In order for loaded cars to dump their contents while on a highline bridge, should the track have special ties that allow the material to easily pass through?
Rick
Unless it is rather homogeneous, the dumped material would surely pass through a 'grizzly' of some kind over a hopper that distributes the dumped material, or there'd just be the hopper. The hopper would be under a special structure that, almost certainly of reinforced concrete, would not need ties to run from one rail acros to the other. At most there might be a couple or four steel beams transversely mounted to keep the whole stable. But, dumped earthen material would quickly erode the steel, and those would have to be replaced about once every few weeks.
However, the prototype would do what it felt it had to do, often with handy materials, so I'm going to suggest that anything is possible. It's just that wooden ties would wear much more quickly, and they'd be down to toothpicks if rocks of any size were dumped through and over them by the 70 ton-load. That's why I think a large structure of concrete would have to support and stabilize each rail, and leave the dumping space essentially open.
A much more informed reply is sure to follow, so please be patient.
Thanks. I should add that the highline bridge that I need to figure out the track for is the one that is included with the Walthers blast furnace. It is steel.
Hi,
I didn't have enough length to use the "high" part of the highline but I did ramp up to a sort of ore/lime/coal dump here:
Ore_Dump by Edmund, on Flickr
That is the Walthers beams from the blast furnace kit without the "legs". I simply used some Atlas code 83 here with some ties clipped out.
Ore_Dump-2 by Edmund, on Flickr
I plan to add more details here and use some of Tichy's open grate walkways in place of the walthers stuff as shown.
Steel Mill T by Jeremy Marshall, on Flickr
Steel Path To Nowhere by 95wombat, on Flickr
There are some good steel-mill modeling ideas here:
http://www.phillynmra.org/archives/layout/mike-rabbitt-lake-erie-mad-river
Good Luck, Ed
Thanks. Clipping out some of the ties is an effective and simple idea.
gmpullman That is the Walthers beams from the blast furnace kit without the "legs". I simply used some Atlas code 83 here with some ties clipped out. Ore_Dump-2 by Edmund, on Flickr
I am using your idea of cutting the ties out of the track on the highline bridge. In the picture above I see you have some piping. That is something I have been wondering about - what would a steel mill run the pipes for? I'm not quetioning that you did it but what I should be planning to do. My mill is next to a refinery and it would seem natural to run piping between them.