Thursday, March 22, 2007

Clamshell bucket detail. The Illinois Railway Museum. Union Illinois USA. August 2006.

I took this photo last August at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union Illinois USA. This is a Clamshell Bucket that is utilized for coal loading operations in the steam locomotive tenders at the museum.
Most people see clamshell buckets in such daily operations as building demolitions, or in dredging canals, but never really get to see these things up close. This is a very heavilly built model of riveted construction. You can see the many pullys and hinges necesary to operate the bucket.

Many railroads use clamshell buckets for various maintenance department functions in maintaining the railroad right of way.

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