Giant coal tipple pier at the Reading Company's Philadelphia coal port at Port Richmond on the Delaware River. 35 mm slide taken in 1965 or '66. In a semi-automatic operation, loaded hopper cars were spotted under the tower and then the hopper, railbed and all, were elevated to the level of the conveyor extending out over a coal barge to the left side of the pier. I'm not sure if the entire car was tipped over at that point, or if it was lifted higher than the conveyor, which was then extended under the car's hopper doors, but somehow the car was emptied and the coal dumped into the barges on the left. When the operation was complete and the car lowered again, it was then given a push to the down grade (towards the camera) and gravity would take over. The car would gain momentum carrying it through the "wrong way" sprung switch points (where the photographer is standing) , to an incline grade (behind the camera), thus causing the car to reverse direction and take the right-hand switch and down to a car collection track. Notice the beast of a counter-weight on the right side of the tower which was necessary to lift all that weight.
