Rio Tinto Train Going Into (ex Robe River's) Car Dumper 1 At Cape Lambert.

[@Highland_Moo]

Thank you so much for posting these. I live in the Scottish highlands….you know the Highlander movie…..well, I’m from the place where the castle, (Eilean Donan), is. It’s very different here in climate and environment, we get so much rain. I can’t get over how gorgeous the colour of the rocks/earth is there….so red! Where I live the ground is always damp but it’s green and the heather is very purple at certain times of the year. I love seeing the loco clips - I’m 45 and grew up loving the old Class 37 diesel locos that we don’t have anymore and it’s nice seeing different locos….not very ladylike in my interests but hey, who cares!

[@davidrayner9832]

Thank you for the kind words lassie. I've been all over the highlands and have been to Dornie Castle. That part of the world is utterly beautiful. As for the iron ore industry, it came about because cattle farmer Lang Hancock was out checking on his heards from a light plane one day and remarked to his partner that the ground below was ridiculously red. Also an ameteur prospector, he made a note of where it was and went out therre in his Land Rover to dig some up. The rest is history.

[@WSTLNZ]

2:54 I know the reason why the tipper/dumper (roll-over) section DOES NOT DO COMPLETE any 360 degree rollovers for, and that's so the air-hose couplings NEVER need disconnecting - allowing the auto-tip gear to tip the entire train (one car at a time) without human yard crews "uncoupling / recoupling" air-line hose connections every time a car is emptied. By only doing partial roll & roll back "tips" the entire train consist remains the same, whilst the triple heading loco's, that brought the train into the facility, can simply "run around on a loop" (away from the tipper), to be re-attached at the the other end - ready to haul the MT's back to the mine after being auto-unloaded.

[@JoelDavies-cl6nr]

I like the music in the background, clearly the loco driver has a good taste in music.

[@ntekniklaus3710]

you guys got FM radio for music in your engines? that's awesome, since that's basically disallowed here in the US. there's also some regulation against being a certain distance from track ends on certain companies so it's insane seeing how close you got to it.

[@rodsmith3911]

Looks like a giant version of the iron ore tipper system we had in the UK in the 1960s. We only had 16 ton open wagons but the idea was the same..

[@antiussentiment]

Wow. That is really interesting. Thank you for posting and taking the time to explain it all. I'm also really impressed with how little dust there is..

[@El_Transportacoches_33]

Wait, what? Rio Tinto? In Spain, in the past, a quarry with a narrow gauge railway there was that his name was also Rio Tinto... But with all words together. That railway is in the province of Huelva, in Andalusia. In the present, this railway now is a touristic railway.

[@davidrayner9832]

You're not the first Spaniard to remark on that. Rio Tinto is an English company that's first operation was in Spain so they named it after the Red River, or so I'm told.

[@scottaye9999]

sensible music choice, wish there could be more detail about the couplers and the high pressure air line

[@mariantvargas6204]

Goooood wonderfoooool vídeo 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@bobbyglendinning2406]

Awesome video, thanks for posting.

[@davidrayner9832]

Thanks. I'll do CD2 soon. Totally different process.

[@bobbyglendinning2406]

David Rayner It appears that CD1 is the northernmost dumper. Is this the original Robe dumper? Interesting that the loaded cars are backed into this dumper, rather than pulled straight in.

[@davidrayner9832]

@@bobbyglendinning2406 Yes, it's Robe's dumper and BTW, when North Ltd. bought Hamersley Iron and Robe River, they bought all of HI but only half or RR and when Rio Tinto bought the operation from North, it remains that way to the present day. Thus, CD1 and the six trains that use it are still owned wholly by RR. RR owns all the Mesa mines around Pannawonica and also owns CD5 whilst Rio Tinto owns CD2, 6 and 7. The trains that use CD2, 6, and 7 are known as the 'pooled fleet' because Robe owns the mine at West Angeles and was going to build a line there but North Ltd. built a line connecting the Robe and Hamersley lines where they cross at Western Creek so Robe decided to buy 'Hamersley type' cars and run them into CD2. As for the trains being backed into CD1, Hamersley does the same with one of their dumpers at 7 Mile. It probably doesn't much difference either way. The reason Robe trains are 168 cars long is that's how many cars will fit between the dumper and the end of the track. CD2 was built a km or so further south and CD 5, 6 and 7 even further south.

