Walthers Ore Cars

[gmpullman]

Hi, Wayne.

Yes, the lights I can understand. What I'm curious about are the multiple lines running into the lower dock from the right. If they are for operating the winches for the chutes I would think a heavier feeders would be run to a motor control center, then to the various winch motors. Wouldn't they have been bundled into conduit(s)?

Wire by Edmund, on Flickr

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The above video explains another curiocity I've had. Notice the hopper door operator on his "trolley" at 9:00 where he engages the door actuating hardware and opens the hopper on the ore jennies. Quite interesting. I've seen the criss-crossed rods, actuating chains and ratchets on the cars. Now I know what makes them work.

lot 2553 - 1 028 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr

Hopper_actuator by Edmund, on Flickr

Regards, Ed

[SeeYou190]

I am guessing ore cars would be in trains of nothing but other ore cars, or were these cars sometimes seen in manifest freight trains?

-Kevin

[doctorwayne]

DOH!   I'm sorry, Ed, but I never even noticed those wires when I first looked at the photo.

Perhaps when the facility was built (or whenever it was motorised) it made sense to leave the wires separate, as a failed one would be a lot easier to service, rather than work on ones stuffed into conduit with other wires.

I wonder, too, about the electrical power needed to raise those chutes.  I'd guess, based on the chutes' length, that the motors have a geared advantage, and may not be all that large, much in the same manner that a crane equipped with sheaves and pulleys can use a relatively small motor to lift large weights.

Wayne

 

[gmpullman]

 

The beauty of wood, concrete and steel —

 

https://www.shorpy.com/node/25442?size=_original#caption

 and some ore cars:

 

https://www.shorpy.com/node/25443?size=_original#caption

Regards, Ed

[dknelson]

A buddy who served on the Great Lakes boats verified that each of the chutes was powered with a small electric motor (they were also counterbalanced so the motors were fairly low hp).

Dave Nelson

[Slowmodem]

I apologize for being away from the thread for so long.  There are some family health problems to deal with.  There are some absoultely great replies to this thread which will take some time to go through and digest.  Thanks again!