Coal dump.

  Not the great north west but this is how they did it back east. Especially the great lakes. http://www.shorpy.com/node/9811

          Pete

What Era Are You Modeling?

Why ask this question?  Because prior to 1906 the Espee was shipping in Coal for it locomotives in California and Oregon from British Columbia, Japan and Australia. The reason was because there were coal producing locations west of Utah and Western Colorado in the US at that point.  About 50% of the coal mined in Western Colorado was shipped to California and Nevada.  The SP spend a lot of effort and money to develop an efficient  oil burning system for its engines but the first efficient system didn't get implemented until 1906.  So you are either modeling after 1900 or BC.

Coal Docks

On San Francisco bay, Carquinez Strait, the Black Diamond mine had a rail connection down to Antioch.  There was another Black Diamond operation on Puget Sound.

"This Was Railroading" by George B. Abdill has an interesting photo of the Bellingham Bay & Eastern Railroad pier on Bellingham Bay, on page 50.   A long high trestle extends into the bay with a coal bunker built in at the end.  Closer to shore, there is a log dump off this same trestle.  The photo shows a 4-4-0 with coal cars spotted over the bunker  and log cars at the log dump, and a 3 mast sailing ship along side the bunker.  The BB&E shared track with the Fairhaven & New Whatcom street railway

Thanks for your

Thanks for your answers!

Pete: It's a really nice mechanism, but I think the mechanism is for a small logging and mining railroad to complex.

Tom: I've written, that I'm searching for informations about it in the twenties.

Rick: I can imagine your description. I've seen and ordered the book at amazon, thanks for the tip.

Martin

This is how the Dolly Varden RR did it

Couldn't find a prototype pic but this is how the DV RR unloaded ore at Alice Arm BC. It would be a similar affair for coal. This set up is more "narrow gaugey".

I believe this is a photo of an Sn3 layout by Alexander Zelkin.

Hope this helps.

Examples from Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island in British Columbia was once a big exporter of coal and had several colliery railways that brought coal from the mines to docks for loading onto barges and ships. 

This is a picture of a coal dock in Nanaimo in 1947 although it dates from earlier.

http://vintageairphotos.com/bo-47-1593/

Below are a couple of examples from Union Bay:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cumberlandmuseum/6961791349/in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cumberlandmuseum/6961803739

Karl

If you want see other photos of Alexander Zelkin.,

If you want see other photos of Alexander Zelkin.,, look here http://us.leforum.eu/t5348-Paysagement-de-Port-Cradding.htm

and read 223 pages