hopper door operation

[NW Mailing List]

 Oh my, this conversation brings back memories. My mom owned and operated a coal and feed store in Rural Retreat, from the early 40's until about 1956. She would 'buy' a hopper car full of coal, and have it parked on the siding, long removed, that ran southwest from a switch near the Depot. This siding extended past the south side of the Section House to where a truck rental business is located today. I recall them hammering the hopper door to open, allowing some of the coal to fall out onto a pile on the ground. Then, when an order for 'a half-ton' would come into the store we would shovel it into the back of the pickup and deliver it to some little house in a holler somewhere. We would keep removing the coal a little at a time, and more would fall out to replenish the pile. We would often use a sledge hammer to break up the big lumps into smaller lumps suitable for the numerous 'Warm Morning' and other coal stoves abundant in the area.  The store name changed from T.F.Kidd and Son, to Akers Store in about 1946. I don't think Mom ever got paid for many of those loads. I have been curious about the cost of leaving the coal car parked for so long, as it could take months to empty it, a ton or so at a time. 
Frank Akers at AY
    On Sunday, September 24, 2023 at 05:32:56 AM PDT, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:  
 
 As nearly as I can make out from pictures, there was a section of angle that spanned each pair of hopper doors.  The doors were held in the closed position by latches affixed to the outer sides of the hopper walls that held the angle.  My question is how these latches were released when it was desired to discharge the coal.  I see no evidence that the latches were connected from one side to the other, but it seems that if only one side were released, the weight of coal trying to push that door open might put considerable stress on the connecting angle?  Was the operation of these latches performed by men with pry bars moving them off of the angle?  For multi-bay hoppers, how would only opening a subset of the doors affect the coal discharge?  I've seen lots of footage of rotary dumpers in action, but the plain ole opening of bay doors seems to have escaped me.  Does anyone know of any video showing this operation?Thanks,Jim Cochran________________________________________
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