No sides in the boxcar

[corwinda]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CShaveRR
(the usual way to unload a woodchip gon is through an end door, by tilting the car in a special dumper).

The only woodchip unloader for railcars I've seen is a rotary unloader. And some of the cars show dents on the top of the side walls.

[edblysard]

Pasadena Paper uses the tilt dumper, looks like the dump bed of a huge dump truck, works the same way.
They have a switch engine which shoves the chip cars into it, it has a coupler at the end which lifts, they couple up, back away, labors knock off the end door dogs, and this thing just tils up, and the chips slide right out, and into a pit.

Takes only a few minutes to empty the cars.

Messy as all get out, but it works.

The only drawback is when the labors cant or dont close the end door, and we go to pull the plant.

Cant move the car until the doors are closed, and sometimes the dogs or door locks get beat up pretty bad.

And the stink!!
Wet, hot woodchips, slowly rotting in the dump pit...
You can smell the place from miles away.
Stay Frosty,
Ed

[corwinda]

Sounds like the chip truck unloaders out here. Back the truck in and unhook the tractor from trailer; then dump.

I'll try to get a closer look; but I don't think most of the chip cars I see out west have end doors. Anything particular that I could look for from trackside? A particular style of chip gon; perhaps?

[edblysard]

Most of the chip cars we get down here are Sp woodchip cars.
The look like HiCube boxcars with the top cut off.
The end door has a pair of heavy door dogs on one end, the door rides on heavy pin hinges at the top.

I asked, and these same cars are run through a rotary dumper at other plants,
Pasadena paper is owned by Simpson Paper, and one of the other plants uses the rotary dumper.

Next change I get, I will take a photo of one of the cars/
Ed

[mudchicken]

Apache Railroad does the rotary dumper trick at Bernalillo, NM....Montana de Fibre at Las Vegas, NM was using rotary and a suction version at the wafer board plant there. After they blew the roof off the transfer building (dust explosion), I have no idea what they use now....

mc

[corwinda]

QUOTE: Originally posted by edblysard

Most of the chip cars we get down here are Sp woodchip cars.
The look like HiCube boxcars with the top cut off.

Are those the ones with smooth sides or outside ribs on the sides? In Oregon I see both; plus quite a few UP chip gons.

[edblysard]

Most of them are smooth side, but we get some ribbed ones too, but not often.
That train stages out of our Pasadena yard, so I dont see it often, but next chance I get, I will try for a photo or two.
Ed