The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material

FLOATING LOADING DEVICES 483 120 tons per hour into a barge elevator, which receives it and discharges it into the granaries of the Port of London Authority. Between the double keelson of the lighter runs a band conveyor of the ordinary type, the band being 28 in. wide. This band delivers into the elevator situated at the stem of the lighter. Both elevator and conveyor are driven by an electro-motor of 6J B.H.P. The bottom of the barge is hopper-shaped, as may be seen from the cross section. Although the angle is not sufficient for the whole of the grain to discharge automatically, but little trimming is .required to remove any small portions of grain which may remain at the sides after the bulk has been cleared. The openings from the barge to the band are adjustable, and are controlled by means of hand wheels, one at each end of the barge controlling one half of the outlets. B.—FLOATING LOADING DEVICES If an expensive loading device has to go backward and forward to replenish its contents, as would have to be the case when loading large liners, it would not be in the least economical, as it would be doing work which a less expensive barge might just as well do, whereas, when continually served with an uninterrupted supply from smaller self- Fig. 672. Doxford Self-Trimming Barge. trimming barges, an up-to-date loader can handle a surprisingly large quantity in a given time. Floating Loader built by Smulders, of Schiedam, Rotterdam, Holland.— When tested for speed and capacity before being taken over at the dock of Rotterdam, this device transferred 1,057 tons of coal per hour from the lighter to the bunkers of a liner, probably the smartest performance of the kind on record. The elevator stands obliquely athwart the barge, and the incline is alterable to reach right across the ship. This manipulation is performed by hydraulic power, whilst the unloading apparatus is driven by steam power. The inclined elevator is driven by an upright shaft geared on to the upper terminal, and the driving power for the whole plant is furnished by two compound engines of 180 H.P. each. The diagrams, Figs. 676 to 678, are on the same principle, but adapted for different purposes. In both cases the main elevator receives the coal from an automatic self-trimming barge at the point indicated by an arrow. Fig. 676 shows the application of a shorter elevator for serving the bunker inlets at the side of the liner, whilst in Figs. 677 and 678 the elevator is longer and capable of distributing the coal to the side bunkers as well as to those amidship. a is the main elevator, b and i are the supports for the same, as well as for the distributing shoots c and d, which in their turn supply the coal to the shoots <?/and g h, which lead to the various bunkering holes. Typical Floating Elevators at the Hamburg Dock. — One of these is