Duncan,
Have a 1969 track arrangement at Keokuk if you need one. Let me know.
Don't think any industry would expect the RR to move individual cars.
Also would have no desire to pay for an Intra Plant Switch.
So how do they move their cars? Could have the track graded so the
cars move by gravity. Just a matter of hand brakes then.
Or, a rope on a capstan was fairly common although they claim a lot of
fingers. A cable system with an underground motor is the next step up.
Then you move up to an end loader, a farm tractor, or small cat.
Trackmobiles are all over the place but are expensive and can only do
one thing. Also just about worthless in snow.
All in all the end loader is probably the best solution. There is a lot to
clean up when unloading grain, especially from box cars, and the loader
can do both jobs.
There are plenty of elevators that load unit grain trains with cars on 3 or 4
tracks and no locomotive. Just keep pulling or pushing them around
with that end loader until they're done.
Russ
>
> Another general question -- with a large plant like this which received
> strings of cars, would the switch engine have to return to the plant each
> time a car was finished being loaded (or emptied) and push the string of
> cars along so the next one could be attended to? I don't see evidence of
> facilities to load (or empty) more than a car at a time. Or, does someone
> remember an engine being assigned to Hubinger most of the time?
>
> Thanks as always.
> Duncan
>
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