[@bobbyglendinning2406]

David Rayner ah that explains why the Robe cars are still running out to Mesa A & J mines. Good to hear Robe is still in operation. Speaking of Robe River, those ALCO C636s were legendary, too bad they’re not still around.

[@petermiller9712]

how do the wagons turn with the coupler still connected?

[@lukethornburg4350]

What happens if the locomotive is still attached to the train when the dumper starts pulling the train through?

[@user-tb2jy9lu3d]

Is the car dumper computer operated or manned? Interesting how it is able to dump without affecting the link on the car and get the car back on track properly.

[@WSTLNZ]

Car is clamped to the tipper track section (when it stops inside the tipper before it rolls) so that the laden/unladen weight on the springs keeps the wheels on the track. The couplers will all have a "roll-over function" that allows them to rotate when the wagon is rolled / emptied, and as the airlines NEVER need to be uncoupled by hand (because they will have enough slack in them to do this roll-over function) they never break-apart - nor need to be recoupled again, by hand. Not knowing specifically about an operator in the tipper control room, I'd assume, as with the automation of the locomotives, the tipper will operate according to limit switches which the cars "trip" when entering, and after being returned to the normal orientation before being unclamped, to be moved out of the tipper hopper unit. Thus - it should all be working just like clockwork, automated completely. If there is a control room operator, they'll only be in there in case a car derails, or if anything else goes wrong, that needs a shutdown to allow workers to correct any fault.

[@WSTLNZ]

Think of this 1600 km line as if it was (as it is) just an end-to-end model railway with everything fully automated. The only human intervention being needed at each terminus to disconnect the loco's from one end, and do a run-around to the other end, to be recoupled (the air-hoses need to be recoupled by hand) Then the auto dispatch control system, sends the train/s the other way and it all repeats (just the same as a fully automated model railway would work). Oh sure, somewhere (or maybe in many places) humans will be present, just to do the human needed functions (such as disconnecting couplers & reconnecting air-hoses), whilst being able to physically see anything that isn't ordinary - which would require a system shut-down to rectify.

[@lemonpepperdry5818]

Very interesting.

[@voltare2amstereo]

Does the tipper do the entire carriage? Curious how or deals with the breaks/hoses

[@voidjavelin23]

uhh no, they tip car by car like in this video, they deal the airhose by not making it tipping full 360

[@corredorexportacao5177]

Hello friend, very good this video, I would like you to make a video showing the interior of the es44aci cabin.

[@davidrayner9832]

Too late. I retired from work three weeks ago.

[@JointedStudios]

@@davidrayner9832 How sad...

[@owenleece2028]

Have you been to Mesa J.?

[@davidrayner9832]

More times than I could count. Done several full swings there. Am also a Bravo 10.

[@bobbyglendinning2406]

Thank you for the detailed explanation David. A couple points I'm curious about. (1) Is the reason you are required to back in to the dumper because the dumper is too small to allow any locomotives to run through it? You mentioned it is around 80 years old. The locos are able to run straight through the other dumpers. And (2) After the 20-or-so cars are clear of the points, do you take the light locomotives down and park them waiting for these empty cars to finish unloading, or are there other locomotives already waiting on these empties. In which case I assume you take the locomotives over to the loco shed. Also it seems like these empties must be pulled south down the tracks before the next loaded deepdale train arrives and shoves into the dumper behind this one.

[@davidrayner9832]

Yes, the dumper is too small for locos. It would probably take 'Australian sized' locos but not American sized locos. In any case, it doesn't matter whether the train goes past the dumper and backs in to be dumped in a south direction or drives in and dumps in a north direction and then goes past the dumper in a south direction. The reason the locos can run through the other dumpers is because they're Hamersley dumpers. Back when these railways were built, Hamersley also had a dumper that would not take a loco but unlike Robe, they replaced it and later added two more at Dampier. The light locos that take trains into CD-1 are yard locos and do nothing but that all day so after the points are clear, they go and retrieve the compressor off the back of the previously dumped train which has been pulled south out of the dumper and down the yard to its departure point. The locos that did that were off the previous train. Once the yard locos have the compressor, the empty train will have its brake test done and the yard locos will wait for the next loaded to arrive.

[@bobbyglendinning2406]

@@davidrayner9832 If I understand correctly, the mainline power brings a train into arrival track, decouples and crosses over to the dumper track and once the empty train has unloaded, pulls it down to the departure track past the power station and under the overpass. The yard power then takes over, couples the compressor cars to the newly arrived train and spots the train in the dumper. I assume that process is similar for trains for CD2 also?

