Ash pit Mechanism, at the C.P.R. West Toronto Roundhouse. 1911 Article 3 min read

Ash pit Mechanism, at the C.P.R. West Toronto Roundhouse. 1911

An ashpit for accommodating the ashes removed from a locomotive after it has been taken off a run can be made a very simple arrangement, all that is necessary being a pit into which the ashes may be scoooed from the locomotive: the particular difficulty lies in the manner of disposal of all these accumulate ashes. Nearly all roads have different arrangements, and even the same road at its various roundhouses has probably a different arrangement at each, the designs being generally devised by the local authorities.

In the majority of cases very satisfactory arrangements are worked out. The arrangement in use at the C.P.R. West Toronto roundhouse is a particularly simple and good design for the rapid handling of ashes where a too expensive equipment, such as deeply submerged cinder-car tracks beside the ash emptying track, is not desired.

Two ash-removing tracks are provided. The locomotive in the operation of removing ashes being on the track. In the immediate foreground there are three depressed narrow-gauge tracks, in a pit, the central one running to the further ash-removing track. Under the nearer ash-removing tracK, this central cross-track space is covered, as a protection against clogging up with ashes. On these narrow-gauge cross tracks are three little ash trucks, which, when filled, are run out from under the locomotive, where they may be picked up by the radial crane and swung up over the cinder car to the right, and tripped. Like most improvised mechanisms around railway repair shops and roundhouses, the radial crane is operated by compressed air acting through a cylinder vertically attached to the frame of the crane as indicated.

A plunger moving vertically in the guides provided, draws the steel rope over the several sheaves raising the bucket to a position where it may be swung around and dumped. The pit is constructed of concrete throughout, all the locomotive rails being supported on the concrete walls, with the exception of the inner rail which is supported on I-beam sections, the rail being brared (?) by an inverted rail to which it is rivetted. There are four main tracks lending to the roundhouse, so that in order to provide each track with means for removing ashes, the arrangement shown is duplicated on the far side.