I don’t know how many are familiar with the Unit Trains made up of hundreds of open coal cars that run big coal runs into power plants.
Well rather than normal coupling these cars have rotary couplings. Imagine a car being able to spin completely over on its longitudinal axis and dump its full load in two seconds as it rotates.
Well that is what they actually do in a Car Dumper Building. Giant clamps come in from each side and then the whole thing spins. It’s the noisiest thing you have ever heard.
Now suppose a dumb hobo climbs on that load of black coal and falls asleep and gets dumped to the conveyor hoppers 18 feet below. That actually happened at Iatan Power Plant north of Kansas City in the late 80s.
And he lived.
I’ve heard those coal trains dumping at the Port Neal power facility near Sioux City, Iowa. From five miles away, you can’t carry on a conversation for the noise. I can’t imagine what it must be like right next door.