The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1894-05-04
GOTHAMS BIG VANS.
HOW .THEY ARE USED FOR LONG
AND SHORT DISTANCE MOVING.

ell by Train end Steamboat.
The estimator for q storage and van
so,npany will walk into a house or
Fat and estimate within cubic foot of
how much space the contents will take
up packed, and he doesn't make any
elaborate computations either. He just
walks in a Ieisurely way through a
house from 1oof to cellar or through a
fat from end to end, and when he is
through no knows. Houses vary great
ly. One three story house might have
in it three van loads. The house just
like it next door might have six, but the
estim ator rarely makes mistake. He
might get half van load out of the
way in estimating a six load house, but
this would lie quite unusual. He would
be much more likely to hit the mark.
The contract price for moving means
for moving from any floor to any floor.
II it is desired, the company will send
barrels, boxes and packing materials and
men to pack crockery, bronzes. books,
brio, -brac, and so On, at rs cents a
barrel or its equivalent in space. The
time for loading and for starting the
vans would depend somewhat on where
the goods were going. Ifthey were 60
ing 40 miles into the country, the vans
would be loaded the afternoon before
and would start at 2 O'Clock in the
morning. They would arrive at their
destination at about 10 o clock the same
morning, the horses would DO put up
and the vans unloaded, the start on the
raf, Ia do 1t ,l,OJlf 9 n'p1npk
the next morning, and the arrival in the
city would he at about 10.
: Vans are specially constructed with
large bodies and low wheels for trans
portation by steamboat or railroad.
Whether borses are taken on such trips
depends altogether on the distance the
vans are going. II to nearby point,
the horses go along; II to a distant
point. 1t is cheaper to hire horses there.
Rtyans were going to Newport, for in
stance. they would be Ghipped on
freight propeller. whose derrick would
pick them up like great boxes Of goods
and land them on deck. On such trip
horace would not be taken, but hired in
Newport for the hauling there. Horses
would meet the vans at the dock upon
their return here. Vans go west at least
as tar as Louisville, south to Baltimore
and Washington. In transfers, say to
Long Branch and other nearby points,
tho horses go with the vans.
Fifty miles would ordinarily be about
the limit Of tho distance that vans cover
On their ow1 wheels, but they sometimes
% greater dis.ances. Forty miles would
hs sst at ali unusual. and trips Of 30
xaalas and less are common. The drivers
hnow the roads within 80 miles around
New York we'll. They know where the
paved roads are and those that are most
nearly level, and where the poorer or
more difficult roads are, too, and 30 they
know what sort OF an outfit to take.
Where thu roads are good to destination
the vans would be drawn by four horses.
On bad or billy roads they would take
six horses. 1t Is interesting to note, as
the result of the drivers observations,
that the roads around New York are
better than they used TO be, and that
they are steadily improving. Not in
frequently the van companies move peo-
pie from one point to another outside of
the city. For example, gentleman
who lived In q town near Bridgeport,
Conn, who was about to move to a
place near Tarrytown, in this state, con-
tTacted with van company of this city
to move him. Three vans went up from
the city on this expedition. The work
took about two weeks. Here the dis
tance to be covered was so great that it
was impossible to make 1t in single
Il h. of ,,i,bf r,yo1
went on In the morning. They went to
and fro In this way until the work was
completed. The bill for this Job came
TO nearly 81, 800.
The companies move goods be-
tween points in the city as well as to
and from 1t. and besides moving house
hold goods they will estimate, on and
contract to remove the contents of
store or a building to another store or
building. A recent moving job in this
city came to about $1,000. Goods NOV
ing in vans on their own wheels are not
insured. In transit by rail or boat they
are insured at the request Of the owner.
The cost Of moving by vans depends, OF
course, largely on distance, and it varies
somewhat according to season and cir
eumstances. It ia cheaper between sea-
COOS, and the nature of the roads to be
covered might have something to do
With it To Morristown, N. j., distance
about 80 miles, the price in the busy
eeason would be $35 van and expenses,
the expenses being ferriage and tolls.
20 point, say, IL miles from the city,
IN the busy season, the rate would be $50
q van and expenses.
The storage and van business has in
wsased greatly in New York in recent
Ssara. The population of the city and
h suburbs has increased rapidly, and
$hses are now more moving days than
*opmarly. Many leases now run from
ApsN or October, besides those that run
Epon May, SO that the business is more
distributed through the year. The num-
Ar OF those who go out Of town for the
summer has increased greatly. Many
R<sols regularly every year ; move
honsshold goods enough to furnish or
Ye1tly furnish house at the seashore or
Ia Hha oouufrv There ara manv nerS0nS