Horseshoe Bent: When good phrases go bad

To "carry coals to Newcastle" is to waste one's time and effort. Or, as Thomas Fuller put it in 1661, "To carry Coals to Newcastle, that is to do what was done before; or to busy one's self in a needless imployment."

The Newcastle in question is in England, but it applies to the Newcastle 40 minutes away from us, although in this case it's not so much pointless as disturbing. While our Newcastle was so-named in 1804 (having previously been known as King's Town) for its main attribute – coaliness – it seems the carrying of coal is only just gearing up.
Lately there have been a few news reports about increased mining activity in the Hunter Valley and I was taken aback by some of the stats. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the amount of coal taken by train – through Maitland – will nearly double by 2020. It's mostly coming from Singleton and surrounding areas, about half an hour's drive west. Mick and I have driven past these open-cut mines and frankly they were too ugly and depressing to photograph. Huge, irreparable scars. And then there are all the underground mines currently in operation or being proposed, which gives me the willies just thinking that beneath a scene like this is a massive hole, getting bigger:

What truly boggles my mind is the sheer volume. These trains are constant – 50 a day, reportedly, although it's feels like more – and they seem to go on forever (up to 100 carriages):

Then they return, empty but still lumbering:

Eventually they'll run out of coal, of course, but I shudder to think of what will be left. You can't say this too loudly around here – a lot of people are employed in one way or another by the industry – but I'm relieved that among the landowners who could thwart further destruction are some fairly powerful people, including the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, no less, who owns a large stud farm in the area.
Now there's a showdown I'd like to see, preferably with him in full regalia: