anyone know of a coal dumper like this?

[justinroth]

I used to sit with my dad on our boat and watch the cars pulled up into the tower where they were flipped. After being released they would run down a steep grade, over a switch, back up a steep grade returning down and diverging the other way... was really cool! this is on lake erie in Sandusky, Oh....anything similar in trainz?

 

[xcrossi]

Check with bendorsey kuid ID 210518

He has done something as complicated called Rotary_Coal_Transfer.
Your picture looks like something he might be interested in doing.

Gerry

 

[justinroth]

Thank you very much. Ben has some awesome stuff, should've just checked first!

 

[bendorsey]

Thanks for the kind words but I've never made anything like what's I the photo. It looks somewhat similar to a Hulett which has been made.

I have made a rotary dumper and some kickback dumpers that do the same job (fill a barge) but are very different then the photo (which according to your description is a kick back dumper). It is possible to make a spring loaded switch in Gmax.

As for making one - I'd suggest very politely asking the gent that made the Huletts since this is closer to one of those then anything I've made.

Ben

 

[slabay]

It is a pretty scary looking contraption! It'd be neat to see some video of it in action.

 

[justinroth]

Thanks Ben-Scott, I believe there are some videos of it on YouTube. My uncle used to work for a company called CTE testing the coal right on the dock, has some great stories....that I don't remember. Maybe someone will get ambitious and try to make one of these? (well beyond my content creation level) wink wink. p.s. nice stuff Scott, esp. the Conrail units!

 

[frogpipe]

I googled "Great Lakes Coal Dumper"....

 

[slabay]

Thanks, Ted.... that's quite the contraption!

 

[frogpipe]

I'm often amazed at the efforts put into handling commodities such as this.

 

[bendorsey]

They did it due to the mass quantities needed to be moved. A bunch of guys with shovels just won't work, lol.

Coal fired power plants use tons if not tens of tons of coal an hour. Steel plants used tons of coke (made from coal) prior to electrification. Only way to move that quantity of product was by automatic methods to fill and empty hopper, barges, ore carriers, etc.

Its still done today with unit trains. 100 hoppers with swiveling couplers which can be loaded and unloaded without uncoupling. The swiveling coupler allows one car at a time to be rotated 180 degrees to empty it rather then rely of hatchs underneath which is slower and usually must be done manually in some manner.

Ben