Got another one for my Forum friends. Does anyone have or know of some good pictures or diagram for a railyard diesel fuel unload facility (early 70s to 1980)? The prototype railroad that inspired my protolanced one delivered diesel fuel in tank cars and I am trying to model an appropriate area for the unloading but I am completely lost. As usual, any assistance that can be provided would be most welcomed.
I haven't viewed this complete video, but it looks like it might answer a lot of your questions.I built a fueling facility for my diesel-powered "BEE"...
...but pretty-much faked it, although I don't think that it's too far-fetched.
Here's the facility...
The supposed procedure has a tank car spotted over that covered well in the track, and a hose is then connected from the pipe in the well to the outlet pipe on the underside of the tank car.An employee then climbs to the tank car's dome and opens the valve which allows the fuel to flow into the underground pipe.Meanwhile, another worker has got the pump in the small shed running and it's pushing the fuel up into the elevated tank. Once the storage tank is full, the valves are closed, and the pipes and hoses disconnected and capped.
Since the modelled portion of the siding is fairly short, a locomotive will arrive to remove the tank car, then the "BEE" will come in for re-fueling. Since the fuel is stored in an elevated tank, gravity will get the fuel into the BEE's fuel tank.
Anyhow, that's my version of how things might be done.
Wayne
Let me point out that for steam locomotive fuel oil, the choice was Bunker C, a viscous substance about one step above road tar in the cracking towers. Until ways were found to burn it in boilers, the refineries would practically pay you to haul it away (rather like anthracite culm). Now my dad earned money for college by firing on the Luoisiana & Arkansas, a line of oil burners. One of his first duties on reporting aboard the locomotive was to open the valve to the steam heating coils in the fuel bunker so it was liquid enough to flow. Sooooo...if you have oil burning steamers, you probably need a boiler house near the unload point or - maybe - some way of piping steam from a switcher to the tank car, which would have had its own heating coils.
I'm looking at diesel fuel not steamer Bunker oil.
Yes, I know, but there may be people who will be curious and wonder what is needed for steam