An interesting view from a couple of years ago in Switzerland. Approaching Thun on the boat, we passed by this gantry for moving coal from ships to railway wagons. Via a great big pile, presumably a stockpile. A quick look on Google maps gives another angle, although oddly, the gantry itself hardly shows up. The gantry spans four tracks, and well as poking out over the water to unload ships. It strikes me that this would be quite a slow way to move coal, and I wonder why the stuff isn't moved all the way by rail. Or in a mountainous country, is this too hard? Also, what is the coal for? Switzerland is known for extensive use of clean power. Who is burning this stuff? Regardless, this would make a fantastic model. Good luck if you fancy making it work in HO, though, there's not much structure to hide the mechanical parts!
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