Wooden spools in Eddystone

A small borough with a big riverfront

Eddystone is a small borough on the Delaware River between Chester and Ridley Township. Most of its land is industrial. In the early twentieth century, the Baldwin Locomotive Works moved its main operations here, building steam locomotives on a huge site beside the river. That era ended long ago, and the land now holds a mix of warehouses, retail, a power station, rail lines and the marine terminal that gives Eddystone its role in the regional economy.

PSA Penn Terminals

PSA Penn Terminals, at 1 Saville Avenue in Eddystone, describes itself as a privately owned multipurpose marine terminal about 9 kilometres south of Philadelphia, with access to I-95 and I-76. Terminals like this handle ships, cargo, cranes and the stream of trucks that serve them. All of that needs power, and upgrades to cranes, lighting, gates and yard equipment use heavy cable that arrives on large reels. Terminal operators and their contractors decide what to do with those reels; where they release them, we collect.

Other sources in and around Eddystone

• Warehouses and logistics buildings near the terminal and along PA 291 produce mid-size reels from fit-outs.
• Retail on the former industrial land produces smaller reels and spools.
• Utility and power work along the river brings large reels, often returnable.
• Houses in Eddystone and neighbouring Ridley Park and Ridley Township produce spools and small reels from rewires.

Roads

I-95 runs through Eddystone just inland from the river, a short drive from the terminal gate. PA 291 (Industrial Highway) runs along the riverfront between Chester and Essington. The Commodore Barry Bridge, a few minutes south in Chester, leads to Logan Township and Gloucester County. I-476 begins at I-95 just to the north, giving access to the rest of Delaware County and Montgomery County.

Port reels and returnables

Reels used for port equipment and utility work are often owned by the cable maker or the utility and expected back. They may be steel, may carry stencils and serial numbers, and may have a deposit. We never take those without the owner's release. One-way reels from the same jobs, often large plywood or nailed timber reels, are fair game once the contractor releases them. See returnable or one-way.

Heavy reels need heavy equipment

Large port and utility reels can weigh several hundred pounds empty. Loading them needs a forklift with long forks, a crane, or a spindle through the arbor hole. Tell us what equipment is on site. If there is none, say so, and we will plan for a truck with a liftgate or a crane.

Pairing with Chester and Essington

Eddystone sits between Chester and Essington on PA 291, so pickups in all three are often combined. Smaller requests, such as a few reels from a warehouse or spools from a house, ride along.

Locomotive heritage

At its peak, the Baldwin Locomotive Works' Eddystone plant covered a vast site and built thousands of steam engines that ran on railways around the world. Much of the plant was demolished after production ended in the mid-twentieth century. Some foundations, rail spurs and older buildings can still be traced in the industrial land near the river. Occasionally, demolition or excavation turns up old cable, conduit or hardware; if reels or drums appear in such work, they are usually decayed beyond reuse, but their steel fittings still go to scrap.

Shopping centre and warehouses on the old works

Part of the former locomotive land is now a shopping centre with big-box stores, plus warehouses and service businesses. Retail fit-outs and refrigeration upgrades in supermarkets and big-box stores use plenty of cable and leave mid-size reels at the loading docks. Store managers can ask the electrical contractor to set the empties aside for us rather than throwing them into a skip.

The power station

The generating station on Eddystone's riverfront has been producing electricity since the mid-twentieth century. Power plants run long maintenance programmes and occasionally major conversions, which produce heavy reels in quantity, nearly all managed by the plant's contractors. Where those reels are released, they tend to be sturdy timber drums ideal for reuse.

Containers and breakbulk

Ports handle shipping containers, steel, project cargo and other breakbulk goods. Some breakbulk shipments include cable drums for industrial projects elsewhere; those are not empties and are not ours to touch. What we collect are the reels left behind by the terminal's own electrical upgrades, once released.

Crum Creek and Ridley Township

Crum Creek forms part of Eddystone's boundary before reaching the Delaware. Upstream, Ridley Township's neighbourhoods of twins and single homes keep electricians busy with panel swaps, attic fans, backyard lighting and kitchen remodels. Those jobs leave spools and the occasional small drum, which we gather on the same afternoon as bigger riverside loads. We also clear garages after a house sale.

Questions

Do you take reels from the terminal directly?

Only those released by the terminal or its contractors. Ask them to contact us.

Do you cover Ridley Park and Crum Lynne?

Yes, along with Ridley Township, Prospect Park and Folcroft.