I did some searching I found the Wathers modern coal loading model but I'm looking for something more modern like you might currently find in the Powder River Basin. Can some one give me some direction? Thanks
The Walthers model is a good starting point for a PRB coal loading operation. However, a PRB loading operation is clearly much, much larger. And on my budget, the expense of putting a number of these models together would be just as staggering......
I've got an idea, I think, of what you might be looking for. I need to go through a large stack of Rio Grande Green Light magaines first though. Have a cover shot and an short article that might be of interest.
Nope, the loader is just about the same size. The MINE is larger, with storage silos and stuff, but where the coal meets the road it's just a tower: http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=154021
I think the caption explains what's going on in the photo. This is not the full flood loader, but the 'topper'. (At least according to the caption.)
If you look close at the cars the ones to the left are empty. I love the design. Looks like a tube, U channel and a hut. Hmm, I think they are destined for the GandG. Thanks for the thread!
Technically they aren't...those locomotives are DPU's pushing. Note the "bringing up the rear" comment. But the topper does indeed "top off" the load to fine tune the load amount and also possibly apply dust supressing chemicals. Steve, that Walthers silo, while a tad simplistic (and a tad small...I've heard of modelers modifying the HO model to get a more massive silo in N) is pretty representative of what they have in the PRB. There are usually a substantial amount of support structures though, including facilities for stockpiling, sorting, and blending the coal in some cases. And of course the mine equipment...huge drag lines (which can be had using some only slightly modified HO models) and of course the massive dumptrucks...and lots and lots of conveyors.
Storage: Detail of the loader: Neato information: http://web.ccsd.k12.wy.us/mines/PR/Glossary.html Here's a Google Maps kmz file for the mine: http://www.burnhamshops.com/RawhideMine.kmz Coal mines are a modeler's dream, a reason to have a peninsula! :teeth:
Oooops. Busted. People still remember. Um, er, oh, right. They have discovered new deposits which will be safe to transport in a unit trains of bright red "CP Pac Man" beth gons. Thes are a lower grade ore that mostly comes out of the ground black, (shhhh, it's a secret. Don't secrete it.) Mystryum also comes in a viscus liquid like crude oil, granular like gravel, huge blocks like marble, and an "un - natural" gas like substance. The byproduct of processing it for use as a fuel produces a helium like gas. The special cars have to have extra weight added to keep them on the track. //We now return you to your perviously subjected thread.
Coal Loaders How about this one? I have a model of it I am working on in Z scale. Brass etched handrails/stairs and all! I have about a hundred different photos showing multiple coal loaders from throughout the country. Most all are modern types. Hobo Tim
Also working on a concrete cylindrical loader And Here is the second type I am working on in Z scale! Version like Walther's popular coal loader. And a size comparison with the loader listed in the above message thread. Hobo Tim
Nope! that is just the top off loader!!! There are two loaders. One floods the car to near capacity, the one you have linked to is just for topping off the car!
Mine? Are you asking for dimensions for the square flood loader that I built in Z? If so, this is what the Z scale ruler tells me! Top Floor is 103' above the ground, bottomof loader is 28' from ground, 37' x 31' sides. What I did was use the photo graph and my Z scale ruler to try and find the NORM where this loader looks RIGHT! More photos of this facility! Any more questions? Ask away!!! Hobo Tim
