Abstract: Two funnel troughs which function as containers are supported on a carriage of a moving railway vehicle. The troughs contain one or more materials which may be combined in a central funnel from which the material is to be spread upon a railroad embankment adjacent railroad tracks along which the vehicle will traverse. The troughs open downwardly into two vibrating feeders. The feeders supply the materials through a funnel to a conveyor belt. The conveyor belt is mounted on a turntable and can rotate to either side of the vehicle so that the material can be spread at an adjustable distance from the tracks to either embankment located along the path of travel. The vibrating frequency of the feeders and the speed of the conveyor belt are adjustable according to the speed with which the vehicle is traversing the tracks. The feeders are so designed to permit doorless operation of the troughs for discharging the material.

Abstract: Loose bulk material, such as gravel or the like, is moved by a conveyor or the like from an initial station to a storage area or to a final station where it is utilized in some manner, such as being mixed with other material. When the level of the loose bulk material at the final station is at a maximum level, any loose bulk material coming from the initial station will be conveyed to the storage area where it will be stacked into a storage pile having a predefined shape. When the level of loose bulk material at the final station drops to or below a minimum level, any loose bulk material coming from the initial station will be conveyed directly to the final station. In addition, loose bulk material will be reclaimed from the storage pile in a predefined pattern so as to leave any remainder of the storage pile in a portion of the predefined shape.