Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Hopefully not off topic, but are the loop conveyor belts commonly found on post most 1970s self-unloaders (and conversions) adjustable to accommodate different size of cargoes?

Guest Jon Paul wrote: August 4, 2026, 5:41 am I don't know about specific special cargoes but my guess would be Sugar Stone which is a seasonal limestone about the size of irregular softballs.

I was told another product called “tombstone” was hauled on ASC self unloaders in the 70s. It was much larger than sugar stone.

Am I hallucinating, or did some shipping company actually try to haul and unload pig iron in a self-unloader years ago? If it happened, I suspect the combination of size and cargo density made any attempt difficult.

I don't know about specific special cargoes but my guess would be Sugar Stone which is a seasonal limestone about the size of irregular softballs.

Ok, didn't know how to search this so here goes.

What is the largest cargo via sized that can be handled by a self unloader.

Size of a hardball? Softball? Soccer ball? Foot ball?

I thought i had read years ago, the Nicholet and Franz were able to handle larger via size cargo because of there unique conveyor systems.

Thank you