Walthers Coal Flood Loader Kit HO Scale

Some large power companies adopted the just in time approach to buying coal. This meant trains had to deliver on time,as only a small stockpile was maintained,and in essence,the unit trains became a rolling conveyor belt.
 

 One of the new structures, still in use today, was the flood loader.With a network of conveyors,these large buildings were essentially storage bins,which would load entire trains on the move.After coal had been washed, crushed to size and graded, it would be  delivered from these facilities to the flood loader,which was at times some distance away.