New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-04-03
Freight Car Promises to Revoutonize Railroading
Innovation Resembles Safety
Deposit Travelling Lock Box
Commodities, Packed in Large Containers Roll From
Consignor to Consignee Safe From Thieves, Fire
Weather. Breakage; Lifted From Car bv Cranes

permanently on its line between New
York and Chicago.
Initial trials were carried out. almos.
secretly, more than q month age.
Seas of Cars Recently
Clicked Railroad Yards
About eight months ago almost every
great railway yard in the East and tho
illddle West was choked with seas of
cars, unable to flow in or out, due to
general transportation congestion. The
great terminals of New York City were
damned SO that many industries, des-
pcrately IN need of fuel or raw mate
rails. were forced to close down. Coast
wise and even transatlantic shipping
was seriously affected The entire sit
uation was due to the inability of the
railroads to get rolling stock near
platforms or places where cars could
be unloaded and showed back into gen
crsl circulation. The shortage Of roll
ing stock due to the European war was
1. contributor to the situation.
Demonstrations carried on during the
last few weeks have shown, it is an
nounced, that the largest "container
car can be emptied of its nine "contain-
ers' by an ordinary crane in about
twenty minutes. Fitted with other
units. either empty or loaded, it can be
back into circulation in about the same
space Of time. Either moving or sta
tionary lifting cranes may be used for
loading or unloading. The operation
is possible directly onto waiting motor
trucks, platforms or even on the ground
Railway officials assert that the ire
mendous expense OF maintaining boz
cars and other rolling stock equal to
all emergencies will be materially cut
down, because with the rapid handling
OF contents cars may provide double
their present utility.
Some OF the most important mer-
chandising firms in the East and Middle
West cooperated with the railroad in
the trial trips of "container cars" On
the first trip--from New York to Chi
cago-the nine containers" OF one car
were "craned" to motor trucks by an
ordinary wrecking derrick mounted on
a diminutive hatcar in from three
quarters of a minute to three minutes
each. All were off the car in twenty
two minutes. A truck delivered the
first one to a department store a mile
from the railway terminal III thirty
eight minutes and another "container' |
was delivered at its ultimate destina-
ton, five miles away in one hour and
fifteen minutes. All nine were un-
locked by the various consignees in
business houses, unpacked and returned
TO their bulkheads on the car, ready
to start back East within two hours. !
Possibility Of Cheaper
Freight Rates Held Out
The multiplicity of savings inaugurated
by the new invention is so involved |
that it seems to bear out promises of
cheaper freight and express transpor-
tation, with savings to shippers, both
of which must eventually bring down
prices for the public. Costly packing
and transportation play large part
in the price-making Of necessaries,
whether eatables or clothing-thc two
main necessaries.
American merchants annually ship
hundreds of millions worth of goods
which reach the ultimate buyer at
higher cost because they travel en-
cased in expensive shipping boxes, usu
ally OF pine. 1t is asserted that the