Noise from the Coal Tipple?

[Mike Neale]

Hi

Viewing the webcam as I do I often hear a machine "noise" coming from either cam 1 or cam 2...what is this? and where does it come from. Secondly is the Coal shute still in use? I read that it is used from time to time, however I always see the trains being coaled up on the track after they are watered.

many thanks

Mike

[Jason Rose]

Mike, there are 2 noises we routinely hear. One is the internal fans regulating the temperature. The other one, which sounds metallic to me, has not yet been identified. It's possible that this second sound is being made by the crows that live up there, but it hasn't been proven yet.

[Larry Sullivan]

Hi Mike -
Most likely you are hearing the cooling fans that come on periodically during the warm parts of the day, usually you hear them the most once the sun starts hitting the cams, and the temps get over 60 degrees or so.

Others more in the know can give a better answer on the coal chute, I believe I've read other posts that say it is still able to be used, but it isn't used for normal operations.

Sorry Jason, I see you answered as I was typing, hard to type fast with a kitten sitting on my shoulder!

[Tom Casper]

I beleive the coal shute works ok but the loading buckets have a problem that needs to be worked on. Front end loader is much faster!

Tom C.

[John Cole]

And with much less dust Tom. The coal tipple still needs work on the track for the coal buckets as they are worn out and bent from the tipple leaning for many years. John Sutkis and his teams have repaired the leaning problem but still have work on the tracks.

[Bill Hoss]

Sounds like someone is banging away on it today.

Bill is St. Louis