal Company, Vogue Mine's 1050 was parked, the machine was walked off the crawlers, one at a time, and mats were moved in to sit the shovel on. The crawlers were trucked to Ken to be used on the Ken 1050B. When Dee Hall found out what had happened, he had the crawlers trucked back to Vogue. Later, they were trucked back to Ken and installed on the Ken 1050. After many years of operation, the BE 1050B was "Walked" to Peabody's Homestead Mine and was operational for a few more years.
After this used BE 1050 was purchased and shipped to Ken Mine, the mine became a big time event. With a 36 Yard Bucket, this BE 1050 was a monster in those days. It was put to work to remove overburden that was not possible a few years earlier. All went well for a few years and the BE 1050 seemed to be living up to the potential that was placed on it. Well, it eventually was moved to a pit and placed in a position where it should not have been working or maybe the knowledge at that time was not sufficient for the ability of the BE 1050. The area from Scottown and Brown's Slough back to the main haul road was an assignment that the BE 1050 was given. This area to be stripped consisted of an overburden of sixty or seventy feet, well within the limits of the BE 1050. The problem that developed was caused by a thirty or so foot layer of sandstone just a few feet below the ground. Whether the BE 1050 was just too small or whether the drilling and blasting was inefficient may never be known. None-the-less, the BE 1050 was trying to move boulders that would not fit in its' bucket and this old machine was put in a position that taxed all of its' power and capabilities. The welders, machinist, blacksmith, engineers and every craft worked in harmony to try to assist this old machine. Probably, a better and more efficient blasting procedure would have helped, but the BE 1050 was stressed to the max. Even today, this stripped area has not been sufficiently reclaimed. These monster sandstone boulders sat as placed originally by the BE 1050 and the area is not readily assessable. The pit surrounding the un-stripped hillside section does have some fish and any fisherman lucky enough to be able to place his boat in these water will view boulders that the BE 1050 should never have been called upon to handle. They are just too large. None-the-less, with welders and other crafts, the BE 1050 survived and went on to easier stripping grounds and continued for several years to be an asset to Peabody Coal Company.
The BE 1450 Dragline.
By now, it was time for another stripping shovel or dragline. In the early sixties, a large dragline was being built. In 1964, the BE 1450 was completed and ready to go to work. It would work at Ken Mine for 20 plus years and by then, Ken Mine had been digging coal for over forty years and was running out of good places to strip.
On November 28, 1997, the last coal run was made at Ken Mine and the end of an era was over. Peabody Coal Company had made a change in Ohio and other surrounding counties and have since moved most of their operations to the Western States.
Photo from the Ray McClain Collection.
I guess from day one that Ken River Loading Dock became operational, George Woods was the pilot of the Tug Boat that moved, sorted, and readied barges for loading as well as for shipment. George was a fixture at the loading dock from the time that it became operational until it was no longer used to load the river coal barges. George had several helpers, but none seem to stay with the position as long as George stay as a pilot. Frank McClain worked with George on the Black Diamond and Frank was one of the first hired and close to being number one on the seniority list. I am guessing that in the early days, there may have been more than one tug, but the Black Diamond was the only tug that I can remember. George, like W. A. Chancellor just seemed to be a part of Ken Mine and not very many discussions will come up on the subject of Ken Mine unless one of those names are eventually mentioned. Way to go George.
Thanks for looking.
See you....
jrd
;~)
A Short History.
Ken Coal Company saw its' beginning in the mid forties, and it would soon become know as Ken Mine, a title that would last over fifty years. This new Ken Coal Company mine started with an older Marion 350 electric shovel. This shovel was an old steam shovel that had been converted to an electric powered shovel prior to being sold to Ken Coal Company. Ken Coal Company purchased the 350 from Old Century Mines in Hopkins County. It was disassembled there, shipped to Ken Mine and resembled just off the Number 19 School road near Chinn Hill. This area was the start of Ken Mine. Now, Ken Coal Company had a "Stripper" working in a strip pit with a 9.5 Cubic Yard Bucket. The Marion 350 shovel was small, by today standards, but a worthwhile machine until the fifties. It was able to remove a lot of overburden and helped place Ken Mine as a productive strip mine. Production of coal started at Ken Mine in December of 1947.
Just a few years later, in 1948, Ken Coal Company purchased a second shovel. This machine was a monster in 1948 and visitors traveled for miles and miles just to view this Marion 5561 shovel with a bucket four times larger than the old Marion 350. In those days, visitors were able to get up close and personal to the mines and all of the equipment. As a teenager, I was able to drive up to a working pit and actually enter the operating cab of any of the machines including the Marion 350 and the Marion 5561. Some of the operators would actually allow a visitor to operate some of the controls. Yeah-Try that now! Anyway, the Marion 5561 was erected in 1948 and with a 40 Yard bucket. Wow, what a machine in those days! This wonderful old Marion 5561 was a mainstay at Ken Mine for years to come. The assembly pad was behind the rail tipple and that area would become the start of a new haul road to the Hi-View pit area of Ken Mine. Things were looking up and the mine was expanding with new miners being added on a daily basis.
Somewhere in the mid fifties, Peabody Coal Company purchased Ken Mine and that would be the start of Peabody in this area. Peabody Coal Company was founded in 1883 by Francis S. Peabody. At that time, this small Chicago coal company, started off with a delivery wagon and two partners. In years to come, there would be good times and hard times, but eventually this company would become one of the world's largest producer of mined coal.
