Safety is undoubtedly the greatest concern for all rail facilities. A loading or unloading facility can quickly become a dangerous place when a railcar is not securely positioned. Soul Asylum said it best, “Runaway train never going back, wrong way on a one way track.” So how do you prevent a runaway train? With chocks!
Read MoreTags: railcar movers, railcar indexers, railcar dumpers, unloading, railcar holding
The lifespan of a Heyl & Patterson Railcar Dumper can be measured in decades. It is not uncommon for unloading facilities to have equipment with a useful life that exceeds 30 years. To maintain the integrity of the equipment and prolong this lengthy lifespan upgrades are essential.
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Icy temperatures across the Midwest and Northeast pose a concern for those who can’t afford to let a little chill stop them in their tracks.
Read MoreTags: hammermill, railcar dumpers, unloading
The European Union plans to turn heavily towards using renewable energy in order to reduce emissions by 80 percent before 2050. They are focused on reaching this goal, not just through the use of solar and wind but also wood pellets. In numerous European countries, the use of wood pellets to produce electricity is becoming more commonplace. Pellets are a by-product made from the sawdust, bark, chips and other pieces of scrap wood that are generated by the processing of trees into lumber. The pieces are milled, dried and pressed into a pellet shape, and the lignin in the wood plasticizes to form a natural glue that allows a pellet to remain in one piece.
Read MoreTags: power generation, wagon tipplers, biomass, wood chips, railcar dumpers
Maintenance involves any actions that are necessary to conserve the condition of a piece of equipment to achieve its maximum useful life, while compensating for normal wear and tear. Routine operations are performed to both keep the device in working order and prevent trouble from arising. Different machines often have their own best practices and maintenance schedules that are unique to their own operation. Similarly, upgrades are the replacements of mechanical or electrical systems with a newer or better version, in order to bring the entire system up to date and improve its overall functionality.
Read MoreTags: maintenance, wagon tipplers, upgrades, railcar dumpers
Unloading railcars is usually accomplished in one of two ways: a railcar dumper turns cars upside down in order to spill their contents, or bottom dump railcars drop their contents through chutes and gates. There are obvious differences between the two methods, but also some surprising similarities. Choosing between these systems calls for a number of factors to be considered, namely capital costs, maintenance, climate, versatility and economics. Heyl & Patterson recently explored both sides of the matter in an article published in World Coal magazine's June 2015 issue, entitled "Which Unloading System?"
Read MoreTags: bulk material handling equipment, coal handling, wagon tipplers, railcar dumpers
Even in today's "paperless" world, there continues to be a huge demand for paper. Paper is made from wood pulp, which is also used to manufacture a wide variety of products from diapers to particle board to textiles. The pulp itself is the cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose components of wood fibers, which are separated from one another through steaming, cooking or mechanical grinding processes. Most pulp is made from a mixture of sawmill residue, logs, wood chips and recycled paper, and it is interesting to note that practically all of the fibers that end up as pulp originally existed as trees.
Tags: bulk material handling equipment, wagon tipplers, biomass, pulp & paper, wood chips, railcar dumpers
Man has been mining stone, metals and minerals since prehistoric times. The world's oldest known mine site is located in Swaziland in Africa, where the first mining of metals was recorded via carbon dating as 43,000 BC. Mining of metallic minerals occurred in ancient Egypt, Greece and the Roman Empire, and metals such as iron ore contributed to the industrial growth of Europe during the Middle Ages. Iron is the fourth most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust, at about five percent, and it also represents 95 percent of all metal used in any given year.
Tags: wagon tipplers, iron ore, railcar dumpers
Model trains are synonymous with the holiday season, often circling the base of a Christmas tree to the delight of children and parents alike. These toys have existed since the first real railroads stretched across the early United States. The earliest versions were made of cast iron, and some could even run on steam. In the late 19th century, a German doll house manufacturer named Marklin sought to create an equivalent toy line for boys. The company envisioned a constant revenue stream of add-ons that could be bought for years after the initial purchase.
Tags: railcar dumpers
Heyl & Patterson introduced the first-ever conference designed for users of railcar dumping systems in 1984. Thirty years later, the conference continues to bring users together for industry best practices, product updates, training, roundtables and social networking. Attendees of the bi-annual Railcar Dumper User Group Conference have access to Heyl & Patterson engineers and technicians to discuss the most up-to-date techniques and processes for efficient operations.