Loading 5 Tons of Coal by Hand

The 1st Bag.

Yesterday saw the arrival of our 1st consignment of coal. It arrived by lorry early in the morning. The plan was to unload it from the lorry into wagons on Roger's narrow-gauge railway. We had previously the day before sorted out 3 wagons, 2 of which could carry 1ton each and the 3rd would hold ½ton. Thus with 2 train loads we could move the full 5tons. The delivery man handed us down the bags and Keith and I stacked them in the wagons. I had the honour of taking the 1st bag, seeing as the business is in my name.

2½tons Loaded and Traveling by Train to the Wharf.

With all 3 wagons filled, the 1st 2½tons was then transported by the train around to the wharf. We then had to unload the wagons at the wharf so that the train could return to the car park for the final load. The whole lot was unloaded and paid for within 45 minutes!

Already to be Loaded into the Hold.

Keith and I then had the task of loading it all into Hadar's hold. Piled up high it looked a daunting task, but we set about it a ton at a time with a drinks break in between to keep our fluid levels up, especially as the sun had come out.

The 1st Sack Goes In.

We used a slide to assist getting the sacks in for the lower layers, until they were high enough to be able to lift the higher ones in directly onto the lower ones. As each ton went in we also checked the level of the boat. The bow was coming done and the stern was staying the same, which was great news. With the final sack in place the sheeting was refitted, Job Done! and amazingly in one day, we had expected to take the weekend to get it loaded in. We went out for a meal to celebrate. Rather surprisingly this morning we both woke up expecting to ache all over, but we didn't!

Filling Up Nicely.

Many thanks to Tina and Roger for taking the photographs for us, so that we could put them in to the diary. Another dream come true for Keith, to see his working boat carrying cargo.

All 5 tons Onboard.