Automation of the cane receivals station at Racecourse mill

During the 1987 season, Racecourse Mill commissioned a new cane receivals system as part of an expansion program which included an overpass conveyor, tramp iron magnet, new shredder and number one mill. The system was designed to have a tipping capacity of 700 tonnes of cane per hour, to provide a reduction in manning of three persons per shift and to reduce the turn-around-time of locomotives in the mill yard. The major part of this paper discusses the operation and control of the cane receivals system.