Urban Exploration & Photography

[IanK]

The other day, Newman, EVOLUTIONVIIIMR and I found this thing on the waterfront right at the end of Sheridan in Tonawanda. Its nearly impossible to see from the road and its quite a hike though the woods/brush to get to it. It appears to be some sort of crane/conveyer complex that had something to do with coal production/transportation. The main structure stands about 100ft or so overlooking the river, its has a smaller structure next to it that houses a large conveyer belt. From there another belt runs a few hundred ft into another building. Its still very much intact, some levels/terraces of the second smaller structure are wood and not in the greatest shape. I really wasn’t too fancy or very thorough for that matter with the pics, I was slightly more concerned with climbing the sketchy old structure haha. Any how, on the the pics.

The hike from the road:

Initial impression of the structures:

View up the conveyer (note sketchy wood terrace)

…

Views from the second structure looking at the first:

I spy Newman

Misc/From the second structure:

Pano’s From the catwalk:

[Solo_323_CI]

That looks epic good. Nice find

[IanK]

@Solo 323 CI

That looks epic good. Nice find

It was!!! Mike and Newman spotted it from a boat a few days earlier, pretty much the only way to see it other than from Grand Island.[COLOR=“Silver”]

[ItsOver]

Fuck you Ian K. I get no invites anymore? We should hit something up Sunday.

[jimmyfloyd]

Wow. Looks great. I’ll have to see about making a trip to buffalo if you guys plan something. Maybe I can work it in to my next trip there for work…

[newman]

I should add that

A) i found a tick in my hair THE NEXT NIGHT (even after showering)

B) a pipe broke off in my hand (because it was so rusty) and proceeded to split open my leg. My leg is starting to swell up. I think I should get a Tetanus shot.

C) It was a LOT taller than the pictures make it appear… You can kind of use the pic with me standing near the counterweight for reference… It had to be 80 feet.

D) I want to jump off that bitch into the water.

[Fry]

I see that thing all the time from the water. I always wondered what it looked like inside. Thanks!

[JayS]

@Fry

I see that thing all the time from the water. I always wondered what it looked like inside. Thanks!

+1

I’ve pulled many bass out of that little cove next to it.

Any idea what that thing used to load? When ever I take people out on the boat they ask and I don’t have an answer.

[fiend540]

@JayS

+1

I’ve pulled many bass out of that little cove next to it.

Any idea what that thing used to load? When ever I take people out on the boat they ask and I don’t have an answer.

It’s probably not coal since we don’t mine it here in buffalo and if it was coming from rail car that was normally done using gravity via a tipple. I’m betting that with some digging the answer can be found on http://www.boatnerd.com/ tons of good info on that site.

Edit: Looking at it from Bing maps you can see the remains of the conveyor as it heads towards River Road, and then the remains/supports of what used to be more conveyor leading right into the Coke facility. Bing Maps - Directions, trip planning, traffic cameras & more

[newman]

@fiend540

It’s probably not coal since we don’t mine it here in buffalo and if it was coming from rail car that was normally done using gravity via a tipple. I’m betting that with some digging the answer can be found on http://www.boatnerd.com/ tons of good info on that site.

Edit: Looking at it from Bing maps you can see the remains of the conveyor as it heads towards River Road, and then the remains/supports of what used to be more conveyor leading right into the Coke facility. Bing Maps - Directions, trip planning, traffic cameras & more

It’s 100% for coal.

Lol, so since we don’t mine coal in Buffalo we wouldn’t need it?

The crane wasn’t used to load ships, it was used to unload ships. This is supported by the fact that there was coal everywhere.

The crane had a large hopper. I assume the bucket on the crane would dump into the hopper, which fed the conveyor.

If the conveyor went to the coke plant, they probably used it to run the blast furnaces.

In fact, there is even a coal fired power generation plant STILL in use about 1/4 mile south from the crane. You can even see the mountain of coal from a google maps image.

[fiend540]

@newman

It’s 100% for coal.

Lol, so since we don’t mine coal in Buffalo we wouldn’t need it?

