The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-09-19
OCEAN TRAFFIC.
The Grand Trunk Yard at East Deering

Last year there were IS sailings of ocean
steamships from the port of PORTLAND
In the coming winter the Grand 1runA
officials who have charge Of the pusihess
of supplying the oargoes for tnese ooo"n
carriers are looking forward to over ono
hundred arrivals and departures An"O
would exceed by fifteen or more INC reooru
of last winter. 10 fill the holds OF all
these vessels requires an imIhehSe sinounO
of freight and this nearly all VIII pe
hauled here over the Grand Trunk system.
It must not only be gotten to Portland
Init If must come regularly for the cost OF
maintaining a great steamship even for
single dav is enormous and the managers
paruralIy expect to have the cargo wait
inc for them the moment that ship Is
discharged so that there may be no costly
DELAYS. The great elevator, with lis vast
bins for the storage of grain,l has maze IL
possible to pour the products of the farms
into the holds of the vessels as fss6 as
modern machinery can do the work. WIN
the elevator in operation, however, care
must be taken that tie supply in the plns
is not allowed to become exhausted. AhAo
means that there must be long lines Oh
loaded cars waiting to be unioadeo Oh 'he
lower floor of the great building. In pas'
years the Grand Trunk has been seriously
hampsred by the lack of yard room. lis
tracks stretched along narrow strip OF
shore under Munjoy hill and there was no
room for expansion there. Out IN Deer-
ing, however, just across the bridge Unere
is tract of level land and this the ROAD
is Transforming into yard for .he
storage of cars. The work is being Done
by McGregor Brothers, the Rumford faIls
contractors. They have plowed up nearly
ten acres of ground and then leveied IL
so that it is as smooth as a floor. On tnls
will be laid the side tracks VIII ere tnous-
ands of cars may be stored waiting 10 pe
hauled to the elevator. With this addition
to the facilities for storing cars here there
will be no danger that the great ocean
carriers will have to wait for their cargoes.
The new yard will be fine illustration
of the growth of the steamship business
from this port when it is filled with long
lines OF cars, with shifting engines
putting about over its mammoth gridlron
of steel rails and busy employees lowering
about it in all directions.
The Grand Trunk improvements are
not confined to the road bed for there Is
to be large increase in the rolling stock
to take care of the growing volume OF
business. The company has recently been
turning out considerable equipment from
their Montreal shops, of modern and
up-to-date style and character. OF this
new equipment. four were baggage cars,
60 fset in length, of the full height of Il
feet-2 inches from top of rail- the width
being feet = inches. with an elevated
roof, and finished and painted with the
new Grand Trunk standard color. The
cars are equipped with the Gould auto
matte couplers and buffers, Westinghouse
air signals, and quick action brakes. and
hea cd with steam. The total weight OF
car. including trucks, is %. 800 pounds
and the total carrying capacity $4,000
pounds.
They are now turning out large num-
Der of new refrigerator cars. designed e5-
pecially to take care of th5 perishable
shipments originating at points on their
lines In Canada, the special features being
according to the we'll known Wickes pat
ents for refrigerator car. the cars being
about So feet long, and IS feet high, with
carrying capacity of $1,000 pounds
each. These cars are especially equipped
with ice boxes and attachments, TWO
being at each enc of the car. the ice being
supplied through four trap doors In the
roof Immediately over the ice boxes. They
are also equipped with automatic draw
bars and Westinghouse air brakes and
designed to run at a high rate of speed.
They are painted an orange color, the roof
being white, with the roof edge in black.
The Wells and French Car Company, OF
Chicago have just commenced the deliv.
cry to the Grand Trunk Railway of 500
new thirty ton capacity box cars, of the
standard Grand Trunk design and finish.