power plant II

We got across the road and into the building, but this was only the beginning of a long obstacle course. A door was wide open and room we landed in had been a maintenance shop, although it was now empty save for two fire carts. As we searched for our way in to the main part of the building we encountered our next big obstacle. Every door was covered with heavy iron plates, welded in place. Removal was impossible. A few interesting shots could be had in the maintenance shop, but mostly it was an empty room. My partner was beside herself with frustration. We ate our sandwiches and started shooting.

At some point we noticed a man standing outside. At first he was looking over the river in seeming reverie. But after a little while he turned to face the building we were in and jus stood there, arms akimbo. We were sure he had heard us and was just going to wait us out. But eventually, after many minutes of hiding at opposite ends of the room, we peeked out and he was gone.

But still, there was no way to get into the building. Out on the pier, a football field away, a coal shoot terminated in a small building. We thought if we could get to the building, we could walk up the shoot and we were certain it must connect with the main building. But to reach the small building on the pier we’d have to cross the open parking area where we could be seen by the workmen whose cars were a football field to the right, and get by the fence on the pier.

Again, we made a run for it across the open concrete. Crouched down like spies, we ran across the lot and climbed over a large pipe. Keeping our bodies ducked down behind the pipe we moved ourselves and our equipment along to the fence at the pier. The fence blocked the entrance to the pier, but because we were behind the pipe, we were almost behind the fence – we only had to step across the right angle made by the pier, over the water. Which we did.

We dodged and ducked down the pier to the end and finally, around the other side of the small building, we were safe from being seen. The door here had also once been welded over, but someone – almost certainly another explorer – had somehow removed the iron panels. The were still welded together and served us as a small stepladder to get over the bottom half of the door and in through the window. Several flights up we found the shoot and started our hike. The hill was steep and l o n g. Finally at the top it looked a lot like the Huber Coal Breaker in Wilkes Barre, PA. It was definitely coal conveyor belt. We set off in search of the place where this terminus connected with the big building and after some searching – we were certain it was there – we found it.