It may be wishful thinking, the dig I'm on has got far enough, is straight enough and has the room for narrow gauge railway.

Ultimately I'm wanting a system that one person can control, loading, hauling, emptying and empty return wagon without the need for that person to relocate.

Can anyone share their designs/ideas for a self emptying, bottom dumping rail wagon?

It'll sorta be in the 3ft long by 1.5ft wide and 1ft tall range of dimensions.

There is plenty of room below the dumping point to install a chute to redirect the falling muck. 

Currently we're digging thru clay, sand mix with rock, that's broken down to handy sized lumps for transport.

Tow from the back of the truck, incline the rails upwards at about 45 degrees at the dump point, and fit a rail stop.

When it reaches the stop it will tilt forwards and dump, when released gravity will cause it to fall backwards onto the rails.
In theory anyway.

You can make your rails out of wooden battens or whatever.

Now if it where a shaft sinking, you could make a self emptying skip, mmm.

A couple or three of option I would consider.

A truck with a sideways tipping body (ie pivoted axis parallel to track). When loaded, the centre of gravity is above and slightly off set from the pivot axis and the body wants to tip but is prevented from doing so by a latch. The latch is released automatically when it hits a stop at the tipping point. The empty body can then either re-right itself due to a lower centre of gravity (as a flop jack bucket would) or can be righted and re-latched when it arrives back at the digging face.

Fixed body with the floor hinged down either side. Again when the truck reaches the tipping point a latch is released. Due to the weight in the truck it may require a first latch that release a bar or other mechanism that holds the doors shut (as an old fashioned mouse trap works). Clearance below would be required for the truck to run back along the track with its cargo doors open.

If the truck is on wheels on tracks, supposing the track bends down and doubles over under itself and so tips upside down. To prevent the truck just falling off the rails, before it starts to go over the edge another pair of tracks start just above the wheels effectively making a channel in which the wheels run. The pull back rope would have to be connected under the truck but near the front and go over a pulley or the like between the main rails at the apex of the U bend to allow the truck to be pulled back around the U bend. But I suspect the truck would be too heavy for this.

Conveyor belt.

Option 5 - Phone a friend

You could spend a lot more time engineering a solution than it would just to haul out skips of spoil.

I know of at least one dig (not current) on Mendip that might have gone a lot sooner if the time had been spent on hauling rather than engineering an easier solution. But who doesn't get pleasure out of engineering.

Maj.

royfellows said:

Tow from the back of the truck, incline the rails upwards at about 45 degrees at the dump point, and fit a rail stop.
...........

......Now if it where a shaft sinking, you could make a self emptying skip, mmm.

Click to expand...

Cheers, that's a nice simple option if I had the space above the tipping point...... perhaps putting the rail downwards at 45 degrees...mmnhhh....

.... the muck s coming from a shaft about 12ft deep at present, but theres just about room to stoop down to muck out. theres not enough room to put in any gear.

Maj said:

A truck with a sideways tipping body....

Option 5 - Phone a friend

You could spend a lot more time engineering a solution than it would just to haul out skips of spoil.

I know of at least one dig (not current) on Mendip that might have gone a lot sooner if the time had been spent on hauling rather than engineering an easier solution. But who doesn't get pleasure out of engineering.

Click to expand...

Being a engineer I do enjoy a good project more so than caving, ha.

I've seen mine size wagons that have a side tipping mechanism. One side of the track gradually ramps up , tilting the wagon , and the sidewall door some how opening emptying to a Grizzly above a crusher, I forget the exact mechanism but it was gravity or some rail side trigger that caught the door to open it.

I'm lacking in midweek time rich friends, though I have a routine now whereby one day I dig and fill bags/buckets and the next session I concentrate on haulage and stowing.

Anyone fancy a week in Fermanagh??? Give me a shout.   

The best cave digging railways I have come across were developed by J.S.Beck, I suggest you start collecting angle iron (bed iron) and pram wheels, the self-tipping mechanism could take some working out.

Having used narrow gauge railways underground professionally and recreationally  for the last twenty years or so I can guarantee that the skip will derail at the most awkward point and (probably) jam between the roof and the floor.

There was a video clip doing the rounds a couple of years ago of a fantastic cavers monorail somewhere in eastern Europe (I think) - anyone got a link?

tamarmole said:

Having used narrow gauge railways underground professionally and recreationally  for the last twenty years or so I can guarantee that the skip will derail at the most awkward point and (probably) jam between the roof and the floor.

There was a video clip doing the rounds a couple of years ago of a fantastic cavers monorail somewhere in eastern Europe (I think) - anyone got a link?

Click to expand...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=levhlcVYcLw

Ey I seen that video of monorail before.

Is it easy enough to twist T-bar? Guess it is if its a long enough length and not too thick.


I've come across barn door hangers/wardrobe things. They seem to live in a slotted box section, only good for straight lines. 


 

tamarmole said:

Having used narrow gauge railways underground professionally and recreationally  for the last twenty years or so I can guarantee that the skip will derail at the most awkward point and (probably) jam between the roof and the floor.

Click to expand...

Like at the California crossing when segment bogies derail wiping out gate-end boxes and the elegant komode the chippie spend hours ingeniously sculpting onto a circular tunnel wall.