In a message dated 98-02-21 09:09:32 EST, you write:

<< From most of what I have read concerning the early steel navy, anthracite or "hard" coal was the type preferred for use on naval vessels. Welsh anthracite was highly sought after, so much so that Dewey had it shipped over for his squadron, and Clark of the OREGON stowed his meager supply of it for use only in battle during his epic trip. Recently, in the book mentioned by Mark Hayes (Remembering the MAINE by Samuels - an intriguing book that asked some interesting questions about the MAINE bunker fire theory, but which still has problems of its own), an alternative view was presented. The book mentions polls of U.S. naval officers concerning coal types. In the poll (Virginia?) Pocahontas coal was found to be the favored coal. This seems odd, since Pocahontas coal was bituminous or soft coal. Anthracite of hard coal burns hotter with less waste than bituminous coal. Ships could develop more speed with less work and at a more rapid rate with anthracite. >>

Actually, anthracite was not the preferred fuel for ships. It was used in
some early steamships, when the anthracite fields of northeastern Pennsylvania
were the main American source of coal and the much larger bituminous fields of
West Virginia and Kentucky had not yet been seriously exploited. Anthracite
burns cleanly and has a high thermal content, but it is difficult to burn
because the percentage of volatile matter is much lower than in soft coal. It
requires big grates and fireboxes to get an adequate fire. Anyone familiar
with railroads might recall the humpback steam locomotives used on some of the
anthracite roads in Pennsylvania: the anthracite required such a huge firebox
that the cab was moved to center of the engine so the view of the engineer
would not be obscured. Apart from these technical disadvantages, anthracite
was more expensive once large-scale bituminous production began, and after the
turn of the century it was largely confined to small-scale uses like home
heating.
Welsh Admiralty coal was not anthracite. Like the West Virginia
Pocahontas coal preferred by the United States Navy, it was a so-called semi-
bituminous coal: a fairly hard “soft” coal that fell somewhere between
anthracite and standard bituminous coal, but was considered a grade of
bituminous coal.

Regards, Keith Allen
keacla1@aol.com