WATER TERMINALS In the United States adequate water terminal facilities are of great economic importance in railroad transportation. The proper co-ordination of rail and water facilities to insure the rapid trans port of freight and passengers, both inland and on the high seas, is a problem of increasing importance. A water terminal can be defined by the single word "Port," a port being a harbour properly equipped with the terminal facilities necessary to handle the freight passing through the port as well as the passenger traffic. Handling of Freight and Merchandise.—Originally the ship's tackle alone was used, later this was supplemented by mov able derricks and cranes.
The freight is discharged to the dock or directly on trucks or cars ; at times it is loaded on lighters and carfloats lying alongside the ship.
For handling abnormal weights, floating derricks of large capac ity are available.
Small electric motor trucks are used in many terminals for hauling the freight to the warehouses and are very efficient. They can haul several trailers at about 1 o m.p.h. and can be driven into the car and there loaded or unloaded.
Overhead conveyors, either the telfer type or belt, facilitate the moving of cargoes such as bales of cotton, chests of tea, leaving the deck of the pier clear to be used by trucks and rail road cars.
Train-ferries have been operated for many years between Italy and Sicily, Hamburg and Denmark, and Denmark and Sweden. In the U.S.A. sea-trains operate between New York city and Cuba. Other such ferries are primarily for passengers. The transporting of freight trains over the ocean was inaugu rated by the Sea-train Lines about seven years ago. The steamers are regular deepsea ships and not just glorified car-floats.
They have a capacity of one hundred freight cars and when fully loaded each ship carries 26 cars in the hold, 26 between deck, 3o on the main deck, and 18 on the super-structure.
In order to load and unload the cars to and from the vessel, a 125-car elevator is used.
The car is run onto a cradle which is raised and moved over one of the ship's hatches, then lowered to its proper deck, then moved forward or aft as the ship's plan may call for; once in place the car is securely bolted down.
Ore is a very important freight carried on the water routes of the Great Lakes. The operating season is com paratively short and it is imperative that the ore carriers make as many trips as possible each year. Therefore a ship must remain in port as short a time as possible. This has led to loading by gravity and emptying by special machinery. The ore-carrying trains are hauled on top of a trestle pier with numerous pockets or hoppers. The cars dump directly into these. The ore ship is run alongside of the pier and its hold is filled by gravity, the ore flowing into the ship through chutes. Ten thousand tons of ore are often loaded into a ship in about 90 minutes, and unloaded in about 4 hours. Large installations like this are found at Duluth and Two Harbors, Minn. At Erie, Conneaut, Ashtabula, Cleve land and many other unloading points, the ship is run under a series of ore-unloaders which dredge the ship out. These ore unloaders, without the aid of shovellers, have an efficiency of about 98%.
Coal piers are very similar to those handling ore—a trestle, and ramp hoppers into which the coal is dumped directly from the cars, or into which the coal is unloaded from the ship. The emptying of the hoppers is done by gravity. Installations are found at Chicago, St Louis, Philadelphia, Newport News, New York and numerous other points. Coal car dumpers are used at various places. This apparatus lifts the car up and turns it over through an angle of 160°, dumping the load into a pan from which it is allowed to run into the coal barge. The machinery is placed on top of a trestle. At such places where it is necessary to have a large supply of coal, it is often stored on the ground.