[@davidrayner9832]

@@bobbyglendinning2406 Correct for CD-1 but the locos that take a train into CD-2 will take the empty (which was the previous train) out. If they need fuel, they'll uncouple from the loaded while the previous is still dumping, go for fuel, come back and couple, and off to the dumper. Hook on to the empty on the way through, and take it to the mine and back. BTW, the power station is long gone. There's a vid on You Tube of the demolition (speed up about 100 times).

[@bobbyglendinning2406]

@@davidrayner9832 thank you for the information David. Is that an old ROBE refueling station that’s still used just south of the crossover (near CDs 3-5). The refueling station for hamersley trains is probably at the loco facility down near Wickham. How often do the mainline trains require refueling?

[@davidrayner9832]

@@bobbyglendinning2406 The original Robe refuelling station was two pumps located on 11 road where the locos that are to take an empty Robe train would wait for it to come through the dumper. I've used it a few times but I'm not sure if it still works. They built a new fuel bay in a loop alongside 11 road that has three pumps and was the biggest pain in the arse of all time. Not one ounce of thought went into its design or if it did, then it was by someone who'd never serviced a loco and never will. Also, it was put in the wrong location. Hamersley trains use 8 and 9 roads while Robe trains use 10 and 11. They should've put it between 9 and 10 but where it is to the west of 11, we have Hamersley locos needing fuel but to get there and back there needs to be a break in Robe traffic and Robe cars needing to go to and from the workshops but to get there they need a break in Hamersley traffic. Actually, they should've put the fuel bay where it is and then put 8 and 9 roads on the other side of it. Locos can usually do 2 return trips to the mines.

[@kitmueller2719]

Lets me know how stuff works vert good

[@Hazza4257]

Never understood how it deals with the coupling. Is there a mechanism to uncouple the car before being tipped?

[@davidrayner9832]

They stay coupled but while one has the usual square drawbar, the other is round and so the car can rotate around it.

[@Hazza4257]

@@davidrayner9832 ah very interesting, thanks

[@franzbrunner499]

@@davidrayner9832 A) one has the usual square draw-bar, the other is round -WHAT HAPPENS when the usual square needs to be dumped? and B) will the iron ore be dumped on a conveyor belt and then transported to the shp?

[@davidrayner9832]

@@franzbrunner499 I should've explained that better. Every car has a square drawbar at one end and a round one at the other so as each car is being tipped over, the square bar rotates with the car and the round bar stays still, being held by the square bar of the next car. The ore is carried by a conveyor belt to a stockpile. Rio mines several different types of iron ore and each is put onto its own pile. The customer will order a blend of ores, depending on which type of steel they will produce and the ship will be filled with ores from different piles, mixed together.

[@rossbryan6102]

I N THE USA WITH A LOT OF ROTARY DUMP COAL CARS , ROTARY CARS HAVE ONE END PAINTED QUITE DIFFERENTLY TO AVOID SQUARE SHANK TO SQUARE SHANK COUPLING! OCCASIONALLY, HOWEVER SOMEONE FAILS TO NOTICE, WITH RESULTING CONSEQUENCES!! KEEP THEM ROLLING BROTHERS!!👍👍

[@R00RAL]

Do you break the train up to unload it ?

[@davidrayner9832]

No, only the locos come off but the train stays together.

[@R00RAL]

@@davidrayner9832 Thank you for the reply. I have subbed your channel. I feel stupid for asking this but because I’ve seen trains out there. My next Question is : I thought Locos were staged at the Front / Mid Section / Rear of the train. Which would require a break up of the combination. Or would this be FMG or BHP ?

[@davidrayner9832]

@@R00RAL BHP use mid-train locos. Not sure if FMG and Roy Hill do. Rio only use head-end locos.

[@JointedStudios]

@@R00RAL Don't feel stupid, it's ok to ask these kind of things.

[@R00RAL]

@@JointedStudios All good, when I wrote the question down I answered my own question really. Obviously the Locos do not go through the Car Dumping Machine.

[@KCSM_1200]

Bro is 1000mm 1435 mm

[@davidrayner9832]

It's 1435mm.

[@voidjavelin23]

buddy this is standard gauge just by the locomotive being a GEVO

[@KCSM_1200]

@@voidjavelin23 I already knew it