Hello; has anyone have any info on how coal barges were loaded on the Ohio/Mississippi rivers? mainly during the 30’s/40’s
Thanks
Probably not that much different than they were today. Hoppers were rotary dumped or bottom dumped into a pit and a conveyor moved the coal into the barge. Small operation might dump it into a pile and clamshell crane it into a barge but I would say conveyors were the most common.
RMC did an article on the New Jersey Big Macs. Very nice. The HO scale model is very impressive.
Pete
One difference between east coast barge loading and Ohio/Mississippi barge loading is that a lot of the east coast barges were on large bodies of water that had a relatively stable level and were on piers where they could dump directly into the barge.
On the inland rivers there was a much greater variation in water levels and in many cases the coal had to go up and over a levee. In addition the barges often had to stand off from the bank to get deep enough water to float the barge. So the east coat machinery that tipped the car over and dumped it directly into the barge wasn’t practical. Hence conveyors or cranes that have a greater reach and can accomodate a wider range of water levels.