In pre-9/11 days you could drive into ...

In pre-9/11 days you could drive into many of the dock facilities on the Great Lakes and not be bothered as long as you stayed clear of the activity. Nothing was fenced as it is today. Herewith a compilation of two visits to CSX's Toledo coal shiploader and rotary dumper in 1992 and 1997. Nicknamed the "Sputnik", it was built in the late 1950's to supplement and eventually supplant the McMyler unloaders previously used to unload coal into lake vessels. It employs the tried and true method of using shunt locos and cable operated Barneys. Shunts push cars from the staging track to spot over a Barney pit, a cable-operated Barney then pushed the cars two at a time up a ramp to the modern two car rotary dumper. After being dumped, the coal is received into a hopper that feeds a conveyor system that feeds the shiploader, a movable conveyor/spout system that can be placed anywhere along the vessel's length to enable quick trimming of the load without having to shift the vessel along the dock. Empty cars, instead of using the more traditional kickback, run down a curved ramp/balloon track into the empty car yard. This installation can be considered a hybrid of old and new since it employs a raised dumper with a shunt/Barney system along with a rotary dumper. A more contemporary facility such as Superior Midwest places the rotary dumper at ground level so the entire train can pass through it without breaking up the consist.