(Although I believe it was well before the 30's - the US was one of the first nations to convert to oil for many reasons, not the least being the labor, dirt, and advantages in speed in refueling and ability to do so much easier at sea. If you ever have seen photos of a war ship (painted white) after a visit fro ma collier, you would immediately agree - especially as it was an all hands job. On the other hand there was some studies as to the ability of the coal bunkers vs the oil bunkers to stop shell and torpedo fire - and the ability to reduce the threat of explosion. The offset is the ability for coal to spontaneously explode in certain instances, which is not a good idea when you are in a ship in the middle of the Pacific).
At 06:32 PM 3/24/2005, Bob Webber wrote:
At 06:30 PM 3/24/2005, you wrote:
I was told that DRGW had the contract to supply the Pacific Fleet with coal up until the fleet's conversion to oil in the 1930s. Has anyone else heard this? If so, I assume that the coal was delivered via UP.
Yes, the coal was from the Anthracite coal field north of Gunnison in the Crested Butte / Elk Mountain Area. Ironically, a lot of that are was and is owned (in terms of mineral rights) by the UP as a legacy of their owning the DSP&P.
