210 On the Modes of Shipping Coal. 



and Stockton and Middleboro', on the Tees; and having 

 carefully examined the various contrivances at each of these 

 places for facilitating the shipment of coal, — the following 

 extracts from a Eeport which I made to the Admiralty 

 on that occasion may not he unacceptable to the Society : — 

 The machinery in use at these different ports may he 

 classed under three heads : — 



1st. That of spouts or shoots, which have been in use for 

 a long time, and is the simplest. Here the coal is delivered 

 into a sort of box, the bottom of which is inclined at such 

 an angle as will just cause the coal to slide upon it. The 

 lower end of this box or spout is closed by a sliding door. 

 To this box, which is a fixture, being connected with the 

 framing supporting the tramway upon which the coal 

 waggons run, is attached a moveable shoot or spout, for the 

 purpose of directing the fall of the coal when the sliding 

 door is withdrawn to the proper point on board the vessels. 

 The fixed box is filled from above, the coal waggons being 

 emptied into it through a trap in the road between the rails : 

 it contains sometimes as much as 10 or 12 tons. 



The objection made in the trade to these spouts is, that 

 they break up the coal into small particles and dust : they 

 are, in consequence, only used for shipping the small coal 

 and slack. 



2nd. That of lever drops, which is a plan in common 

 use both in the Tyne and the Wear. 



In this the waggon, as in the former case, runs upon a 

 platform, supported at some distance above the level of the 

 wharf. Double lines of rails, with turn-tables, from distance 

 to distance are laid upon this platform, in order that the 

 lines of empty and loaded waggons may not interfere with 

 each other, and that the latter may be easily brought to the 

 points from Avhich they are to be discharged into the vessel. 

 At these points a ^tage is made to project toward the river, 



