Jamestown & Cresson Streets, 11 Shurs Lane, Philadelphia PA
© Sara Jane Elk, Workshop of
the World (Oliver Evans Press, 1990).
When the Reading Railroad
Company elevated the tracks of its Norristown Line, the
former Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Line,
(PG&N) in 1929-30, access to coal yards in Manayunk
from the railroad tracks had to change significantly. The
coal pockets for Hare and Cute, built on a short spur off
the tracks above Jamestown and Cresson Streets, and on
Shurs Lane above Main Street at Station Street for C.O.
Struse and Son, were constructed c.1929 for these
anthracite dealers. 1
The Reading Railroad Company shipped a great deal coal
from the anthracite regions near Pottstown to small coal
merchants, especially in urban areas. At one time several
thousand coal dealers lined the 1,200 miles of Reading
tracks. 2
Before anti-trust
legislation, the company owned the Reading Anthracite
Coal Company, which undoubtedly contributed to the large
number of coal pockets along its lines. When the railroad
company elevated its tracks through Manayunk, it became
involved in the construction of these pockets, as
specifications were undoubtedly needed to attach them to
the railroad's tracks. Perhaps as compensation to the
dealers, the railroad built the spurs and the pockets.
Coal pockets, once a common feature of the railroad
landscape, provided receiving and storage facilities for
coal yards. The Hare and Cute pocket could accommodate
loads of up to three, 55 ton railroad hopper cars,
unloading a variety of grades of coal, such as stove,
rice, pea, etc. The Struse and Son's pocket held a much
larger volume. Coal, segregated into bins, dropped to the
street level for retail sale. At the time of the
construction of the Manayunk pockets, most dealers were
largely supplying residential customers and as well as
the surrounding small industry.
Few enclosed pockets constructed like the Hare and Cute
remain standing along the Reading Railroad lines. This
one has a concrete foundation, a pitched roof, and is
sided with corrugated metal. The roof kept out the rain,
a particularly useful feature during the winter months,
preventing the coal from freezing. It could also be
equipped with heaters for thawing carloads of coal that
arrived frozen. Although abandoned and in questionable
condition, the advertizing lettered just under the roof
helps interpret the site. Hare and Cute were succeeded by
James Cute and Sons. The Reading Anthracite Company logo
on either end of Cute’s name indicates its
relationship to the coal yard.
The C.O. Struse and Sons pocket remains largely intact
and presently retails fuel and building materials. From
its size, its location and the hint of its painted signs,
it appears that this pocket supplied a number of the
nearby mills.
1 Frank Kline,
Atlas
of Philadelphia , (Lansdale, PA, 1929), 21st
Ward.
2 Stuart and Co,
Inc., Report
On The Reading , (1945), p. 9.
Update May
2007 (by
Sara Jane Elk):
No change.