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Washington, D.C., circa 1928. "Semmes Motor Co. -- Consumers Co. coal truck." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Although greatly diminished, the home coal delivery business was still around. I drove a coal truck part-time to make ends meet while serving in the Air Force at Niagara Falls International Airport in 1968. My truck bed was partitioned and I could load different types of coal (lump, stoker, run-of-mine, etc) for up to four different houses on one load. After leaving the coal yard, I would pick up a casual laborer to spread the dumped coal in the customer's cellar. Usually one trip was enough for any cellar man, that job being extremely hard and dirty. After a while, I could see the laborers scatter as I approached the corner where they hung out waiting for jobs.
was "The Burngood Coal Company". The owners name was Goodburn.
I remember the coal trucks of my youth while growing up in the Bronx. They were humongous chain driven electric behemoths. The coal would be dispensed by raising the dump mechanism and sliding the coal down a ramp into the tenement's coal chute. I think it took about a half hour or so to complete the delivery. The noise was deafening. Ironically the supplier was the Gassman Coal Company.
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