What is this & how did it work?

[superbenk]

Out on the Delaware & I've seen these a number of times. I'm pretty sure they have to do with loading/unloading ships (or did years ago), but I have no idea how they would have worked or what exactly they would have done. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

 

[K-2]

Conrail coal piers, not sure how they worked, lots of it is missing. Not as old as it looks, 20th century era.
Hopefully someone knows more.

 

[southkogs]

I don't know 'em very much either, but it's a belt system kinda' like some rock or grain elevators. I think from there you gravity feed into the hold of the boat.

 

[superbenk]

I guess it must be missing the boom that would extend over the boat then?

 

[K-2]

I don't know what type this one was but some are crazy to watch,,,,the rail cars gets shoved unto a structure that would have been where that gap is in the elevated tracks, one at a time the cars get shoved onto this platform that raises the single coal car and flips it over, the coal gravity falls down a chute to the loading arm that is hanging over the ship / barge. Then the empty car gets shoved further down the track, by itself it goes up that ramp at the end then comes back down and is sent to another set of tracks where they make it into an empty coal car train . So in fast sequence the full coal car is shoved onto the structure, the whole deck it is sitting on raises and dumps the coal, it lowers back down and another full coal car shoves the now empty one further down the track and takes it's place on the dumping deck. I'm not making this up This whole affair takes up acres and acres, many many train tracks for coal cars waiting to be dumped and empty ones on their way back for the return trip.

 

[robert graham]

Yep, coal trellis...there's what's left of an old wooden one on the Cooper River in Charleston, S.C.....they ran the coal cars right out to the end and dumped them somehow into the ships, most all ships at that time were coal fired.....a part of the past....

 

[superbenk]

Anyone know of any pics or video of the in action?

 

[K-2]

http://phillyskyline.com/drexelproject/
The second picture, the paragraph following it, the last word is "THIS" ,click on it and it goes to a youtube video explaining most of it

 

[K-2]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLbqnw2bKeI <same thing

 

[superbenk]

Thanks! Makes sense now. Also with that info I found this which has a photo of it all there: http://www.louisdallaraphotography.com/2010/coal-piers/

 

[southkogs]

Huh, that's cool! Not the rig I thought it was. That model was impressive.