Abandoned Coal Breaker Exploration

entropic remnants

Hall of Famer
Name
John Griggs
My adventure today was exploring an old "coal breaker" used to break up large chunks of coal mined by explosives and such. This apparently produced larger chunks which needed to be broken, cleaned and sorted. The breaker was where this happened.

This is the first urbex outing for my Panasonic G5 and it was wearing the Oly 9-18mm.

I got there before sun up and saw this looming giant. Note also the abandoned rail lines and survey ribbon. It's possible this will all be torn down eventually which will be sad. This was my first visit and I was along which makes it scarier but fun as well.

See the long chute on the right? The top of that was a goal as it's the highest point in the building.

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Breaking Nick: The Breaker in the Twilight by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

As you come around the back where you can't be seen the way in is under the rear loading areas.

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Breaking Nick: Welcome by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

Here's a view out the window one floor below the top. To the left is the abandoned site, to the right an active processing site.

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Breaking Nick: The Old and the New by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

Here we are at the top of the world! To the right is the anchoring structure and drive system that would have pulled the long belt that carried coal to the top.

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Breaking Nick: Top of the World! by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

Wasn't sure what the structure was going to be like at the top of the chute, but it was fine for me to climb out on it and take a shot down the long chute. The belt obviously is gone.

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Breaking Nick: A Long Way Downstream... by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

There will be more! But I have to go to sleep because I have to work tonight to get the steel mill started. More later this week as I get them processed.
 
Enjoyed both the reportage and photos, thanks! Are you liking that G5? LX7 watched guard over it? :)

Ha ha! Yes, I had the LX7 and took a couple "the making of" type of photos but I haven't done more than see them as thumbnails so far. Some might end up here as well.

THERE WILL BE MORE PHOTOS! :D
 
First off (for pictogramax) here are a couple from the LX7 that I took. The first one is a single exposure at ISO-800 and the second a handheld HDR at ISO-80 though only two shots ended up getting merged as the brightest shot was blurry.

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Breaking Nick: Setup for "Conspiracy of Agitators" by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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Breaking Nick: Control Issues by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

Next I'll post the rest of what I got from the G5 so far. I'm at work but I uploaded them to flickr before I left.
 
Okay here are some of the rest.

In this first one, notice the "crop circle" like markings on the floor under the agitator cone? Well, the dust is moved there and it took me a bit to figure it out. It's where water drips off the riveted seams and the impact pushes the dust aside. I couldn't figure out why someone would make those very precise markings, lol. Aliens?...

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Breaking Nick: Agitator by Early Light by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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Breaking Nick: Early Morning Rust by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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Breaking Nick: Agitator by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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Breaking Nick: Conspiracy of Agitators by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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Breaking Nick: Metropolis in Miniature by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

More "crop circles"...

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Breaking Nick: Pump and Agitator by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

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Breaking Nick: History Blowing Away by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

I'll still have some more, but I'm not sure how many or how good. First time in a huge new place I get overwhelmed and make a lot of mistakes, lol. It didn't help that this was only my second outing with the G5 and the first urbex one.
 
Fantastic set of images. Really enjoyed looking through those. (y)

Thanks, Andy!

Had a nice spooky feel in the early AM but I am totally insensitive to any spiritual activity of the type you seek or it's a good possibility I'd have felt it in the many places I've been. Still, I'm sure things went on in a place like this and it might be something you'd enjoy checking out if you ever get up this way.

I get to the UK from time to time but always up in West Yorkshire area to visit my daughter.
 
Okay coming down to the wire with these. Might get a few more but this is getting to the end of the ones that worked enough to post.

This first one needs explanation. The "boot room" at the breaker is literally world famous with urbex folks. It's not everyday that you find that the boots of workers are still in the locker room 50 years after the place closed.

I've seen a LOT of great pictures from here and despaired of getting my own interpretation out of it -- but I did find an approach I like which, as I often do, treats the subject anthropomorphically, lol.

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Breaking Nick: A Bunch of Heels, Talking Behind His Back by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

I could see the flare on this one and considered a different camera placement, but decided I like it WITH the flare.

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Breaking Nick: Gear with Ethereal Glow by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

The next one has serious technical issues, but I'll put it up anyway. This is I believe one of the main drive motors for the big lifting belt. Another one like it was in a motor house up next to the belt, although it's a precarious walk out there on rotten grating so you have to walk on the beams.

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Breaking Nick: Main Drive Motor by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

This wasn't a foundry so these can't be wooden forms for sand molds but that's what they look like. They must have been elaborate packing for shipping maybe? Or dummies for lining up mountings? Don't know.

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Breaking Nick: Showing Good Form by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

And one more from the LX7, single shot at forced base ISO. It was supposed to be part of a three shot HDR, but the other shots had too much blur.

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Breaking Nick: Refust Detector by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr
 
Thanks everyone for your kind comments. This should be the last of them I think.

First off the early steampunk prototype of the Android robot...

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Breaking Nick: Steampunk Android Robot Prototype by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

Now, I found something incredible: The MMA-1 (Mahanoy Magnetic Anomaly 1). When the sun hits this alien monolith at the bottom of the crater, it will send a signal to aliens far, far away to let them know we're "ready"... written upon the walls are the devotions of the worshipers who flock to this place of power. (if you don't get it, go read or watch "2001: A Space Odyssey", lol).

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Breaking Nick: MMA-1 (Mahanoy Magnetic Anomaly 1) by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

And finally another still life of the area at the highest point in the building where the belt took the coal.

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Breaking Nick: Heavy Lifting at the Top by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

And that about concludes this trip report and again thanks.
 
My mistake but still inspiring.. :redface:

You're very gracious and I thank you.

There are a total of three from the LX7 in the mix. It did fine but this trip was not for it to shine, lol -- I really needed to drill with my new (to me) G5 and get used to it. I went out and shot that nature stuff the other day, and now urbex so I need to photograph some kind of event and it's fully "utilized" then the way I usually use a camera.
 
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