That’s the sort of thinking I was looking for. I particularly like the idea of the inset plastic box to receive the coal, which greatly simplifies the tracklaying and also gives the option to use side tipper cars, which I have two.
The track configuration is this; I could have the coal drop in the siding to the right, then shuttle the train to the left-hand siding to be refilled as convenient. That would also allow a second train to circulate the outer loop while the coal train was refilling... I also have a couple of vignettes in mind involving a nodding donkey pump and a crossing gate...
