The Lite and Narrow Column - 9
to the processing plant; from photos of other larry cars in use,
it wasn’t common practice. Instead, the cars moved coal from
a hopper to the trunnel head (opening) and dumped.
There were two methods of moving the larry cars atop the
beehives. The first used a trolley pole and a power line
erected over the tracks. A wooden roof covered the operator’s
platform. The other method used a small steam locomotive to
move the cars. The tracks were mounted on brick and concrete
columns built at the same time as the beehives. These columns
were 12’10” x 2’6” and placed at 14’ intervals. The rails
centered on concrete pads 2’6” x 2’6”x 1’3”. The center of the
fill hole for the beehive was located 5’3” from the front wall,
while the center of the larry track was an additional 7’3” from
the center of the fill hole. Three cross ties were equally spaced
between the columns.
These measurements are taken from Historical American
engineering Record (HAER)
, drawing for the beehive coke ovens at
Connellsville, PA and there is a disclaimer stating “topography
and operating costs determined the configuration of beehive
coke works. Coke ovens were always built in rows, and a single
row built into the hillside was called a ‘bank’.” This is a factor to
be considered when building your models.
Modeling larry cars
Thomas Maule, a narrow gauge friend of mine, is modeling the
Mann’s Creek Railway and built larry cars for his coke ovens
11
11: The bodies of two small larry cars under construction
by Tom Maule. Tom Maule photo.
10
10: Larry cars in position for charging the ovens at
Sewell, WV on the Mann’s Creek Railway. Ron Lane
photo.
MRH-Dec 2013
