Summary

Summarizing the foregoing report as to the suggested relation between the various factors of design, we have the following, which are suggested for warehouses where the turnover of goods is moderately rapid.

(1) One elevator should be provided for each 40,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space served.

(2) The shipping platform area should be 4 per cent of warehouse storage floor area.

(3) There should be one car length of track siding for each 17,600 sq. ft. of warehouse storage area.

(4) There should be one foot of tailboard frontage for every 1,100 sq. ft. of warehouse storage area.

(5) There should be 16 ft. of tailboard frontage for each car length of siding.

The above figures do not represent exact limits of design, but are indicative of the proper relation which should exist based on experience of the warehouses studied in this report. An idea of the permissible variation from these figures may be obtained by a review of the foregoing tables.

The Committee wishes to acknowledge its indebtedness to the Illinois Central Railroad for the data which is here presented concerning the Factors of Design of Warehouses.

Handling L.C.L. Freight by the Container System

In the handling of freight by mechanical means a recent development is the use of the container system for moving L.C.L. freight in lots between certain points. This system has been applied mainly to the transfer of freight in cities, but is used also in its transportation between cities. In both cases possibilities have been developed in economy in time, cost, use of cars and freight house space.

City Transfer of L.C.L. Freight

Cincinnati.-The transfer of L.C.L. freight between the freighthouses of different railways by means of motor trucks carrying containers or demountable bodies has been in operation at Cincinnati for about two years. This service, which now includes 35 main and substations on eight railways, is rendered by the Motor Terminals Company in agreement with the railways, and supersedes most of the former trap car service and individual teaming. In 1920, the daily tonnage handled was from 600 to 750 tons, but there is capacity for 1,200 tons, which represents the total daily L.C.L. transfer. The haul ranges from 1 to 91⁄2 miles, with an average of 3 miles. The 5-ton containers average a load of 44 tons.

At each freight-house the inbound freight is loaded by the freighthouse crew into containers or large boxes which have been placed on the platform. There is a separate container for each destination; that

is, for each freight house to which freight is to be transferred. A loaded container is closed and sealed in the same way as a box car. An electric hoist or overhead crane then picks up the container and places it upon the frame of a motor truck for transfer to its destination, which is the outbound freight-house of some other railroad. On arrival at this freight-house, the container is again picked up and placed upon the platform, to be unsealed and unloaded by the freight-house crew. The motor truck thus released takes an empty or loaded container for some other destination.

All movements are controlled by telephone orders from a dispatcher, who is employed by the railroads. In this way the transfer company acts only as a transportation agent, and its work is done under the direction of the railroads. It has nothing to do with the loading and unloading of the containers, but is responsible for loss and damage during transfer. The hoisting equipments were adapted to the conditions at the several freight-houses. Motor trucks of 5-ton capacity are used with demountable bodies 171⁄2 ft. long, 8 ft. wide and 7 ft. high.

St. Louis. A similar system in operation at St. Louis has several points of difference from the Cincinnati plan. Instead of motor trucks carrying boxes or containers, the Columbia Terminals Company employs wheeled containers which form trailers handled by teams or fourwheel tractors. The trailer has two rear wheels, the front end of the frame being carried on the tractor; but when the trailer is uncoupled a hinged frame with small wheels is lowered to support the front end and permit of the vehicle being moved. Open bodies with side stakes and canvas covers are used, but closed bodies have been considered. In fact, closed bodies are used at Chicago as noted below. Trailers are set out at the freight-house doors and are left to be loaded or unloaded while the tractors couple up to other trailers and proceed on their trips. This system does not require such mechanical equipment as is used at Cincinnati for hoisting and handling the containers. The trailers are of 9-ton capacity and average 6-ton loads.

The operating system at St. Louis also differs from that at Cincinnati, as the transfer company undertakes to handle the freight as well as to transport it. At an inbound freight-house, the company's check clerk loads the trailer and gives the railway a receipt for the freight. When the trailer has been transferred to the outbound freight house of another road, it is unloaded by helpers who obtain a receipt from the railway. The Company is responsible for loss and damage during transfer.

Another feature of the St. Louis plan is that it serves local offtrack freight stations, the transfer company accepting freight and billing it direct. The transfer service is operated between 13 freight stations in St. Louis and 12 in East St. Louis, a higher charge being made for transfer across the river, this higher charge being absorbed by the railroads. The transfer company has also 8 off-track stations in St. Louis at which it receives freight from shippers, assembles it for

shipment and delivers the consolidated loads to the several railways. Inbound freight is also collected at railway stations (freight) and carried to the transfer company's stations, to be called for by the consignees. This method reduces the teaming by individual firms. The company's equipment includes about 25 tractors and 75 trailers. It handles about 3,000 tons daily, one-third of this being freight transferred from one railway to another.

Chicago. Another tractor-trailer system is operated at Chicago by the Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railway. This for the purpose of transferring freight between its outlying terminal stations and a downtown off-track station, a distance of over six miles. This station is established as a regular railway shipping plant. The service was introduced to give the electric railway practically the same standing as the steam railways which have freight houses near the downtown district. Both open and closed trailers are used to suit different classes of freight.

Inter-City Transfer of L.C.L. Freight

An experiment with railway transportation of freight and express in containers was begun early in 1921 by the New York Central Railroad but no regular service has been established. A 50-foot low-side gondola car was built to carry the containers, which fitted between the sides with only 2-inch clearances and were secured in place. For freight service it carried two containers of 7,000 lbs. and two of 3,500 lbs. capacity. These were either 14 ft. or 7 ft. long, 7 ft. 6 in. wide, and 7 ft. 8 in. high over all; built of steel frames with wood sheathing and having corner attachments for crane slings.

