Re: Barrel transfer

Another good question! However, this must have been something that was addressed without too much trouble, because there were a number of these rotary car dumpers in use well before roller bearing trucks and unit trains came on the scene. The Butte, Anaconda & Pacific had a fleet of 50 ton steel hoppers riding on arch-bar trucks that were emptied by a rotary car dumper at the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. Washoe Works at Anaconda, Montana. I believe that Kennecott Copper also used rotary car dumpers at its operations in Utah and Nevada. Several eastern coal haulers had rotary car dumpers at ports for loading ships. all of these before roller bearings became common. So the practice can't have been too unusual, except for the D&RGW using it to handle the transfer from narrow to standard gauge cars.
Charlie