Coal And Oil
Coal
Coal ports grew up near the major coalfields. For instance,
Newcastle and Sunderland served the fields in Northumberland and
Durham in North East England; Garston served Lancashire, Cardiff
and Barry served South Wales, Goole served Yorkshire, Ayr and Troon
served the Ayrshire coal fields in west Scotland, Methil served
those in Fife (east Scotland). Most of these ports specialised in coal. The emphasis was on
moving it from the pit to the dock and then on to the ship as
quickly and efficiently as possible. Railways connected pit and
port, and usually carried little else but coal. At the port were
large rail yards where coal wagons would be kept until the ship
arrived, and empties sorted for return to the pits. The railway
lines were laid right on to the dockside. Goole was an exception,
as much of the coal it handled was brought in by water from pits
that were alongside canals. 
 Southampton`s coal barge dock, River
Itchen |
At the dockside, coal ports were characterised by special
equipment to load the coal as quickly as possible. At Newcastle and
Sunderland, the banks of the rivers were high. Here staithes were
built, tall structures along which rail lines were laid. The wagons
of coal were pushed along these by locomotives, and the coal tipped
down chutes directly into the ships` holds. Other ports did not
have this advantage of height. The coal wagons had to be lifted
bodily, and their contents tipped into the hold. These coal hoists
varied in design, but had to be movable so that each hold of the
ship could be filled. Equipment was designed so that the coal was broken up as little
as possible as it fell into the hold. Coal was usually worth less
if it was in the form of small pieces or, worse still, dust.
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