The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material

UNLOADING VESSELS BY BARGE OR SHIP ELEVATORS 455 suspended barge elevator with the jib containing the first band conveyor. It also shows the small structure in which the grain is freed from dust, and the iron gantry in the distance leading to the granary. Fig. 632 represents a view of the receiving end at the river side which overhangs the two lines of rails along the quay wall. 1 he barge elevator is driven by a 15 H.P. electro-motor mounted on the top of the elevator itself, which also drives the band conveyor in the jib. The foundations for the terminal at the river side are 36 ft. deep owing to the poor condition of the ground, the very heavy load, and the length of the jib, which latter is sufficiently long to reach over one into the middle of a second ship to unload it. 1 he main band conveyor which communicates between the small structure on the gantry—already mentioned—and the granary, is led over four drums at the river side terminal to keep the two strands of the conveyor sufficiently far apart to get a clear delivery for the grain from Fig. 632. Side View of Barge Elevator for Grain. the lower strand of the band, as both strands are used for conveying to or from the warehouse; the other terminal in the granary is led over three fixed drums and one loose one for tightening; this terminal with its driving motor is shown in Fig. 633. There is also a third band conveyor working with both the upper and lower strands which connects the main band with that in the jib, and which also takes the grain from the main band via an elevator in the small structure to a long loading shoot which delivers the grain into barges. The capacity of the installation, which was built by the Seek Engineering Co., of Dresden,1 is from 50 to 60 tons of grain per hour. Banana Unloader.—An elevator on similar lines to the Mitchell Cantilever Grain Elevator (described later) is shown in Fig. 634. It is adapted for travelling along a quay, and unloading bulk goods such as bananas, carcasses, etc. At the lowest position 1 From an article by W. Spielvogel in the Zeitschrift des Vereins deutscher Ingenieure of 20th September 1913.