Improvements at the facility, also known as Pier 6, included major overhauls of the facility’s dumper system to transfer coal from rail cars to a conveyor as well as its two loaders.

The former is made up of two pairs of 50,000-pound dumpers, each handling two coal cars at a time. These rotate cars 135 degrees to dump their contents into a conveyor system that transports the coal to the pier.

The improvements involved the replacement of the structural steel that supports the north set of dumpers as well as the hopper bins that funnel the coal onto the conveyor belts.

As the steel support structure was replaced, the dumpers also received a complete electrical and mechanical overhaul.

Next northern spring, the south set of dumpers will receive the same upgrade.

Additionally, the north dumper car pushers received fresh solid-state drives on their generator sets and both loaders received complete electrical overhauls.

The overhauls included replacement of the main generator sets with solid-state drives and new power transformers and control and monitoring systems.

All of the work was completed on schedule, officials said, over a 90-day period.

Work initially began in August.

“This investment reflects our belief in the long-term prospects for the global coal market and Norfolk Southern’s continuing pivotal role in that market,” senior vice president of energy and property Danny Smith said.

“This helps assure that we will remain the premier link to the global market place for high grade metallurgical and thermal coals alike.”

The project was well-timed, as it lines up with Pier 6’s 50th anniversary.

The first loader went online in December 1962 and the second began operations in the northern spring of 1963.

Norfolk Southern is planning an anniversary celebration in April 2013.

Pier 6 has an annual throughput capacity of 36 million tons of coal.

At full tilt, with both sets of dumpers and both loaders operating, the facility can accommodate as much as 8000 tons of coal per hour.

It takes an average of 30 hours to load one ship with a typical load of 80,000 tons.

In January this year Pier 6 loaded a record 159,941.45 net tons of coal to a ship bound for China. Crews completed their work in less than 48 hours.

Lamberts Point is the largest and fastest coal transload facility in the northern hemisphere.