New-York tribune., 1910-08-28
NAIL SERTICE
Equipment for Rapid Handling in
NesU FORKS Nesc PostoGce.
diagram illustrating this article sec
pages and 81


ing the mails on their way. Soon after the new
,,onnsylyania station. at Seventh avenue and
e25 street is opened the critics will have an op-
,,,-t11rity TO observe the operation OF d system
= mechanical mail handling which Will incline
.,,,, 10 think some one III the postal service
has walked up
1y1,cr the contract was made between the
Government and the Pennsylvania Railroad for
+be erection of the branch postoffice at the ter
,ninaI the railroad agreed to deliver the mail
.boro The railroad with the expectation of
eoxinr thousands of dollars year in labor. is
.,,e.-ucting a new system, the like Of which,
,,ably is rot 20 be found elsewhere in the
,-,5 BY means OF it the thousands OF mail
.rs coming into and going out Of that station
soil,- Viii be handled With celerity POSSIBLY
rs,-er attained before by a pouch stamped
% : NJ" With the aid of belt conveyers,
,,rctet elevators. spiral chutes and automobile
4--,cls il VIII be possible TO load and unload in
.,-,, hours the 80 tons of mail matter which
will mass through this station every day. Radiat-
mo from this Office TO different points Of the
city VIII be q series Of pneumatic tubes which
will facilitate the collection and distribution
The devices which are being installed will affect
the movement Of the mail OF the United States
and in fact Of all parts Of the world with which
New York has postal relations
Between 1900 and 5000 bags, weighing
f-,ro few pounds to 200 pounds each will be
handled daily \ large proportion of this Will be
+n-o1.ch mail II was necessary to devise a
mechanical system economical in time we'll
C IN men 10 move it. for trains may remain in
the station only a short time. The postoffice.
5actlv over the tracks west of the station, is to
he connected with the platforms below by four
sf-gl chutes an endless belt fitted with buckets
and four plunger elevators for raising and
lowering trucks designed for the transportation
of bags Of heavy paper mail From either Of
the mailing floors Of the postofiice bag may
he started on its journey to the ends of the
earth sy tn simple act OF throwing it into the
csDacious mouth Of one of the spiral chutes. |
Il Sins down t. the carrier belt below like a
youngster sliding down the chutes at Coney |
Island The belt running horizontally over the |
nlatforn. carries 1t forward This is a free ride
terminating in the hopper Of the "tripper." |
which launches it into curving rectangular |
canvas tube. down which it is shot into the car |
Nc. hand comes into contact with the bag in |
the course Of this trip from the office to the |
car door. unless the machinery fails. Then the |
man riding on the seat of the hopper-like |
-t-fprer" interferes and sets things right.
-Four platforms Viii be equipped with the ma
chinery for loading trains. Over each Of these
VII be two endless horizontal carrier belts, |
operating in opposite directions from the two
mouths Of the spiral chute. Running upon rails
SUSPENDED over the belts are the 'trippers,"
which pick UP the pouches from them at any
desired point.
One Of the platforms is provided also with ma
chneTy for unloading. This consists of q con-
Teyer belt carried beneath the platform and
e1uptyinE lis burden into the buckets attached
70 vertical chain belt The latter travels at
the rate Of twenty buckets q minute, each carry
ing pouch. The bags are lifted to the street
lavel, where they are tumbIed into one Of the
spiral chures. from which they may be switched
10 the desired level.
When q mail train enters the station no pains
viii be taken TO do anything more than throw
lbe pouches out the platform 1t may not
require more than five minutes TO do this The
train then passes on to the Long Island City
.ards. The bags are deposited one by one into
openings in the platform. At the right moment
plnger operated by compressed air pushes a
bag on IL tie belt Both the pusher and the
belt are geared to and run by the belt of the
bucket lift IN order that the bags may be fed to
tie buckets al the proper intervals. Should the
pouch reach the point where ii is dumped into
tie bucket second too soon or too late, its
Eight be injured 10y the machinery.
The perfect cooperation Of the horizontal and
vertical belts has d bearing upon the life OF the