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Re: Seeking information about Diana Coal & Oil
Hi Tracey
Welcome to History Hub
I found a few items for your from the internet.
Photo of stacks. looks like date of closing was 1981
Diana Coal Oil (frankjump.com)
Loses her top
Diana Coal & Oil – Fading Ad Blog
The following post is from this webpage>>
Posted by chutton01 on Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:08 PM
OK, I have the coal price card in front of me now:
It is from Diana Coal & Oil Co, formerly on Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn (also, Jamaica Queens).
Their coal silos were a landmark on Atlantic Avenue for decades - a quick check of Bing shows the silos are no more, the address (3298 Atlantic Ave) being a big empty field roughly where Conduit intersects Atlantic. It's also near the end of the Gloriously named 'Force Tube Avenue'). The El is not far away, but I don't think there were any LIRR branches in that immediate area (well, except for the LIRR Atlantic Avenue line tunneling under Atlantic Avenue at that point...but other than that minor exception, no LIRR branches
)
Anyway, Coal Prices:
Stove $20.75/ton
Nut $20.75/ton
Pea $16.95/ton
Buck & Rice prices on request, while "$2 per ton delivers your order on budget" [? I dunno?]
Exact Year, that's a bit tougher - there is no ZIP code (introduced 1963) but there are Character Exchange telephone numbers (Brooklyn TA7-7534 & Jamaica OL7-5010) - (ANC: All-Number-Calling introduced 1962). The card says established over 25 years, but apparently Diana Coal was incorporated 1955 - unlikely this card is from 1970, so probably Diana Coal was around many years before incorporation.
And finally, the future is clearly visible on this card - Oil Burners - 'Nothing to pay until Next November" - $279.00 fully installed. And Number 2 Fuel oil as 12cents per gallon.
Now, as for the coal gas plants mentioned above, I actually have The Model Railroader's Guide to Industries along the Tracks #4 (it's not a bad series, this "Industries along the tracks"). Chapter 1, you guessed it, Coal Gas Plants|
Inputs:
Coal --> via Rail (usually)
Outputs:
well, coal gas --> via Pipeline
Coke --> via Rail (usually)
Coal Tar --> possibly by Rail
Amomnia --> possibly by Rail
(Plus other potential inputs and outputs like Piping, limestone, brick, equipment etc).
The author indicates that ashes and other waste material were often just dumped nearby, or perhaps loaded onto trucks/railcars and dumped 'Somewhere'. The obvious result - "most of these sites were heavily contiminated by the by-products of gas manufacturing, including coal-tar, arsenic, and cyanide. Many sites are still being cleaned up.."
Anyway, the article goes into a decent depth concerning the functioning of coal gas, among other industries, and the series seems decent to me.Note: apparently Natural gas has twice the heating value of Coal Gas, and at the time was much cheaper too - this is why the last coal gas plants were closing by 1966...
Alice Lane
Research Volunteer
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