Coal dealer shed


Z

zoegraf

Craftsman at heart
I really like the look of this shed and would like to scratch build one like it.

I need a little help in determining the dimensions.

So far it looks like the higher side is a tad higher than a hopper. And the service doors I'm guessing are about 8 feet high?
 
The shed is neat looking - how would the coal get inside the shed? I didn't see a pit under the hopper tracks. Maybe the coal loader would be used? Are you able to measure the structure or only working from the photo?
 
Neat little shed, that type of structure would be all over the place and likely varied a great deal in dimensions.
I'd guess the building is about 8.5' high in front and 7' in back, going by the freight doors. That would give it about the right pitch for the roof too.
Looks to be about 50' to 60' long going by the hopper and conveyor.
I'm also wondering how the coal gets inside?
A couple hatches in the roof would take care of that.
 
Apparently the coal was shovelled in by manual labour.

This type of shed was popular and I have seen prototypical images of them.

On my layout and era, it will be almost out of commission so it will be a bit in bad shape and aged quite a bit due to oil becoming more popular.
 
Figuring on about 11' high, or so for a hopper, I'd start at about 14' high for the front. Use that for the starting point and estimate the length from the second picture or just make it to fit the space available or whatever is appealing to your eyes.

I would hazard a guess to say that a bit of "poetic license" was used in modeling that scene. No way would they dump a hopper on the tracks, then try to shovel the coal out from under it and into a nearby building! Just not practical, even given Depression Era wages!
 
Burlington Bob said:
Figuring on about 11' high, or so for a hopper, I'd start at about 14' high for the front. Use that for the starting point and estimate the length from the second picture or just make it to fit the space available or whatever is appealing to your eyes.

I would hazard a guess to say that a bit of "poetic license" was used in modeling that scene. No way would they dump a hopper on the tracks, then try to shovel the coal out from under it and into a nearby building! Just not practical, even given Depression Era wages!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.

Here's another layout with the same type probably using "poetic license".

I do recall seeing prototype images of these structures trackside, but no evidence of a pit or elevated track.

I've seen footage of the area I'm modelling of coal being loaded into tenders with buckets on cranes, but not hoppers.

I'd like to model an elevated track with a coal bin underneath, but don't have enough length.
 
Too easy, if you can't elevate the track just lower the scenery!
No really, create a little low land to break up the prairie and viola!
 
Why not put the bin below the track with an elevator running from it to an opening in the roof of the trackside building? That way there wouldn't be any need for an elevated section of track and the extra space needed for the ramp.

We had a fertilizer dealer where I lived that had a ramp leading down to a pit beneath the siding track where they would spot a hopper loaded with lime. The car was dumped into the pit and an endloader was used to run down the ramp and get a bucketful of lime and backup the ramp to dump it in piles on the ground. Didn't take long to do a whole hopperfull.
 
Burlington Bob said:
Why not put the bin below the track with an elevator running from it to an opening in the roof of the trackside building? That way there wouldn't be any need for an elevated section of track and the extra space needed for the ramp.

We had a fertilizer dealer where I lived that had a ramp leading down to a pit beneath the siding track where they would spot a hopper loaded with lime. The car was dumped into the pit and an endloader was used to run down the ramp and get a bucketful of lime and backup the ramp to dump it in piles on the ground. Didn't take long to do a whole hopperfull.
Click to expand...

I could cut out a pit to be under the track. Mmmm.
 
Actually a lot of these building had coal delivered in gondolas. Coal was generally moved in gons from the 1880's to about 1910 in the east and in gons until after WW2 in the west. If you look at western railroads in the 1940's and 1950's, hopper cars are pretty rare compared to GS gons.
 
dave1905 said:
Actually a lot of these building had coal delivered in gondolas. Coal was generally moved in gons from the 1880's to about 1910 in the east and in gons until after WW2 in the west. If you look at western railroads in the 1940's and 1950's, hopper cars are pretty rare compared to GS gons.
Click to expand...

Now if I can only find one of these in a kit.
 
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