CSX Albany Division, River Subdivision / MP QR 97.6
Solite Industrial Track
Mount Marion, NY
November 2005

I spotted this unusual set up at the Solite Plant in Mount Marion where it is a regular fixture. Who needs a "between the tracks hopper chute" when you have this?

According to the gent operating the rather large loader nearby that day; when a CSX train crew brings in a string of loaded hoppers, they couple this setup to one end of the string of cars.

If you notice, the excavator is sitting on top of a custom built steel platform. The excavator then pulls itself on it's platform along the tops of the hopper cars (with it's boom) as it unloads the hoppers contents (bentonite I think) into waiting dump trucks for the short haul up the plant road to the kiln dryers.

MSN Live Search aerial photo shows a nice aerial photo of it operation: [link]

Minolta 8000i
Minolta 28-70 f2.8
Kodak Portra 160 VC

Photographed by Philip M. Goldstein, November, 2005.
Added to the photo archive by Philip M. Goldstein, September 12, 2008.
Railroad: CSX ex Conrail.

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