Volume Eleven - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - some more aspects - Patent Applications by George Taylor, of Penarth, 1883 . . .

This apparatus is similar to that first described for conveying the coal from the staith to the vessel except that the ways on which these carriers run are movable about a centre beneath the hatchway so as to radiate therefrom to different parts of the hold.

SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the said George Taylor in the Patent Office on the 15th March 1884.

GEORGE TAYLOR of Penarth in the county of Glamorgan " IMPROOVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR USE IN LOADING VESSELS WITH COAL."

In shipping coal by means of a staith, an inclined shoot is usually employed for conveying the coal from the railway waggons to the vessel and when the waggons enter the staith at a low level it is necessary to hoist them up to a considerable elevation in order to obtain sufficient inclination to make the coal run down the shoot.

The coal first shipped at each hatchway is frequently lowered in boxes to form a conical heap for the remainder of the coal to fall on. Under this method the large lumps roll away over the conical heap, causing much breakage, but the small coal falls into the interstices of the heap and collects to a large extent in one place instead of being uniformly distributed throughout the cargo. By avoiding this local excess of small coal and preventing the breakage, the condition and marketable value of the whole cargo would be improved.

The object of this Invention is to improve the facilities for conveying coal from the staith into the hold of the vessel and to prevent its breakage, and also to secure a uniform distribution of the small coal throughout the cargo.