"Cutting Coal"

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In mainline service on the ACL we did not have to  "cut coal."   At the risk
of bringing down the wrath of  the N&W crowd again,  the ACL  was one up
on the N&W in this department.   All P-5-a and P-5-b  Pacifuc locomotives
in the 1500, 1600, and  1700 class,. which represented about  90%  of the
steam motuve power used in freight and passenger service on the mainline,
and the Wilmington and Norfolk Districts came from Alco  Locomotive
Works equipped with coal pushers.  This was in effect a steam cylinder
mounted at about 45 degrees behind the coal bunker which, when activated
by steam pressure shoved the whole rear wall of the coal bunker forward
thus moving the entire  volumn of coal  toward the open  stoker trough
on the floor of the tender.   As a rule, coal pushers were not used very
much in passenger service as the vibration set up by high speeds would
shake the coal down continually while the train was  at track speed.
Bill Sellers.