Thursday, September 6, 2012

Vintage Ballast Loader

This is a vintage 1908 ballast loader by Fairbanks Morse.  The machine consisted of two inclined conveyors supported on a framework, with the lower end of the conveyor at the trackside gravel pile and the upper end extending over the ballast car.   Power was supplied by a 6 hp gasoline engine.  The loader structure was mounted on a railcar with a gear so the gasoline engine could move the car.  The overhanging frame supported a revolving shaft with a double crank on each end.  Ropes were connected from each crank to a scoop shovel.


Four shovelers with the assistance of two men could load twelve cars holding 26 yards of gravel each in a 10 hour day.  They claimed it was more cost effective than than using a steam shovel.  This would make an interesting model, most likely as a derelict on a more modern model railroad.

In response to a comment/question (which apparently blogger does not enable me to respond to directly) the photo and information I posted on this unique ballast loader was all the info the catalog had.

1 comment:

  1. Stan,

    This is the coolest thing I have seen in a while, and, I think I might just have the place for one. Thanks so much for posting. Beautiful.

    Was this just a single catalog image? Or were there more specifications in the book?

    Thanks again for posting.

    Peter S.

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