11-22-2009, 06:04 PM
A inspection tour of the twin coal Towers
In this photo of the rear of the coal towers you can see to the lower right the access stairway from ground level. Take this up to the first platform. Go the door on the left. Enter. This is the furthest out tower ladder access shaft to the top of the tower. The furthest out name is from the fact that coal is delivered first to the nearest tower to the coal raising device, then to the tower furthest from the coal raising device. So we have a near and far tower. Take the ladder up to the first platform with doors. There is a door to the left and one to the right. A ladder continues up from here. We take the door on the left. It goes outside the tower. a stairway goes down to a small platform and a second stairway goes further down to a platform bringing us around the side of the tower to the front platform. It is a short one and goes only to the coal shoot for the far tower. You can inspect the coal release door here. Its cable goes down lower to where a man on top of the tender can reach it to pull and release the coal to the shoot and down to the tender coal bin. Everything look OK here! Now to your right is a ladder up to a higher platform. Climb up to this platform. We see a ladder going up and one going down. We also see the cable and counter weight system for raising and lowering the coal shoots. The nearest is for this tower and the farthest for the other .Inspecting each proves them to be in good order. This platform crosses over to the opposite tower. Climbing down brings me to a small platform where the coal release door can be inspected. Finding this OK, we return to the upper platform. Now we go to the ladder going down. This ladder go to the platform between the coal shoots. This platform is only used for working on the coal shoots. Going over to the ladder going up, we take it up. Here we see the roofs over the two towers. On this end is the enclosure for the main conveyor belt that brings coal to the far tower. Now knowing the layout of these tower ladders, and platforms I know to climb up to the roof and pass under the conveyer enclosure walking to the far end and step down to the platform. Here I am between the two towers. A door to my left and one to my right. I go to the right and thro the door. here I am back on that platform with the door opposite me now that I took down to the front outside platform and the coal shoots. We are done there. Now I take the ladder up. At the top is the delivery end of this towers small conveyer belt. I see and inspect the end roller it pillow block bearings and belt tracking adjustments. I check the belt to see that it is tracking properly, centered on it rollers. Looking down I see the tower slide, and the coal that is in this tower. Back down to the platform and out the door onto the platform between the towers I cross over to the opposite door, enter and see the ladder up to this the near towers conveyer belt and slide. I go up and do my inspection. Back down to the platform, out the door, cross over to the far tower and down the ladder to and thro the tower entrance door to the platform outside. walking away from the door to the stairs going up, I take them up to a door at the top of the coal raising enclosure. looking to my left down the main conveyer, I see that the deflector is in place to load the near towers bin. Operating the local control for the deflector I watching it withdraw and extend. I use the local control for the coal raising equipment and watch it all operate. Coal comes up from below on to the main belt and heads for the deflector.I have put some coal on the main conveyer. belt.. Because the deflector is extended running the coal raiser runs the main belt and the near tower belt. I operate only the main conveyer and near tower belt to off load the coal into the near tower. Everything is running fine. It was a good test run. Now i withdraw the deflector. I run the main belt. Automatically the far tower belt also run. Everything is working right. I replace the deflector the way I found it put all switches back to remote control and off I go back down the tower. My inspection over.
In this photo of the rear of the coal towers you can see to the lower right the access stairway from ground level. Take this up to the first platform. Go the door on the left. Enter. This is the furthest out tower ladder access shaft to the top of the tower. The furthest out name is from the fact that coal is delivered first to the nearest tower to the coal raising device, then to the tower furthest from the coal raising device. So we have a near and far tower. Take the ladder up to the first platform with doors. There is a door to the left and one to the right. A ladder continues up from here. We take the door on the left. It goes outside the tower. a stairway goes down to a small platform and a second stairway goes further down to a platform bringing us around the side of the tower to the front platform. It is a short one and goes only to the coal shoot for the far tower. You can inspect the coal release door here. Its cable goes down lower to where a man on top of the tender can reach it to pull and release the coal to the shoot and down to the tender coal bin. Everything look OK here! Now to your right is a ladder up to a higher platform. Climb up to this platform. We see a ladder going up and one going down. We also see the cable and counter weight system for raising and lowering the coal shoots. The nearest is for this tower and the farthest for the other .Inspecting each proves them to be in good order. This platform crosses over to the opposite tower. Climbing down brings me to a small platform where the coal release door can be inspected. Finding this OK, we return to the upper platform. Now we go to the ladder going down. This ladder go to the platform between the coal shoots. This platform is only used for working on the coal shoots. Going over to the ladder going up, we take it up. Here we see the roofs over the two towers. On this end is the enclosure for the main conveyor belt that brings coal to the far tower. Now knowing the layout of these tower ladders, and platforms I know to climb up to the roof and pass under the conveyer enclosure walking to the far end and step down to the platform. Here I am between the two towers. A door to my left and one to my right. I go to the right and thro the door. here I am back on that platform with the door opposite me now that I took down to the front outside platform and the coal shoots. We are done there. Now I take the ladder up. At the top is the delivery end of this towers small conveyer belt. I see and inspect the end roller it pillow block bearings and belt tracking adjustments. I check the belt to see that it is tracking properly, centered on it rollers. Looking down I see the tower slide, and the coal that is in this tower. Back down to the platform and out the door onto the platform between the towers I cross over to the opposite door, enter and see the ladder up to this the near towers conveyer belt and slide. I go up and do my inspection. Back down to the platform, out the door, cross over to the far tower and down the ladder to and thro the tower entrance door to the platform outside. walking away from the door to the stairs going up, I take them up to a door at the top of the coal raising enclosure. looking to my left down the main conveyer, I see that the deflector is in place to load the near towers bin. Operating the local control for the deflector I watching it withdraw and extend. I use the local control for the coal raising equipment and watch it all operate. Coal comes up from below on to the main belt and heads for the deflector.I have put some coal on the main conveyer. belt.. Because the deflector is extended running the coal raiser runs the main belt and the near tower belt. I operate only the main conveyer and near tower belt to off load the coal into the near tower. Everything is running fine. It was a good test run. Now i withdraw the deflector. I run the main belt. Automatically the far tower belt also run. Everything is working right. I replace the deflector the way I found it put all switches back to remote control and off I go back down the tower. My inspection over.
" It's a Heck of a Day " !!!!