Hello. How are cushion-coil cars loaded and unloaded? Is it done with a crane or by some other method? If by crane, is there a specific type? Is there a model commercially produced that would be well suited? Thank you, Yoshi
A frequent way of loading and unloading coil cars is with an heavy-duty overhead crane. I’ve also seen a traveling crane similar to a side loading container crane but with different attachments.
A good model of an overhead crane is from Walthers.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3150
You could probably use Walthers other overhead crane for the supports and rails for the crane to run on http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3102, or one of Walthers other buildings.
It’s by crane.
The key is a large angle that goes into the eye hole of the coil itself.
The crane can also remove and place covers on the cars.
Barges with sliding covers are opened by having the crane drag on it, closed in the same way after the people is off.
Large overhead cranes are best. Some are manned with a cab others have a person on the warehouse floor with a radio control belt controlling it from a safe distance. (Sometimes I think they show off placing coils with precision from a 1/2 mile away.
Hello Yoshi,
I have many years experience stacking coils{ Alcan rolled products Oswego,NY works} from the hot line. The crane I used was a 125 ton overhead P&H four grab crane. Four grab meaning …four coils at the same time. The load beam was about 20’ in length, with four grab claws between. Great job…miss it very much , 12 hours in a crane cab with a FM radio and A/C.
In the shipping department they used both overhead cranes and forklifts to load the coils on either trucks or railcars.
Patrick
Dragon River Steel Corp {DRSC}
Thank you so much for your responses!
It is a bit small but here is a link to a photograph of a coil car being unloaded.
Do coils come in more than one standard width and what do coils (usually) weigh please?
TIA
[:P]
It seems to be rather common for a 100 ton capacity car to haul only 4 coils, in an unit train, so those probably weight somewhere around 25 tons. I have also seen 6 coils frequently, and I think 8 on occasion,with 5 and 7 not being as common, per my observations.
As for sizes, check this link http://www.ussteel.com/corp/sheet/hr/index.htm.
Would those higher numbers of coils be smaller coil sizes? I’m thinking of maybe something like 4 x 5’ wide rolls and 8 x 20" rolls…???
TIA
I worked several summers at the National Tube Division of United States Steel in Fairless Hills, PA.
I worked in the rolling mill that produced the ribbon of steel that would be used to make butt welded pipe. Our coils ranged from 6 inch wide to 19 inches wide. The steel would be heated and rolled again to make the proper circumference pipe.
We would coil the steel and than band it. An overhead crane would come by and pick it up with a special “C” shaped hook. The hook would go through the center of the coil.They would go to stacks of coils or just be placed on the floor up right. They would often produce coils for other companies and they would be loaded in special gondolas with large timbers laid parallel to the sides to keep them from rolling. We would load only a few at each end over the trucks as they were extremely heavy.
Hope this is helpful! Chris
Ive a year of my life hauling Steel and Aluminum on flatbed (lumber too but that is not same)
Coils range from monster 54,000 belly decked on a Ravens 10’ Spread aluminum covered wagon down to little several thousand pounds each coil for Remington Arms for ammo.
The Monster was I think 20+ feet long, 1/2 inch thick sheet and probably about 7 feet or so high. I know I used 10 chain and 12 strap on that thing and shook in terror as the entire rig tettered high off the ground while negotiating the interstate ramps out of Gary Indiana. Watching those chains and straps flex and slack was something imprinted on me forever. Some loads are like that.
For me, common coil loads were Aluminum eye to sky on 3 pallets I think these totaled about 45,000 pounds and went to Busch for beer cans on the east coast.