We are reaching the final part of our three part system of the coal industry. When I was younger it really bothered me to have open load cars, mostly hoppers then, with either no loads, or with loads, and no place to go- I mean a loaded hopper needs to be brought to a customer and emptied! An empty hopper, or a string of them NEED to be brought to a mine and LOADED! You can't fake it, or you could, with secret in/out tracks and similar consists,etc. but really--
So fast forward to AAA my company wanting to fix this-
We were asked at the TCA several years ago to design a rotary dumper, and we did; one for ATLAS coalveyors, and then one for LIONEL and MTH cars.
Then came the "loadouts" (the devices that load coal into these cars) tipples, are actually referring to the devices at crushers or smaller mines where coal is sorted, washed, and stored for loading hoppers with different grades of coal for the consumer.
Unit trains starting in the 70's began using "loadouts" located many miles from open pit mines of the Powder River Basin rising on trestles to reach the tops of huge storage and "loadout" silos. AAA offers Concrete silos, Eastern loaders, and more recently shown at the April TCA meet, our "Hanna" Wyoming loadout.
An O Gauger can now operate a fully functioning coal industry, loading empties, and bringing them to be emptied, usually nowadays with a rotary dumper either at a powerplant or seaport for barge or ship loading.
Imagine a real revenue stream! Endless empties going to your mine, getting loaded, and then brought for dumping!
It's a real industry, and it's huge! It can be twin hoppers, or 50 foot coalveyors! You can do it, and we will help you!
Check out Tony Lashes video showing our loaders and dumpers. Call me anytime.
Bardo
, Rich Melvin posted a video clip of some their work in action. 