Pier 18 (Abandoned) (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

USA / New Jersey / Camden / Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 pier, railway, abandoned / shut down, coal industry
Part of the Reading Railroad's Port Richmond complex, this was one of the primary transfer points for anthracite coal between Pennsylvania's coal fields and the international market. The pier had two tracks and was once equipped with a large McMyler side car dumper, which would lift coal cars from the rails and dump their contents into waiting barges anchored along the side of the pier.

By the mid 1970s, the coal industry was declining rapidly. After the Reading Company was absorbed by Conrail, the pier, and (most of) the rest of the port, was abandoned. The coal dumper was scrapped and removed at a later date.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   39°58'19"N   75°6'50"W
This article was last modified 13 years ago