Patent ID: 8585347

Claim:
A transfer method for blocking containers having a common destination, said method comprising the steps of: delivering a container via a rail car on train rails to a terminal; assigning, to a crane operator, a corridor as to where to deliver the container, the corridor including a plurality of buffers in proximity to a track side location, each buffer including a plurality of vertical supports defining a containment cavity configured to receive the container from a crane and transfer the container from the buffer to a chassis, the plurality of buffers being substantially adjacent, aligned and in parallel to one mother and being configured such that a longitudinal axis of each one of the plurality of buffers is at an angle of about 10 degrees or more with respect to the train rails, the corridor configured to receive a plurality of containers having a common destination; picking with the crane the container from the rail car, rotating the container at an angle of at least 10 degrees with respect to the train rails, and placing the container in the containment cavity of one of the plurality of buffers; and transferring the container in the containment cavity of the one of the plurality of buffers to a chassis for facilitating transporting of the container from the corridor.