Could anyone help with the following: Roughly at what date did Welsh steam coal become the Norm' for fireing boilers.

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Thats a good one! Myself and the gent I told you about into the GWR locomotives had a pop at this question as an aside :thumbdown:

And after much gnashing of teeth we established that Welsh steam coal was certainly well known and used in the Newcomen era as we found sales docs to certain mines/factories etc during our research, we concluded that it started to become the premier steam coal generally from the 1840-50's when industrial growth was expontential- prior to that the records we found were really crappy as the stuff was sold often via agents hence we found plenty of colliery sales but it was always to distributors who were probably selling everywhere, but sales post this era were enormous. Including exports.
I could of course be totally wrong as this was somewhat of an aside from our research into the North Star loco built at swindon, but thats what we came up with at the time and how it seemed to us!

regards ICLOK

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Thanks ICLOCK that ties in just right with my thoughts. there are several letters that appear in the Mining Journal around the earlier of those dates related to the "smoke nuisance". Steam coal would of course have cured this

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According to a document I found on the net (I know) from the University of Wales the Waun Wyllt Colliery started producing coal in 1828, the smokeless quality and steam-raising power of which succeeded in attracting some attention. Some cargoes were sent to Cornwall, Devon and Ireland in 1829. Does this make some sense?

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Yes and no. Smokeless coal does not mean steam coal.
The web may be the highway of information it is also the cul-de-sac of going nowhere ceating as many questions as answers.
The only answer is to rely on the people that actually know or that old and trusted method the reference library

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Yep - advised that initial up take was slow from early 1800's as dearer product am told, its uptake being pushed first into SW and Ireland as Carnkie has said. It took a couple of decades before they realised they got alot more bang for their buck and got it to become established as the best Steam Coal for boilers generally.
So I think its about right at the 1850's although it appears its properties had been known since the late 1700's but struggled to be recognised as owt but Coal..
I have a feeling there is a Boulton and Watt paper somewhere on this in which a trial was done.... will ask my mate in Birmingham.... could even have been a trial in Cornish copper mine... 😎

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I have a feeling that the best "steam coals" were somewhere between bituminous and anthracite.

I assumed that it was smokeless anthracite type stuff but was corrected by a local traction engine blokey.

My question was "Where do you get steam coal now they don't mine it"

Yes and no. Smokeless coal does not mean steam coal.
The web may be the highway of information it is also the cul-de-sac of going nowhere ceating as many questions as answers.
The only answer is to rely on the people that actually know or that old and trusted method the reference library

I quite agree but Robert and Lucy Thomas took out the lease on the mine. Lucy became known as 'The Mother of the Welsh Steam Coal Trade', although it's doubtful whether she had assumed control of the business in 1830. I think it's reasonable to assume we are talking about steam coal.The article resides in the National Library of Wales, not the University of Wales as I said earlier, and was printed with their permission.
If it had been introduced any earlier than this in Cornwall I would have thought there may have been a mention in Francis Trevithick's biography of his father but there doesn't appear to be.

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I have a feeling that the best "steam coals" were somewhere between bituminous and anthracite.

I assumed that it was smokeless anthracite type stuff but was corrected by a local traction engine blokey.

My question was "Where do you get steam coal now they don't mine it"

Poland & it's full of sulphur!

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Indonesia and Russia. Now that rings a bell. Gas supplies.

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Stuey, you're right about the rank of the (Welsh)steam coals.
It's usually taken as Rank Code 201 for dry steam coal - 9.1-13.5% volatile matter. These are weakly caking and allow free air flow through the fire. The calorific value is 15,500-15,950BTUs (sorry I have the Kj/Kg somewhere but I can only remember in real money).
202-4 are coking steam coals, 13.6-19.5% v.m., caking properties vary and c.v. is between 15,600-15,950.
There are also heat altered steam coals which tend to have slightly lower c.v.

The 201(/2) groups cover(s) the semi-anthracites, the others are low-volatile bituminous.