staith

plural staiths · alternative stathe · alternative staithe

1. obsoleteA shore or a riverbank.

   From staith to staith.

2. UKdialectalA landing place; an elevated staging upon a wharf for discharging coal, etc., as from railway cars into vessels.

   […] gravity had earlier been harnessed to provide part of the pull for trains of coal wagons heading for staiths for loading on schooners […]

   1995, James E. Vance, The North American Railroad: Its Origin, Evolution, and Geography, Johns Hopkins University Press

   2 more examples

   The high banks of the rivers of North East England have led to the shipment of coal from staiths by the simple process of shooting it down gravity spouts from bottom-door wagons.

   1945 January and February, T. F. Cameron, “Dock Working”, in Railway Magazine, page 10

   The coal staiths of the North-East coast—for example at Blyth (Northumberland) and at Dunston-on-Tyne—are impressive installations. The staiths are in fact jetties or piers built up to a high level above the rivers. Loaded wagons are propelled on to them and the contents are then quickly discharged through chutes down to the waiting colliers below.

   1959 May, R. A. Savill, “The coal traffic of the North Eastern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 273