The crane wasn’t used to load ships, it was used to unload ships. This is supported by the fact that there was coal everywhere.

The crane had a large hopper. I assume the bucket on the crane would dump into the hopper, which fed the conveyor.

If the conveyor went to the coke plant, they probably used it to run the blast furnaces.

In fact, there is even a coal fired power generation plant STILL in use about 1/4 mile south from the crane. You can even see the mountain of coal from a google maps image.

Google Maps

Meh I think I made it pretty clear I was wrong when I posted the link showing the conveyor straight into the Coke plant nor did I mention that we never used coal but whatever. It was hard to tell from the few pictures if it was an unloading facility, or an loading facility but from the water front view it became more clear. It just seemed odd to me that they would be receiving coal by ship rather than rail with most coal from that time coming from the Viginia and PA.

[JayS]

:tup: I kind of figured it was coal but was never sure. I knew there would be evidence around since you were inside.

[Fry]

It must have been for Tonawanda coke. It’s straight across the street.

Bing Maps

History

In 1917, the first coke ovens were put into service at the Tonawanda facility, located along the Niagara River about a mile north of Buffalo, New York. The original battery contained 60 ovens of Semet-Solvay design with horizontal heating flues. In 1926, a second battery, also containing 60 ovens of comparable design, was put into operation.

Primary customers for this plant were the Wickwire-Spencer Steel Company

 and Tonawanda Iron. Approximately 30 million cubic feet of coke oven gas was also sold daily to Iroquois Gas Company. 

In 1961, #2 Battery (built in 1926) was taken out of service and dismantled. A new #2 battery was constructed in its place, consisting of 60 four-meter ovens of Wilputte gun-fired, hairpin, cross-regenerative design. This new battery was placed on-line in 1962 and is still

in operation today. The original 1917 battery (#1 Battery) became inactive in 1972.

Allied Chemical Corporation put the plant up for sale in June 1977. However, in December of that year, a large tar storage tank collapsed, igniting a fire that nearly destroyed the entire facility.

In January 1978, J.D.Crane purchased the 188 acre site, and production operations resumed under the banner of Tonawanda Coke Corporation in February, 1978. The facility continues to operate as a merchant producer of high-quality foundry coke.

Raw Materials Handling

Metallurgical grade coal is the primary raw material used, and it is delivered in railroad hopper cars. The plant itself is equipped with an internal rail system comprised of nearly 5 miles of track. The size and layout of the property, in conjunction with the rail system design, enables the plant to stock up to 60,000 tons of coal (up to a 3-month supply). Rail service to and from the plant is provided by CSX Transportation.

I wonder if the coke plant was put in before rail service could bring coal there, making water transport necessary?

[newman]

So is that coal mountain i posted a link to for a power plant or for Tonawanda coke? I looked on a map and it was listed as an energy plant.

[Fry]

That coal mountain is the Huntley power plant.

[newman]

OK, yeah, that’s what I thought.

[ProgRocker]

Are the two smokestacks part of the building in question or the Coke plant?

[Fry]

@ProgRocker

Are the two smokestacks part of the building in question or the Coke plant?

From this pic? The Huntley plant is in this pic, right on the water. Tonawanda coke basically straight inland from where Newman and Ian were exploring.

[Skurge]

@newman

I should add that

A) i found a tick in my hair THE NEXT NIGHT (even after showering)

B) a pipe broke off in my hand (because it was so rusty) and proceeded to split open my leg. My leg is starting to swell up. I think I should get a Tetanus shot.

C) It was a LOT taller than the pictures make it appear… You can kind of use the pic with me standing near the counterweight for reference… It had to be 80 feet.

D) I want to jump off that bitch into the water.

its a great place, i’ve been there many times, only at night though…climb all the way to the top and look over buffalo, great view

anyway you dont have to hike through the woods to get there, you guys took the hard way lol!

also FYI the white building next door is still in use, trucks show up there randomly from time to time

[newman]

Also, is this:

However, in December of that year, a large tar storage tank collapsed, igniting a fire that nearly destroyed the entire facility.

probably this caved in tank?

Bing Maps