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Scotts-dale Division Site
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Lamberts Point Coal Transloading Facility in Norfolk, Virginia is the largest coal transfer facility in the world and a key component of the Norfolk Southern Transportation Network. The heart of the Facility is Pier #6 where coaliers (bulk cargo ships) are loaded by two mammoth transfer machines. The machines move up and down the pier as needed to position themselves over each hold of the ships. The machines receive coal via a high speed conveyor. The conveyor is fed coal either from the two tall storage elevators or from the rotary dumpers. The elevators are capable of storage XXX Tons of coal. The rotary dumpers are the facilities interface between the railroad and the pier. There are two sets of rotary dumpers. Each set has two units and therefore can dump two 100 Ton coal cars at the same time. The throughput of the dumpers is XXX cars per minute which means the rotary dumper facility can provide XXX Tons per hour of coal to the pier or storage elevators. Significant yard facilities are provided for storing, sorting and moving coal cars. The three primary facilities are the loaded car storage which is a large reversing loop, the Barney yard where the cars are organized and marshaled for dumping, and the empties yard where cars are marshaled to return to the mines. In addition there is a engine service facility for servicing and turning road locomotives and a car repair facility for fixing and overhauling coal cars. |
Operations
This is my best understanding of the operation of Lamberts Point. Loaded coal trains arrive at the east end of the Lamberts Point facility. The southern part of the loop appears to be the arrival yard and the northern part of the loop is a classification yard. Coal train enters the reversing loop at the southern side and pulls through to the west end of the loop. The road engines are cut off on the southern side of the loop and use the southern most track of the loop to return to the engine facility.
Once the coal cars arrive, they are moved to the northern side of the loop and sorted based on the coal properties (not all coal is the same; sulfer content and other properties vary. Therefore coal is sorted and blended to meet customer specifications). After coal cars are sorted, they wait in the north side of the loop to be called to the Barney Yard. When the coal is needed, the coal cars are moved from the north side of the loop to the Barney yard to the east of the rotary dumpers (the middle yard). The Barney yard is split in half, one side for each of the rotary dumpers, and a double slip switch connects both sides of the yard to the opposite rotary dumpers. Selected cars roll by gravity from the barney yard through the yard ladder and into the sheds. The sheds are equipped with powerful electric heaters to thaw the coal when needed. After the cars roll through the sheds they stop at the barney mule. As near as I can tell, the mule is a cable operated device which operates on its own rails The mule sits in a pit below the tracks and after the coal car passes overhead, the mule is connected to the coal cars and pushes them up the hill and into the rotary dumpers.
After the coal has been dumped into the rotary dumpers conveyors carry the coal either to the coal silos or directly to the coal loading machines. The empty car exists the dumper and reverse direction by traveling through the spring switch and up, then down, the incline. The empty car is switched into the empties yard (northern yards) to await the next west bound empties train to return it to the coal fields.
Layout Design Element
Lamberts point is a very large facility and the elements of the facility are segregated; therefore modeling the entire facility in an operationally prototypical method is space prohibitive. Therefore another methodology for simplifying the layout is needed.
One concept to simplify the layout design element (LDE) would be to eliminate the loads storage loop and its associate track. Instead, loads would arrive directly into the barney yard. This would simplify the yard and reduce space required; however, it results in two challenges, first the arrival tracks would be eliminated leaving no obvious place for road engines to drop their trains without interfering with Barney yard operations. Second the engine servicing facility would be eliminated, requiring a new approach for storing road locomotives.
To simplify my Lamberts Point LDE while retaining Arrival tracks and engine servicing facility, I had to freelance portions of the track arrangement. First, I simplified the Barney Yard by reducing the number of tracks and entrance points. Also, I inserted three arrival tracks between the halves of the Barney Yard and provided connecting tracks for switching. Next I eliminated half of the empties yard and reduced the number of tracks in the other half. I modified the car repair facility to shorten it and reduce the number of tracks. Then I wrapped the entrance tracks into a loop. Finally I included the engine facility near the entrance to Lambert's Point. I think the arrangement is successful in capturing the key elements of Lamberts Point as well as the overall flow of coal traffic within the facility.
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Lamberts Point, VA LDE Prototype: NS (Old N&W Mainline) Dimensions: 17 feet x 6.5 feet, 12" Grid Scale: N Track work: Atlas Code 55 Flex track & Fast Tracks #4.5, #6, & #8 turnouts |
Pictures
Because of the scope and nature of the operation, it is very difficult to get good railfan pictures of Lamberts Point. For pictures check out Microsoft's Virtual Earth in Birdseye view.
References
1. Google Earth - Lamberts, VA
2. Norfolk Southern Employee Timetable Virginia Division Number 1 - 2 Oct 1988.
3. Microsoft Virtual Earth - Lamberts Point VA
4. Tour of Lamberts Point Video, NS Corp Web Site http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/Customers/Coal/