The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material

COAL, COKE, AND ASH HANDLING PLANTS 639 A combination of a Hunt automatic railway and a gravity bucket conveyor is used in this plant, the former being employed for carrying the coal from the receiving hopper and weighing machine on the river side to the chute which feeds the gravity bucket conveyor. The automatic railway wagon receives coal from a weighing machine on the tower, descends by gravity along the incline to a filler pit, into which it deposits its load and returns by means of the accumulated energy as already described.1 From this point the coal is dealt with in the ordinary way, being fed through the automatic filler, after which it is carried upwards and inwards and dumped into the overhead bunkers, whence it is discharged by chutes into the stoker hoppers, the capacity being about 40 tons per hour. Fig. 892. Zimmer Conveyor for Feeding Boiler-Houses, as used at the Shipley Collieries, Derby. As the coal used at this station is of a specially fiery nature, the plant has been provided with an arrangement for retrimming, as shown in the illustrations. To this end the coal bunker is fitted with four chutes (three of which are shown in the illustration), through any one of which the coal when desired may be discharged into the conveyor by means of the movable filler, which is placed over the latter on the track beneath the boiler-house floor. Coal-handling Plant at the Aston Manor Electric Power Station.—A gravity bucket conveyor is used here, the normal capacity of which is 22 tons per hour. This can be increased if necessary to 25 tons, and all the ashes can be discharged at any time without interference with the coaling. Briefly, the method of coal and ash handling is as follows :— 1 For further description of the “ Hunt" Automatic Railway, see page 511.