Need photo of loading dock on curved siding

[mmagliaro]

Due to space constraints, a loading platform I want to put along a siding needs to go on a curved part of that siding.
This will be your basic wooden platform with a ramp at one end.

My instinct is to make the platform actually curve to match right up against the curvature of the trackage. 

But is that how these platforms look in real life?  Or did they "cheat" and build the platform as a series of straight segments that get "close enough" to allow loading from the boxcar doors without people and hand trucks falling through to the roadbed?

I have been unable to find any photos online of a loading platform on a curved siding, but there must be such a thing somewhere.

[wazzou]

I think it would depend on the type of construction. 
I have seen plenty of Concrete docks that curve the same as the track but I think if constructed from wood, it's more likely to be short, straight sections.

[Chris333]

Siding is long gone:
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.1702389,-80.7502244,60a,35y,39.45t/data=!3m1!1e3

But:



Sorry not wood.

[CNscale]

This place hasn't been rail-served in decades, but I'm sure it once was. When it was built it was right beside the main CPR terminal, but that was dismantled soon after.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/once-reviled-city-centre-complex-finds-new-life-as-hipster-hot-spot
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4081739,-75.7191119,301m/data=!3m1!1e3

[johnb]

Looked at pictures of the rat hole...didn't see any

[RockGp40]

We have a customer on my short line that has a curved siding where they can unload two boxcars at a time. The concrete comes out to within 18" or so of the closest point of the boxcar (about the door). The forklift operator that unloads has to open the boxcar door and place a stainless steel movable piece he can jostle in to place with the forklift to make the transition from boxcar to concrete platform. It's sturdy enough for a forklift and paper rolls.

[Maletrain]

In some old warehouses, there were no outdoor platforms.  The loading doors opened on flat walls, with the building floors level with the boxcar floors.  Short, movable pieces were used to bridge the space between the floors.  In some cases, where there was more than one track, the box cars were lined-up with their doors next to each other and the short bridges were placed between cars, so that cargo could be carried through one (or more) box car(s) to reach the cars on the more distant tracks.  Of course, that made it necessary to use only the lengths of box cars that matched the spacing of the doors, if the warehouse had more than one cargo door to the tracks.  The old B&O warehouse that we can still see standing behind the "Camden Yards" baseball stadium in Baltimore worked that way.

So, for a model railroad, unless modeling a particular prototype situation, you should feel free to use this concept however it would work best in your situation.  An open platform could be used to alleviate the issue with door spacing, and short bridges could be used to span larger gaps where the rail curvature doesn't match the platform curvature.  And, of course, it can also justify having 2 or more tracks along one platform, without needing the space for additional platforms. 

[mmagliaro]

Thanks guys.
This is a freestanding loading dock with a ramp that will be out in the material yard of an industry.  Crates and barrels of stuff come in, get unloaded and stored outdoors on pallets and concrete pads.

It does seem to me to make the most sense that a wooden structure, which this ramp is, would not be curved as the fancy carpentry would be more work than it's worth.   I am going with the idea of it having segments to approximate the curve of track that it sits next to.

As several of you pointed out, sometimes there would be removable little platform sections that could be dropped across the gap between the loading dock and the boxcar floor for unloading.  That's yet another reason it makes little sense to have a fancy curved platform that snuggles right up to the track radius.

[nkalanaga]

Not to mention that, if it snuggles too closely, a longer-than-usual car might have clearance issues.  Or, a brakeman could get caught between the platform and car.  Better to leave a little extra space and use bridge plates.

On an open-frame wooden platform, it would likely be built in straight segments, much like a very low wooden trestle.  If it's a filled wooden platform, it would be basically two retaining walls with dirt and paving between them, and could be curved by angling the pieces of wood.  Many were built with old ties.