How did an N&W articulated Mine Run Shifter work?

[Anonymous]

It is my understanding that a mine run shifter would begin the day
by taking empty cars from the marshalling yard to the mines along a branch
and picking up the loaded cars and then bringing all the loaded cars back to the marshalling yard at the end of the day.
Did the shifter drop off the emties first at each mine and then pick up the loaded cars on its way back or did it drop off empties and pick up the loads at the same time ?
I've seen no photos of the shifters runinning a load backwards so how did they turn around at the end of a branch run to bring the loaded cars back?
Would the shifter also bring in tank cars for the oil that was used in processing coal at some tipples or other freight cars with machinery or wood
required by the mine .....or was this type of material brought in by a standard frieigh engine?

[nfmisso]

This would be a good question to ask on N&WHS's e-mail discussion group:
http://www.nwhs.org/mailing_list.html

[Anonymous]

I have also been wondering about how the empties, once delivered to the mine, are shuffled for loading; is this all done by the road crew, in a "while-you-wait" fashion, or did the mines keep their own motive power and/or pulley systems to handle loading between mine runs?

I know the answer is probably "Both", since I've seen photographs of both conditions, but I am wondering what the "norm" is. One of my model towns is going to be big enough, with two moderate-sized coal extractors, to justify an on-station switcher, but a couple other mines won't have this luxury. What will they do? And, in the era of steam, did some mines have their own steam engines, compleat with water towers, coal bins, ash pits, and all that jazz?

[BRAKIE]

Well speaking as a former C&O brakeman that worked some mine runs I can assure you we picked up the loads as we went there is no use in doubling the work to do.Some mines had their own locos while others use a pulley system and yes even gravity to move the cars under the loading chute..Now if we had to make a reverse move up a branch then we would leave the loads we have picked up at the closest passing siding with the DS blessing..That is not to say that always happen..Sometimes we would leave the cars at a out laying yard to pick up on the return trip or in some cases we would simply take them with us during the reverse move.Remember you do not make any moves you don't have to.Not only does this save time but extra work as well..

[Anonymous]

I've Googled around with various search words after I posed my inquiry
here and found a "Mine Run Operations " at this nice site:
http://members.tripod.com/appalachian_railroad/mineruns.html

I have the BLI N&W 2-6-6-4 and am waiting for a Zephyr DCC set I've ordered.
Planning to build a shelf module of a southern West Virginia tipple using
a slightly modified Walthers New River Mine Kit.