Gon loads of coal (NW Mailing List)

[NW Mailing List]

 >> How were gondola loads of coal unloaded prior to Rotary Dumpers? and
 >> related thereto, roughly when were those dumpers in use?

Most early coal gons had drop-doors in their flat-bottom floor and some 
had side doors.  In the mid-1920s as the first gen of steel gons had to 
go in for major rebuilds, those drop-dors were removed.



At Tidewater VGN in 1909, N&W in 1913, and C&O in 1914 obtained lift and 
rotate car dumpers that utilized electric motored coal shuttle cars to 
dump coal into bunkers on high piers.



At Toledo, the Hocking Valley pred's had lift and rotate Brownhoist 
direct into the boat dumpers circa 1900.  In 1909-10 it was C&O and 
hoppers to Tidewater and FB gondolas to the West.  Just prior to WW1 the 
HV and T&OC both had new piers with dumpers on the Maumee River in 
Toledo.  N&W coal cars could be seen at both.   The new Virginian was 
primarily set up for gondola cars to Tidewater in 1909.  Their few Deep 
Water hopper cars could dump at the high-piers at Huntington.



Al Kresse