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At Boston the skids are transferred from the railroad car to the steam- ship terminal by motor truck. In addition to paper on skids the East- ern Steamship Co.’s Boston, New York line handles skids loaded with un- bound books. Light packages are stowed on top of the skids when stow- age or space requirements make this necessary. Skids Reduce Handling Costs Besides reducing stevedoring costs, _the use of skids has made checking and sorting easier and has reduced claims. In addition, acceptance of paper on skids has brought the line business which would otherwise have moved all rail. The lift trucks used by this com- pany have a capacity of 5000 pounds and a lift of three inches. Standard lift trucks vary in capacity from 500 to 20,000 pounds and vary in lifting height from three quarters of an inch to three inches. The truck lifts the skid clear of the floor by one to eight up and down movements of the handle, according to its capacity. When the load is to be lowered a release pedal is pressed with the foot. The load is dropped without a jar by the operation of a hydraulic checking cylinder filled with oil. In one make of truck this cylinder is in a vertical po- sition back of the handle, while in others it is placed in the center of the truck in a horizontal position. These cylinders are clearly shown in the two illustrations. Handles of the trucks used by the Eastern Steamship Co., Blackstone Valley line and others, will elevate or lower the load from any point in an are of 180 degrees, a valuable quality when working in restricted spaces on ship and shore. Roller or ball bear- ings, and wheels as large as the under- neath clearance of the skid will per- mit, are provided to reduce the effort needed to move the truck and load. Hauling Skids by Tractor The Hudson River Night line car- ries shipments of printing paper on skids from Albany to New York. These skids are shipped to Albany in railroad cars. At that point the cars are unloaded and the skids are taken into the ship with a hand lift truck. At the New York pier, the skids are unloaded with a hand lift truck hauled by an electric tractor. Plans are being considered to haul two skids with a tractor which will make the total saving over 70 per cent as compared with handling shipments in cases. These figures take capital charges and repairs into consideration. Shipments of paper on skids also originate at Saugerties and other Hud- son river ports, and move to New York by the Saugerties Steamboat line and by the Catskill Evening line. The first line, lacking a bulkhead at the New York pier, loads the skids on motor trucks by means of a portable ramp and the truck’s winch. The Catskill Evening line handles a ton of cardboard on skids without packing or strapping. These skids are carried by motor truck from the mill to the up-river terminal and from there are moved to the New York dock where delivery is made to the consignee. Bundles of paper are also handled in this manner. Perma- nent skids are used, half of which are owned by the shipper and half by the steamship company. The Detroit & Cleveland Naviga- The Lee & Simmons Lighterage Co. handles sugar in sacks on skids from the sugar refinery at Edgewater to the cars of the New York Central railroad at its Weehawken pier. The Ocean Steamship Co. handles paper on skids from Boston to South Atlantic ports. Less Handling of Shipment One shipping company, operating ships with overall hatches, is experi- menting with shipments on skids mov- ing from factory to consignee’s ware- house. In one instance a plan is being worked on to.combine a carload of 2850 cases into twelve skid loads. At present each case is handled twelve times from factory to consignee’s warehouse, making a total of 34,200 handlings. This shipment can be com- 5000-POUND POWER STACKER tion Co. carries storage batteries from Cleveland to Detroit on three tier racks mounted on skids. The batter- ies are placed on the rack at the Cleveland dock and are not removed until they reach the consignee’s fac- tory. Occasionally shipments of other commodities move on skids from ship- per to consignee. The skids are han- dled on the docks of the Detroit and Cleveland line by hand and electric lift truck. MARINE REVIEW—March, 1929 STACKING SKIDS OF PAPER bined into twelve skid loads thereby reducing handlings to 144, a decrease of 99.6 per cent. The consequent econ- omy will pay for the skids and lift trucks within a few months. Experiments in handling freight on skids between railroad terminals and piers of shipping companies have been successfully made and will be ex- tended as fast as equipment can be obtained. Experiments are contem- plated involving the stowage of skids 41