THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN

AND

JOURNAL OF THE COAL AND IRON TRADES.

Vol. CXI.

FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 1916.

No. 2896.

COAL AND SHIPPING.

ill.—Coal Shipping

In the first issue of this series, South Africa was
mentioned as one of the sources of supply for the coal-
ing of steamships, as well as for coal exports, and it is
now intended to give further information on South
African coal and shipping ports.

The coal fields of greatest importance at present
being worked in South Africa are those of Natal and
the Transvaal, the normal output from the Natal fields
being nearly three million tons per annum, whilst the
Transvaal provides over five million tons. For steam-
ship bunker supplies, Natal coal undoubtedly takes pre-
cedence, over a million tons being requisitioned per
annum, and, as regards cargoes, the pre-war figure for
exports was 615,000 tons.

Shipping Appliances at Durban.

Since the value of coal shipments from Durban,
including bunkers, amounts normally to about three-
quarters of the total value of the coal shipments from
South Africa, this is indeed the premier coal port, and
is, therefore, provided with special equipment. The
coal shipping quay, known as the Bluff, is over 1,500 ft.
in length, and is provided with some eight miles of
railway track. This quay is situated near the entrance
channel, at the south-western side of the harbour, and
is separated from the main shipping quays, which are
on the opposite side of the harbour. It may be men-
tioned that vessels drawing up to 30 ft. can enter the
harbour at high tide.

The coal shipping equipment includes a wagon hoist
dumper and two travelling transporters, all electrically
operated, and capable of handling at the rate of 400 to
500 tons per hour. Extensive storage bins adjoin the
railway tracks on the quay, these bins having a capacity
of 10,000 tons. The method of using this plant is,
briefly, as follows —The railway wagons arriving from
the coal mines—an average distance of about 250 miles
—are discharged by the hoist dumper into a hopper,

Fig. 2.—Coal Shipping Quay at Durban, showing Transporters.

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from which the coal is delivered, through chutes with
controlled valves, into large self-discharging (drop-door)
skips, with a capacity of six tons. These skips are
supported on flat railway trucks, and six are loaded at
one time, after which they are hauled by locomotive
to the transporters, by which they are hoisted and dis-

i By F. J. WARDEN-STEVENS,
?	M.I.M.E., A.M.I.E.E., &c.

from South Africa

charged either into the storage bins or direct into
vessels, -weighing being effected automatically by scales
on the transporter tracks. These transporters have a
reach of about 190ft., and their tower structures span

Fig. I.—Coal Storage Bins (Durban)

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three lines of railway track. When the storage is drawn
upon, the supply is taken by the skips, there being two
rail tracks under the storage bins, from the chutes of
which skip trucks on both tracks may be served; and
these skips are handled by the transporters in a similar
manner. The storage bins are divided into sections of

1,000, 500, and 250 tons capacity, and are provided
with movable roof sections, so that the coal need not be
exposed. The railway wagons mostly used for the coal
traffic are of the gondola pattern, with bogie trucks, the
capacity being 35 tons, and the length about 37 ft. A
hopper type of wagon, with a capacity of 50 tons, has,
however, recently been introduced to improve the coal
traffic.

An additional plant now being erected at Durban for
coal shipping comprises another hoist dumper working
in conjunction with a special belt conveyor equipment.







This equipment includes an in-
clined conveyor, which is supported
on a gantry structure, and is loaded
from a hopper served by the car
dumper, the supply being auto-
matically weighed whilst passing
over the conveyor. The coal is
then transferred to one or other of
two longitudinal belt conveyors, the
gantries of. which are parallel with
the quay wall; and from either of
these it can be delivered by means
of an automatic discharge carriage,
at any position of their length, on
to a movable gantry which supports
a telescopic sectional belt conveyor
in a girder frame. This frame is
capable of vertical adjustment at its
outer or discharge end, being sus-
pended by wire ropes passing over
the gantry to a winch in the
operator’s cabin, whilst the rear or
loading end of the telescopic con-
veyor is pivoted. This equipment
provides for loading at a distance of
up to 30 ft. from the quayside, and
when one section is drawn in it only
projects 8 ft. The height of dis-
charge can be varied about 25 ft. by
raising or low’ering the delivery end.
To reduce breakage of the coal when
loading vessels a vertical telescopic
trunk is suspended through the
hatchway of the ves’sel, from an
adjustable jib connected with the
gantry structure, into which trunk
the sectional conveyor discharges.
This equipment is capable of load-
ing 700 to 1,000 tons per hour.

The charges for use of the coal-
ing equipment at the Bluff are Is.
per ton for bunker supplies, includ-
ing trimming, and 7Jd. for. cargo.
Durban offers favourable opportunities for bunkering
en route between America and Australia or the East;
and when vessels are light, coal cargoes are in demand.
Natal coal is generally considered about equal to our
North country coal. It is free burning, dry, 'and rather
friable in course of combustion, It is frequently