After ten years or so of operation as Ken Mine, a relatively new shovel was purchased from Sinclair Coal's Homestead mine in Hopkins County. A BE 1050-B, with a 36 Cubic Yard Bucket, was disassembled in the fall of 1955 and shipped to Peabody Coal Company, Ken Mine. The erection pad was just off the river haul road and on the old road to Scottown. This road was just down from the old Echols to Hopewell Church Road. The BE 1050-B probably started operation at Ken in the 1956 time frame. Incidentally, when the Peabody Coal Company, Vogue Mine's 1050 was parked, the machine was walked off the crawlers, one at a time, and mats were moved in to sit the shovel on. The crawlers were trucked to Ken to be used on the Ken 1050B. When Dee Hall found out what had happened, he had the crawlers trucked back to Vogue. Later, they were trucked back to Ken and installed on the Ken 1050. After many years of operation, the BE 1050B was "Walked" to Peabody's Homestead Mine and was operational for a few more years.
After this used BE 1050 was purchased and shipped to Ken Mine, the mine became a big time event. With a 36 Yard Bucket, this BE 1050 was a monster in those days. It was put to work to remove overburden that was not possible a few years earlier. All went well for a few years and the BE 1050 seemed to be living up to the potential that was placed on it. Well, it eventually was moved to a pit and placed in a position where it should not have been working or maybe the knowledge at that time was not sufficient for the ability of the BE 1050. The area from Scottown and Brown's Slough back to the main haul road was an assignment that the BE 1050 was given. This area to be stripped consisted of an overburden of sixty or seventy feet, well within the limits of the BE 1050. The problem that developed was caused by a thirty or so foot layer of sandstone just a few feet below the ground. Whether the BE 1050 was just too small or whether the drilling and blasting was inefficient may never be known. None-the-less, the BE 1050 was trying to move boulders that would not fit in its' bucket and this old machine was put in a position that taxed all of its' power and capabilities. The welders, machinist, blacksmith, engineers and every craft worked in harmony to try to assist this old machine. Probably, a better and more efficient blasting procedure would have helped, but the BE 1050 was stressed to the max. Even today, this stripped area has not been sufficiently reclaimed. These monster sandstone boulders sat as placed originally by the BE 1050 and the area is not readily assessable. The pit surrounding the un-stripped hillside section does have some fish and any fisherman lucky enough to be able to place his boat in these water will view boulders that the BE 1050 should never have been called upon to handle. They are just too large. None-the-less, with welders and other crafts, the BE 1050 survived and went on to easier stripping grounds and continued for several years to be an asset to Peabody Coal Company.
The BE 1450 Dragline.
By now, it was time for another stripping shovel or dragline. In the early sixties, a large dragline was being built. In 1964, the BE 1450 was completed and ready to go to work. It would work at Ken Mine for 20 plus years and by then, Ken Mine had been digging coal for over forty years and was running out of good places to strip.
On November 28, 1997, the last coal run was made at Ken Mine and the end of an era was over. Peabody Coal Company had made a change in Ohio and other surrounding counties and have since moved most of their operations to the Western States.
The River Tipple.
Peabody, Ken Mine was expanding and with two open pits, a lot of coal was being sent out on rail cars. The next step was the construction of the "River Tipple". Actually, it was a loading dock on the Green River. Pit mined coal or washed coal from the rail tipple could be dumped in a large hopper at the river loading dock and transferred to barges. A series of steel piers to secure the barges and a tug boat was useful in the barge loading facilities. The first coal was loaded on a barge on June 6, 1956. The Black Diamond, with George Woods as the captain, was the main tug for the duration of the life of the facilities. A second tug boat at Ken Mine was the "Ted Kelce". The Black Diamond had twin engines with manual cable shifting and the Ted Kelce had 3 engines and had air shifting. The second shift tug boat captain was Thurmond Price. He lived in the Rochester area and used an aluminum john boat, most of the time, for transportation to and from work. His john boat was equipped with a 20 HP outboard motor, and travelling to and from work was mostly hassle free and precluded any traffic jams. Other tug boat pilots were Jerry Southard, Harold Geary and Kenny "Heavy" Anderson.
The Black Diamond and the pilot, George Woods.
Peabody, Ken Mine was expanding and with two open pits, a lot of coal was being sent out on rail cars. The next step was the construction of the "River Tipple". Actually, it was a loading dock on the Green River. Pit mined coal or washed coal from the rail tipple could be dumped in a large hopper at the river loading dock and transferred to barges. A series of steel piers to secure the barges and a tug boat was useful in the barge loading facilities. The first coal was loaded on a barge on June 6, 1956. The Black Diamond, with George Woods as the captain, was the main tug for the duration of the life of the facilities. A second tug boat at Ken Mine was the "Ted Kelce". The Black Diamond had twin engines with manual cable shifting and the Ted Kelce had 3 engines and had air shifting. The second shift tug boat captain was Thurmond Price. He lived in the Rochester area and used an aluminum john boat, most of the time, for transportation to and from work. His john boat was equipped with a 20 HP outboard motor, and travelling to and from work was mostly hassle free and precluded any traffic jams. Other tug boat pilots were Jerry Southard, Harold Geary and Kenny "Heavy" Anderson.
The Black Diamond and the pilot, George Woods.
Photo from the Ray McClain Collection.
I guess from day one that Ken River Loading Dock became operational, George Woods was the pilot of the Tug Boat that moved, sorted, and readied barges for loading as well as for shipment. George was a fixture at the loading dock from the time that it became operational until it was no longer used to load the river coal barges. George had several helpers, but none seem to stay with the position as long as George stay as a pilot. Frank McClain worked with George on the Black Diamond and Frank was one of the first hired and close to being number one on the seniority list. I am guessing that in the early days, there may have been more than one tug, but the Black Diamond was the only tug that I can remember. George, like W. A. Chancellor just seemed to be a part of Ken Mine and not very many discussions will come up on the subject of Ken Mine unless one of those names are eventually mentioned. Way to go George.
Thanks for looking.
See you....
jrd
;~)