Coal Tipple

Completed in 1930, this structure was the largest coal tipple in the world, consisting of the concrete bin seen here and an additional 60-foot-high steel superstructure atop the concrete. The upper steel structure was used to hand-pick rock from the coal, to screen and size the product, and to house a huge dust-collection system. The concrete structure was a bin holding 4000 tons of coal for loading into railroad cars on three tracks under the tipple. Because of frequent fires from spontaneous combustion in the bin, its use as a storage facility was discontinued in the 1940s. With the construction of a coal preparation plant in Corbin, all activity except loading was discontinued at this facility in 1955. Loading continued until 1991.

Lynch, Kentucky · United States