Building and operating the Atlantic Inland

Let’s start this whole thing off by stipulating that I am talking about the Steam Era, and in every case prior to the Staggars Railroad Deregulation Act of 1980.  I’ve been trying to find out where so called Tide Coal went and why.  A great deal of coal mined in the Appalachian Coal Fields went to piers at various east coast ports where it was loaded into ships and barges. A large percentage of this coal was exported overseas. A great deal of this coal, however, went into ships and barges, and was taken to customers in the Northeast United States. Why? Wouldn’t it have been better, IE., Cheaper, faster, or more efficient to bring this coal to these customers by rail? In some cases a great deal of bituminous coal did go by rail. For example the B&O handed a lot of coal tonnage off to the PRR who then delivered it to customers in the Northeast east. The N&W interchanged some coal tonnage with the PRR in Hagerstown, MD. for eventual delivery to customers in the Northeast....

 I have spent the last 40 years or so in train rooms. I have found that the environments I like best are the ones that are nicely finished. I recently was in one train room that left all the ceiling joists, plumbing, and wiring exposed, BUT, everything from the top of the backdrop up was painted flat black. That room was stunning. Generally basements or train rooms with exposed plumbing, wiring, a/c ducts, etc are not that pleasant. Normally I’m distracted by the operations itself, so this is ALMOST never a deal breaker, but a clean, finished train room environment is much more desirable. When I looked at the ceiling in my basement, well it’s pitiful. I’m supposed to be some sort of professional carpenter, well propmaker anyway, and looking up at that mess makes me sick. So I gave some thought to the ceiling. I didn’t lose sleep, or spend long hours comparing different products, I simply looked up, thought I need something that I can remove so I can make any necessary repairs or im...