There are days that I like to hit the open road and explore. I just wish my planning skills were somewhat better. Granted that I can navigate the back roads very well and I rarely get lost -- relying on my Delorme atlases and forgoing modern GPS conveniences, and that I can drive the narrow highways without flinching at a passing coal truck, but I underestimated the time it takes to go from one point to another.
On Sunday, I explored an area along the Kentucky Route 15 corridor, including Jackson and Hazard, with
Ashley and
Branden.
The day started off interesting. I drove up to the
Campton High School, which opened in 1942. It was the first publicly funded high school in Wolfe County, constructed during the Great Depression with funding from the Federal Works Project Administration (WPA). Of course, the doors were locked and well secured, and I managed ended up driving off of a large sidewalk, nearly getting stuck in the process.
Traveling off of the main highway, we stumbled across the
Buchanan Fuel Krypton Loadout. The Krypton Loadout was a small surface coal mining operation one mile west of Krypton. It is located along the CSX Eastern Kentucky Subdivision, formerly part of the Chesapeake & Ohio. Constructed in 1975, the mine was marked as active in 2002.) It has since closed but may reopen under the International Coal Group.
Coal would be transferred to a conveyor to a stacking tube, which would dump coal onto an even surface so that it could be pushed into a conveyor in a tunnel.
From there, the coal would be analyized for impurities and then shifted to a flood-loader.
The loader would funnel the coal into a 100-car siding for the C&O.
Small, yet interesting because I have not studied or really gotten close to a tipple or loadout in a very long time.
We set off afterwards to search for coal camp communities and other abandonments in the tangling mountains of eastern Kentucky, but found very little to nothing. Abandonments tend to be demolished fairly quickly, and coal companies are eager to remove processing plants and other facilities for liability reasons. We did come across one larger school, in Hazard, which only closed in 2005. Structurally, it is in good condition although the roof leaks considerably. It's amazing how far it has degraded in only a few years.
You can view more photos and read more of the Napier School by
clicking through.
Even though I logged a considerable amount of miles on my vehicle, I had an enjoyable experience hanging out with two friends, exploring in extremely cold temperatures and dining at
Frances's Diner. The fried cheese and broccoli balls were delicious!
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