Steam Shovels and Steam Shovel Work

by Edward Adolph Hermann

Fig. 89.

Unloading the Material.—On railways the unloading is seldom done by slow and expensive hand labor with the shovel; sometimes dump cars are employed, but in most cases flat cars and the plow are used. The trains consist of 10 to 30 cars. The car carrying the plow is attached to the rear of the train at the nearest side track to the unloading place, if it is not over 10 miles from the steam shovel pit this car is generally carried back and forth to avoid an extra stop to couple it on the train at the side track. One end of a steel wire cable is then hooked to the plow and the other end (which is attached to an ordinary car coupling link) coupled to a car or the engine. Usually this cable is about 400 ft. long and extends over 12 cars. The brakes on these cars are then set up tight and the engine started with the forward cars, [Fig. 86]. In very tenacious or partially frozen material the rear cars are sometimes pulled along by the plow; the wheels are then blocked with pieces of wood or with stones; sometimes it is even necessary to chain a few of these cars to the track to prevent the rear lot of cars from moving. After the plow has been started, it is drawn along slowly until it arrives on the last car, [Fig. 87]. The engine is then stopped and backed up a few feet to permit the cable to be thrown on one side of the track, [Fig. 88]. The train is then backed up again and coupled to the unloaded cars, when four to six men throw the cable on the next loaded cars, [Fig. 89], coupling its forward end to a car or to the engine if the cable is long enough. The operation is then repeated until all but the car next to the engine is unloaded; this car carries the plow and is the first car to be unloaded by the next train. The ends of the cable are then detached from engine and plow, thrown to one side of the track, and left there for the next train to pick up and use in the same manner.

Fig. 90.

Fig. 91.

When filling a trestle the cable cannot be thrown on one side, as described, but must be unhooked from the plow (the rear lot of cars being left standing on the trestle), dragged across the trestle, and there thrown to one side. The forward lot of cars is then backed up until its rear car is opposite the rear end of the cable, when it is loaded, the train backed up, coupled and unloaded, as before described. After unloading the train the cable must again be dragged beyond the trestle, and there thrown to one side of the track and left for the next train. The time required for unloading varies from 10 to 30 minutes, depending upon the nature of the material and the number of cars, and averages about 20 minutes, doing as much work in that time as 20 men can do in a day.