Loaded containers brought on motor trucks from wholesale houses or other establishments were transferred to the car by a yard crane. When the car was set in the yard at its destination, the containers were picked up by a crane and placed upon motor trucks for delivery to the consignee. The trucking was not done by the railroad company. For handling mail and express matter, the car carried 9 steel containers of 3-ton capacity, these being 9x6 ft. inside, with a height of 71⁄2 ft. This system is being tried for handling freight between Cleveland and Chicago, and mail and express matter between New York and Chicago. Container Systems on Foreign Railways

Both motor-truck and tractor-trailer container systems have been introduced by several European railways, largely for the store-door delivery service which is common in Europe. The railroad transportation of containers has been used by English railways for some years, particularly in handling mails, baggage and parcels where steamer transfer is involved, as on routes to France and Ireland. The flat cars on which the large sealed boxes are placed are run out on the pier, where cranes transfer them to the steamer. At their destination, the boxes are handled in the same way, being either loaded on cars or placed in the pier shed for unpacking.

Bibliography of Container Handling of L.C.L. Freight 1.-Motor Trucks for L.C.L. Freight Service at Cincinnati.-Engineering News-Record, March 11, 1920; pp. 498-508.

2.-Motor Truck Service for L.C.L. Transfer and Store Door Delivery. -Engineering News-Record, October 21, 1920; p. 785.

3.-Motor Trucks in Terminals Service. Engineering News-Record, December 16, 1920; pp. 1163, 1194.

4. Container System for Freight Transportation on the New York Central Railroad.—Engineering News-Record, March 31, 1921; p.

557.

5.-Tractor-Trailer Service for L.C.L. Freight Transfer at St. Louis.Engineering News-Record, May 19, 1921; p. 852.

6.-Motor-Truck Freight Transfer for European Railways.-Engineering News-Record, June 2, 1921; p. 954.

7.-Tractor-Trailer Freight Service at Chicago. Electric Railway Journal, July 23, 1921; p. 133.

8.-Motor-Trucks Replace Trap Cars.-Railway Age, Sept. 7, 1917; p. 427.

9.-Expediting Movement of L.C.L. Freight at Cincinnati.-Railway Age, August 6, 1920; p. 219.

10. Container System of Freight Transportation.-Railway Age, Sept. 24, 1920; p. 515.

11.-Unit Containers for Freight Shipments.-Railway Age, Oct. 22, 1920; p. 684.

12. Container Car in Express Service on New York Central Railroad.Railway Age, Feb. 4, 1921; p. 315.

13. Proposed Container System at New York.-Railway Age, Feb. 25, 1921; p. 474.

14. Container Car for L.C.L. Service on New York Central Railroad.

Railway Age, April 8, 1921; p. 905.

15.-Container Car in Mail Service.-Railway Age, May 13, 1921; p. 1128. 16.-Standard Freight Container as Auto Truck Body.-Railway Review, June 12, 1920; p. 1015.

17. Steel Containers Handle Express on New York Central Railroad.Railway Review, Feb. 5, 1921; p. 214; and April 16, 1921; p. 600. 18.-Expediting Mail Service.-Railway Review, May 28, 1921; p. 811. 19. The Container System on British Railways.-Railway Review, Sept. 10, 1921; p. 328.

20.—Tractor Method of Handling L.C.L. Freight and Using Demountable Van Bodies for Handling Freight-Proceedings of Freight Station Section, ARA., 1921.

A questionnaire in regard to details of design and operation was sent to the railways which had constructed hump yards since the list appearing on page 133 of Volume 15 of the Proceedings was compiled, and a further questionnaire in regard to methods of switching from classification to departure yards, and in regard to the utility of sorting yards auxiliary to classification and departure yards, for more detailed classification of cuts, was sent to these railways as well as to all of the railways previously listed. This report is based upon the replies to these two questionnaires.

New Yards

The Pennsylvania System, Southwestern Region, has built the Hawthorne Yard at Indianapolis, Indiana, consisting of a five-track westbound receiving yard with a capacity of 413 cars, tributary to a fifteentrack westbound classification yard with a capacity of 808 cars, also a five-track_eastbound receiving yard with a capacity of 420 cars, tributary to a ten-track eastbound classification yard with a capacity of 750 cars, all of which is described in detail commencing on page 735 of the Railway Age Gazette of October 26, 1917, and on page 514 of the Engineering News-Record of March 14, 1918.

The westbound yard receives a maximum of five trains per hour, and a total of eleven trains per twenty-four hours, averaging forty-one cars in length. There is an average of twenty-one cuts per train, and cars to be weighed are moved to the eastbound yard where the scale is located on the hump. One engine does the work of the westbound yard, acting first as a hump engine and then as a trimmer. An average of nineteen cars per hour, or four hundred sixty cars per twentyfour hours, is now being handled over the hump. Riders walk back to the hump and one rider will handle a maximum of four loads per cut, and an average of twenty-four cars per eight-hour shift. Switches are operated by hand, and the switch tenders are supplied with copies of the switch list. The capacity of this yard is so great as compared with the daily volume of business that no serious congestion occurs in the classification yard and no departure yard is required.

Your Sub-Committee has no detailed information in regard to the operation of the eastbound yard.