This photo was taken as part of the June 26, 1966 Sunday Pictoral Magazine spread highlighting operations of the Rogers No. 3 underground coal mine and preparation plant known as Mine #11.
Shown here is the Mine #11 facility located in Black Diamond and operated by Palmer Coking Coal Co. Mine #11 was the historic name for what was once the deepest underground coal mine in the U.S.
That mine closed in 1927 and by 1966 coal usage had been declining for years. As the article stated, “State institutions are [still] the chief customers for this coal, with the University of Washington being the biggest single purchaser.
The coal is transported from the mine by both truck and rail.”
The bunker shown in this photo temporarily stored coal after it had been washed, a process by which impurities were removed. To the left was a lower chute where stoker coal could be loaded into dump trucks.
The upper chute was used for loading rail cars.
To the right a conveyor belt stockpiled coal during times when neither trucks nor rail cars were being loaded. Palmer Coking Coal still owns this property but today operates a sand, gravel, rock, topsoil, and material sales yard for construction, landscapers, and retail customers.
