actual operations during World War II. The bank of the Sumida River was chosen due to the site guaranteeing excellent water transportation and shipping. The coal fuel was brought from the Port of Tokyo's coal pier by raft, and it is said you could see the boatmen working the river back then. Also, it's said that there was a route where freight cars would bring the fuel to Senju's railway station (now Sumidagawa Station) and transfer it to the rafts. The rights to this transportation were held by the Yamada gang, which would later become the Malkin (Asakusa Takahashi gang). After the war the quality of coal dropped, and in 1953 (Showa 28) one of the boilers was replaced by an oil-fueled boiler. However, due to an aging facility and a new thermal power plant being built in Toyosu, the plant stopped operations in May, 1963 (Showa 38), and was demolished in 1964 (Showa 39). Presently, the site is used as a raw materials center and the Tokyo Electric Power, Adachi operations center (Tokyo Lighting's site, 1-11-9 Senju Sakuragi, Adachi Ward, Tokyo). Also, part of the smokestack was used as a slide at Tatemoto Elementary school in the Adachi Ward that existed until 31 March 2005 (Heisei 17). (This school integrated with the Adachi Ward Ritsu Senju third elementary school in Adachi Ward Senju Kotobukichou to become the Adachi Ward Ritsu Senju Sprouts Elementary school, and this integrated school's building has been newly built at the site of the old Senju third elementary school.) In addition, the slide at this old elementary school is now preserved on the campus grounds of the Teikyo University of Science & Technology in Senju. The Ghost Chimneys The Senju thermal power station had four enormous smokestacks and these were called the "Ghost Chimneys" (Obake-Entotsu) by residents of the area. Movies, books, anime, and manga, that were made while the plant was still operating - and some created since then - would sometimes include the chimneys, and they became a symbol or landmark for the region. There are two explanations as to why they were called the "Ghost Chimneys". As stated previously, this was a reserve power plant so it rarely operated. The smoke that would rise from the smokestacks every once in a while looked somewhat like a ghost, and the place was thought of as a crematorium. Depending on the angle you're looking