The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material

6o4 THE MECHANICAL HANDLING OE MATERIAL just previously to the tipping of the truck. In order to further avoid the breakage of coal, a steel tipping plate or apron is provided at the hinged end of the cradle, which rises from the top level of the hopper to the height of the wagon floor. A continuous surface is thus formed down which the coal may slide gently into the hopper. The troughed band conveyor receives a continuous feed from this main hopper by means of an adjustable gate actuated by hand wheel and gear. The outward end of the conveyor is carried by a hinged and balanced jib, giving ample vertical play. The shoot at the main jib end is telescopic and capable of a radial motion, extending 15° on either side of the centre line, whilst the further end of this shoot is provided with a second radial shoot, having circular ball bearings, and enabling delivery in the vessel’s hold to be made over a complete circle if required. The luffing movement of this second shoot and telescoping of the first shoot are performed by hand through chains, chain wheels, and worm gear. It will thus be noted that not only is a gentle delivery of the coal ensured by these means, but the plant is thereby capable of loading out to any size of craft at any state of the tide, and delays to shipping are avoided. The control of the winches for hoisting and lowering the main jib and slewing the main shoot, is conducted from the driver’s cabin placed in front of the substantial steel structure at the end of the jetty. The driving power is furnished by an electro-motor situated in the motor-house at the base of the tower, carrying the hinged end of the jib ; here also is the necessary gear and drop tightening apparatus for automatically taking up any slack in the conveyor band. The Coal-Loading Plant at Port Talbot.—This plant was built by Spencer & Co. for the Port Talbot Railway and Dock Co. It deals with 700 tons of coal per hour, the band conveyor being 207 ft. long by 42 in. wide. The conveyor is fed at the shore end from a large steel hopper beneath the rail level. The contents of the railway wagons are emptied into this hopper by means of a double set of hydraulic tips, with two hinged rising and falling platforms working in opposite directions, which have this advantage, that the wagons need not be turned if they do not happen to arrive with the end door foremost. A series of gratings are provided in the hopper for the elimination of fine coal and dust, which is taken by subsidiary shoots to an elevator which delivers it to railway wagons on another set of rails. The plant is driven by electric power, the motor and driving gear being situated in a building between the fixed and hinged portion of the conveyor, and the loading-out operations are controlled from the driver’s cabin erected above the steel structure upon the edge of the quay. Coal - Shipping Plant at Port Talbot Docks for the Port Talbot Railway and Dock Co.—This plant was supplied by Fraser & Chalmers to the Port Talbot Railway and Dock Co., and comprises a travelling and a stationary installation. The travelling one consists of an underground hopper receiving the coal from an electrically driven tip from end-door wagons on to an inclined belt conveyor, which later delivers on to two similar, but horizontal, conveyors, running parallel with the quay front, each fitted with a travelling tripper arranged to deliver the coal on to the belt of the travelling tower, which in turn delivers to the boat by means of a shoot. 1 he stationary plant consists also of an underground hopper and an electrically driven tip delivering on to an inclined belt which feeds direct into the boats, the outer end of the conveyor being hinged, which gives a range of delivery similar to the other one, viz., from the water level to a height of 60 ft. above; both conveyors may therefore be used for loading all sizes of boats. The capacity of each plant is 1,000 tons per hour. The travelling plant is illustrated in Fig. 848. The Coal Shipper at Middlesbrough.—An installation of the North-Eastern