The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

press and mail for a large passenger liner. In addition, the design must con- form to still other requirements — geographic, hydrographic, physical, economic, political, real estate, and financial. These are never the same for any two projects. Because of the number, complexity and often con- flicting nature of the various factors, it is not practicable to develop a standard or ideal terminal, or even to standardize to any great extent the component parts of a terminal. For example: the ideal terminal for some locations and conditions, with ample land and water areas and cheap real estate might be one with wide slips, wide piers, or quays, single story sheds and warehouses; whereas the ideal in a congested harbor, with high real estate values would be compara- tively narrow slips, piers and multi- story shed and warehouses due to the necessity of making a fair return on the investment. As another example: a terminal for vessels loading or dis- charging solid cargoes of several thousand tons of freight and no pas- sengers should be materially different from one designed for vessels carrying several thousand passengers and one or two thousand tons of freight. As a further illustration of this point, the excellent modern terminal at Mobile would be quite out of place on the Hudson at Manhattan Island. Still further, under some conditions the most durable and permanent con- struction would be indicated, while under others a terminal should be designed for a short intensive use, susceptible of removal when obsolete and replacement on newly developed lines. Evaluate Factors Involved For the most accurate evaluation of the various factors entering into terminal design, they should be trans- lated as far as practicable into the logical common term——money: cost of construction, cost of maintenance, cost of operation, and operating rev- enues. These values should in turn be reduced for comparison as far as practicable to a common time basis: annual costs and revenues, or to a capital value. The broader view should be taken of costs if terminals are to be as sound economically as practicable, that is, effects on trans- portation costs in connection with vessels, cars, trucks, operating into and out of the terminal and other in- direct costs or savings. Any terminal project must be sound economically —it must provide for a suitable re- turn on the investment. In the case of a commercial project the direct return alone must be sufficient. In the case of a public or semipublic project such as a railroad marine terminal, the indirect returns—savings to the community, increases in trade and traffic, industry, real estate valua- tion, and tax income, may be given sreat weight. Lighter 500'Vessel The various features of marine terminals are discussed under various headings to follow, briefly in the case of the more elementary items and at greater length in the case of those most vitally affecting transpor- tation efficiency. In all cases we have tried to place emphasis on points which might indicate possible im- provements from the operating point of view—reduction in port time and cost, handling time and costs, demur- age damages, property and personal risks. While all design features of a marine terminal, including the struc- tural features, affect the operation in some way, emphasis must be given to those having the more direct effect on efficient operation, especially cargo handling. Such features are: layout and arrangement, dimensions, costs, durability, security afforded (against fire, storm, accident), cargo MARINE REview—March, 1931 Breasting Fi . . : alg STUDIES OF SLIP WIDTHS FI/G./ a. > ~N wy 19 9 9 ) STUDIES OF SLIP WIDTHS FIG 2 AZ7ZZ22 handling equipment, railroad facili- ties and many other details affecting operation. Lighter ome wmnn - - ~ - Ee LL Guard Against Obsolescence Some terminals have actually been obsolete in certain particulars the day they were completed due to the lack of thoroughness in studying re- quirements for the most economical handling of cargo and due to the failure of the designers to give proper consideration to the main purposes. for which the terminal has been constructed. Too many engi- neers design terminals without the assistance of men who have had a broad contact with and an under- standing of all the problems involved. Often however, the opinions of men in charge of a terminal are accepted as a sound basis on which to design. Individual opinions should, of course, — be carefully analyzed and checked. In A PTPLILZALT ILI 27