Volume Ten - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - Even more aspects - 1911 - The Penarth Dock of the Taff Vale Railway - Railway News Article . . .

They are automatic in action, and will empty at any height required, and are, therefore, the most expeditious boxes used. One crane is capable of working a box carrying 5 tons of coal ; and the other a box containing 2 tons ; each tip is capable of " boxing " (as it is termed) as rapidly as the coal can be delivered into the shute.

Description of the Movable Tips at Penarth Basin.

The four moveable tips on the north side of Penarth Dock Basin, numbered 15, 16, 17 and 18, are built of steel, the main framings being 95 ft. in total height. The tips are capable of being rapidly moved by means of hydraulic hauling engines. Every portion of the machinery in the tip, as well as the cradle, the tipping, the actuation of the shutes, and the movement and working of the anti-breakage cranes and boxes, is controlled by one man from the high cabin on the east side of the tip.

All machinery which has to work under pressure has been tested to carry a pressure of not less than 2,000 lb. per sq. in., and the working pressure is 750 lb. per sq. in. They were constructed to fulfil the following requirements. A loaded wagon having been placed on the cradle, to lift it 45 ft. above the quay, to tip the contents of the wagon into the shute, return the wagon to quay level, and run it off the cradle within thirty seconds - and this can be accomplished.

The cradle is lifted from the ground level to any height up to 45 ft. by means of four direct-acting hydraulic rams, two on either side of the cradle.  These are as follows : Two small rams, one on each side, are in constant communication with the high-pressure water from the hydraulic mains, and act as partial counter-balances for the weight of the cradle itself. The large ram and cylinder on each side of the cradle are intended to deal with the weight of the wagon and load and the weight of the cradle, in excess of that counter-balanced by the small rams. They are capable of lifting the cradle with a fully loaded 10-ton wagon upon it at the rate of 180 ft. per minute.

The appliances for working the cradle are fitted with automatic stops, so that, the height at which the tip shute is required to work having once been fixed, the cradle when brought up to the necessary tipping point is automatically stopped at exactly the height required, and the top man has only to start the cradle for lifting, when he is free to handle the lever for tipping without further attention to the lifting of the cradle.