A description of the Lincoln ash pits from “Railway Track and Maintenance” (1926
edition – Hathi.org )
Long track pits,
between the rails, may be fitted with 2-yd. cars running on rails in the pit to
a fixed hoist, or it may have buckets which are lifted and dumped by a gantry
or overhead crane. A pit on this latter plan on the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy R. R. at Lincoln, Neb., to serve 150 engines daily, has two pits 245 ft.
long, each filled with 35 hopper-shaped, bottom-discharge, 2-yd. buckets 7 ft.
long and 3 ft. deep. Each engine drops an average of If yd. of ashes. Short
pits 5 to 8 ft.
long, with 1|- to 3-yd. skips standing on tracks at right angles to the engine
track, are used to serve 25 to 100 engines daily, several units being required.
The track rises on a steep incline which extends above the ground and across
the ash track, an electric or air hoist hauling up the skip, which is dumped
automatically.
Rupert Gamlen
Auckland NZ