West Blocton in Bibb County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
The Railway System
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, February 4, 2023
1. The Railway System Marker
Inscription.
The railway system was an important part of the iron and steel industry and the operation of the Blocton coke ovens. The ovens were constructed with rails on top for the charging car, often called a larry. There were rails between each row of ovens for the transportation of the finished coke. It is likely they were constructed in the manner later described by the noted mining engineer John Fulton in 1895: The larry track should be made with T rails, weighing 70 to 80 pounds per lineal yard, to be laid on iron crossties or iron [unreadable] with necessary chair fastenings. When a double row of coke ovens is constructed, the larry track should be placed midway between the [unreadable] port of the ovens. In this case the larry should have discharging [unreadable] on each side., Many of the huge end-buttress stones were removed from this north end of the coke ovens to reconstruct an old iron furnace at Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park in the 1980s. This left the brick pillars exposed that were used to support the weight of the railroad on top of the ovens. The smaller larry cars that ran on this track were used to dump coal into the hole on top of the ovens.
The railway system was an important part of the iron and steel industry and the operation of the Blocton coke ovens. The ovens were constructed with rails on top for the charging car, often called a larry. There were rails between each row of ovens for the transportation of the finished coke. It is likely they were constructed in the manner later described by the noted mining engineer John Fulton in 1895: The larry track should be made with T rails, weighing 70 to 80 pounds per lineal yard, to be laid on iron crossties or iron [unreadable] with necessary chair fastenings. When a double row of coke ovens is constructed, the larry track should be placed midway between the [unreadable] port of the ovens. In this case the larry should have discharging [unreadable] on each side.
Many of the huge end-buttress stones were removed from this north end of the coke ovens to reconstruct an old iron furnace at Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park in the 1980s. This left the brick pillars exposed that were used to support the weight of the railroad on top of the ovens. The smaller larry cars that ran on this track were used to
Location. 33° 7.239′ N, 87° 6.535′ W. Marker is in West Blocton, Alabama, in Bibb County. It can be reached from Blocton Bypass (County Road 24) west of Griffin Town Road, on the right when traveling west. Marker is in West Blocton Coke Ovens Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: West Blocton AL 35184, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Birmingham Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Black Belt. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, February 4, 2023
West Blocton Coke Ovens Park (Public Domain), circa 1895
3. West Blocton Coke Ovens facility
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, February 4, 2023
4. 10-ton Plymouth industrial locomotive
Steam engines like this one, on display in West Blocton Coke Ovens Park, were used to haul carts full of coke or coal.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 5, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 5, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 809 times since then and 64 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 5, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
