I’m building a new HO layout, postwar era with both steamers and 1st generation diesels.
On previous layouts, I’ve built an ash facility for a single track. On this one, I would like for one “tower” to take care of two adjacent tracks. Was this done in the real world?
I suspect it was, with perhaps a metal conveyer pulling ashes from the furthest track over to the tower and buckets. I just find it hard to believe that a large loco facility would have just one ash facility or multiple towers to handle each track. Obviously, I’m not sure of that and ask you help.
If I remember correctly. In Crestline there was a single ash loader between two ash dumps. The ash loading tower and load out track was between them and screw conveyors were used to load the bucket.
I know at least one place at the shops. They installed new cinder conveyers late in the steam era to replace aging facilities with bucket type conveyers that spanned two or three tracks with a track behind for a retired ore car. Each track had an opening and the bucket would be placed under the proper locomotive and the ash dumped. Several locos could be serviced before the bucket would need to be dumped the service areas at and Kelly lake may have also been upgraded I don’t have the reference sheet with me right now
I checked my reference sheet on the cinder plant and was off on the time frame. It was built in 1907 and served two tracks originally but was expanded to three in 1938. The plant was retired in 1950. PS I copied the last message from my copy of word from work that’s why the last post was so big.