Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-04-13
For the ENQUIRER.
LETTERS,
ON THE RESOURCES, IMPROVEMENTS AND COM
MERGE OF pIRGITIA.
NORFOLK As A coALIye STATION.

NORFOLK As A coALIyG STATION.
Another advantage which Norfolk possesses in an
eminent degree, is her facility to obtain COAL which,
though but one of the many weighty arguments in
favor of this remarkable city as commercial port
is sufficient in ITSELF to give her the preference over
any other shipping port on the Atlantic not even
cepting Philadelphia, where, however, ships of q
large size cannot ascend.
To-day, it will be considered an old and trite re.
mark say that steamships destined to take the
place of wind propelled vessels, for ocean navigation.
The era Of steam was ushered In years ago, and
steamships and boats and bsrges are busy on river
and lake, and sea, while many noble bark lies rot
ting in the sum- freghtless and shroudless
cupation gone" In order to support, and make a
steam marine profitable, coal should be, not only &C.
that Norfolk possesses this availability to greater
extent than any other port either North or South
Coal cannot be put on board at Philadelphia with
profit to the miner for less than four dollars per TOM
at New York for FIVE dollars; at Boston Tor elk dol
lars and at Portland for seven doilars per ton.
Philadelphia would have the advantage Of all the
Northern ports had she sufficient depth OF water to
float large ships; but unfortunately for her. such is
not the case. Even New York-our fsr-famed COM
mercial Metropolis itself-csn never moor at her
wharves such mammoth ships as the ''Great East
ern." But even were she larger, her massive hui
might safely ride in Hampton roads.
Cumberland coal, the beat steam coal known,
can be put on board at Norfolk for (S4) four dollars
per ton. Consequently, the difference between Nor
folk and Portland in the price Of coal, is t$3 three
dollars, while TO coal the Great Eastern would only
be n tr,R. of ($5,UOUl five thousand dollars.
Yet it is not absolutely necessary that Norfolk
should depend for her steam coal on Cumberland
The Richmond coal field, while it is even greater in
extent and deposit than the Cumberland basin, is seo
much nearer and even ut the rates which this coal
now commands, it could be put on board at Norfolk
for less than four dsars per ton. This COAL however,
in order to bear transportation on long ocean voy
ages, would require manufacturing and compressDg
10 order TO insure it aganst spontaneous combustion.
But in this case, two great and important gains
would be arrived at: First, all the fine, or refuse
coal, which is now valueless, would be used even in
preferenceto to the large, or higher priced Goals, and
the saving in this instance merely, would pay for
manufacturing the compressed steam )usi and yet re-
duce the price per ton. In the second place. II would
be safe TO estimate that ton of compressed steam
fuel would do as much execution or produce as much
effect as one ton and quarter Of crude coas and yet,
perhaps the greatest advantage of this kind of coal
would be the comparatively small space il would oc-
cupy, since FIVE hundred tons of brick formed steam
fuel would occupy less room than four hundred tons
of lump or uDprepared coal. In vessel that would
hold two thousand ions OF coal, there would bs TWEEN.
ty thousand cubic feet more space required than
would be necessary for the same quantity of steam
fuel or the same epace would hold two thousand FIVE
hundred tons.
In the Pennsylvania Anthracite regions, where the
coal is equally deep and as expensive to mine it
is in the Richmond field the coal miners. or opera.
tors are we'll paid when they can get s225 per ton
for their coal on board route for the markets.
When the coal trade is fully developed here and
the mining Interests more advanced We may be cafe
in anticipating the same prices. which would pay the
producer we'll at 1897 three dollars per ton on board
at Norfolk. This would give Norfolk still greater ad.
vnntages, since it would make the difference between
Norfolk and Philadelphia one dollar; between New
York. two dollars between Boston, three dollars; and
Portland four dollars per ton-s in favor of Norfolk.
This item alone is enough to build up the commercial
interest of this peculiarly favored city, and maintain
an unrvaled supremacy it would save millions Of
dollars per annum to an extensive steam marine
The coal of Richmond is eingularly adapted for
manufacturing into compressed steam fuel BY this
term we mean .uch coal as that made use Of in En-
gland and France, al ''patent steam COAL" snd that
likewise which has been used to great extent, under
different names and under various forms, in Holland
Ireland, Wales, China and many other places, for q
number of years. 3. II. DEB-'.