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52 distance to leave an open space on which cars or trucks can be operated. However, many are not located near railroads so that cars could not be fur- nished even if the pier was designed to accommodate them. Incidentally it may be well to point out at this juncture that it is generally difficult to switch cars from a water- front belt line on to a pier at right angles to it. Tracks on a pier consti- tute a dead-end stub offering no op- portunity to “spot” the cars where needed, nor remove or furnish particu- lar cars as occasion may require. It often happens that these structures are not even strong enough to carry the weight of freight handling machin- ery. Piers were generally placed too close together. The result was a crowded waterport of narrow piers and narrow slips with congestion afloat and ashore. Loading and unloading is slowed down, turn-around time for ships is increased and handling costs go up. Slips Can Hardly Be Too Wide In the newer developments the piers are built much wider. The width of the slips is also increased, but seldom enough so. A slip between piers needs room for more purposes than the mere berthing of two ships. One or both ships may be “breasted off” to accom- modate coal barges between themselves and the piers. Also a ship is sure to be surrounded by lighters on her free or off-shore side. If there is not room to move lighters in and out between those clustered alongside the ships— their operation are hindered and some may be pocketed at the shore end of the slip for long periods of time. The reason for cramped quarters seems to be a desire to be able to ac- commodate the greatest possible num- ber of vessels simultaneously for a given distance of waterfront. This is a mistaken idea and all wrong. The capacity of a waterfront has nothing to do with the number of ships that can be jammed into it. Crowding al- ways reduces efficiency and increases costs. The true measure of capacity is based on the number of ships that can discharge one cargo and take on another on a given distance of water- front in a given time. As an example suppose one dock unit will take six ships at once but its design and facilities are such that the average turn around time is 10 days. Under these conditions eighteen ships will be severed in a month. Compare this with another property of equal size only capable of berthing four ships at a time, but equipped so that they are able to clear again in six days after docking. Here twenty ships MARINE REVIEW will be handled per month. What is still more to the point, the unproductive period of the vessels in port is far less than in the former case, and the unit cargo handling costs probably much lower. Another type of development does away with piers entirely and ships berth “side on” to the quay wall. Much can be said for this method. It saves the cost of pier construction. It re- moves the objection to piers that jut out into the river or harbor and _ob- struct the fairway. Neither is it wasteful of waterfront space. The num- ber of ships that can be accommodated in this manner on a given shorefront compares not unfavorable with the num- ber that can be berthed together where wide piers and commodious slips are provided. Instead of building a quay continu- ously in a straight line it is possible to =MARGINAL STREET ——— RAILWAY TRAGKS.— QUAY WALL ee ms ‘OUAY WALLS MARGINAL STREET METHODS OF BERTHING AT QUAY indent it. This may be desirable where there is considerable current running parallel to the waterfront. Such type of construction makes it easy for ships to dock or sail without concern for other vessels moored fore or aft of them. A series of railroad tracks should parallel the bulkhead or quay. As the ships are moored “side on” to the waterfront, cars can be easily placed alongside the ships opposite whatever point may be desired. These tracks are continuous, not like the stubs placed on piers. A system of frequent switches connecting the service tracks next to the ship with adjoining belt line tracks makes possible a very sat- isfactory car service. It is essential that these belt-lines around the harbor con- nect with all the trunk line railroads serving the port. This not alone is necessary in order to reach the great- est amount of territory as directly as possible, but by giving a shipper a choice of route in many instances will, through the element of competition, do much to secure good service and fair rates. The marginal street that carries the tracks is also available to trucks, both February, 1925 motor and horse drawn, while small tractors and trailers can also use it. A system of gantry or other cranes op- erating up and down the waterfront can concentrate their effort wherever needed. In order to reduce the time of a ship in port it will always be necessary to accumulate more or less of the out- bound cargo for her return voyage in advance of her arrival. It is also essen- tial to have space in which to store that part of the cargo taken off the ship and not loaded on truck, car or lighter for immediate delivery or trans- shipment. That calls for the services of a ware- house. Such warehouses must be so located and constructed that the cost of getting goods to and from them and between them and the ships will be as low as possible. Supporting Warehouses Needed A system of supporting warehouses lining the marginal way on the side opposite the ships will probably offer the most convenient facilities. If the distance between them and the quay wall be not too great the dock cranes can transfer cargo direct between ship and warehouse. Furthermore this close proximity makes it possible to use trac- tors and trailers to move cargo between cne and the other. It goes without saying that the warehouses will be di- rectly served by the belt line railroad. Whenever cargo can be kept mov- ing it should be kept moving. Transit sheds or space on the ground floor of the warehouse is needed where cargo can be conveniently placed for selec- tion. It is necessary to classify a large production of cargo prior to load- ing it into the ship. It is also essential to sort, separate and inspect a great deal of inbound cargo before despatch- ing it to its destination, and facilities for doing this must be provided. There has been a great amount of uninformed discussion about the use of freight handling machinery. It is fool- ishness to casually talk of putting equipping on a pier much as one would talk of putting on a coat of paint, yet it is often done. Perhaps the proper thing to do would be to pull down the pier and erect a_ structure requiring an entirely different type of equipment. In many cases the sensible thing would be to undertake a reorganiza- tion of the design and facilities of the port including the type of harbor works—the railroad service, the ware- house problem and then the opera- tion of these as a co-ordinated whole. Piecemeal installations produce but partial results. : It is admitted that this is an age of machinery and that most of our