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1/Pig Tron Cargo Handled on Ship with — Magnets ” Locomotive Type Cranes Carried on Deck, Load and Unload Lake Independent of Land Equipment Steamer NOVEL method of handling pig iron is being tried out on the Great Lakes, and is demon- strating practical points of economy and efficiency. The loading and unloading of railroad cars by means of lifting magnets on stationary or movable crane has long been cus- tomary in iron and steel plants, and some ship cargo also has been handled in this way, with equipment located on docks. For a vessel to carry its own crane and magnets, however, and for the special purpose of placing pig iron in its hold or removing it: to the dock, independent of any other equipment, represents a unique de- parture from usual practice. This is being done by the Charcoal Iron Co. of America, which has plants at Ashland, Wis., and at Manistique, Newberry and Boyne City, Mich. The company ships a considerable por- tion of its product by vessel to Buffalo for eastern distribution. It has one vessel in this service, the GRIFFIN, orig- inally built for carrying iron ore and grain, and which it acquired in 1918. The GrirFIN is 270 feet over all, its beam is 40 feet, and depth 24 feet; the cargo capacity is 3000 tons. The GRIFFIN carries cargoes of pig iron from the company’s Michigan and Wisconsin plants and unloads them at the Buffalo docks of the Lehigh Valley railroad. On return trips the boat usually has a cargo of coal for consignment to ports on the west shore of Lake Michigan, or on Lake Superior. Previous to the acquisition of the GriFFIN, the Charcoal Iron company operated the steamer Crcoa for the same kind of service. The Crcoa was taken over by the government during the war and put into coast service on the At- lantic: The CrIcoa Was equipped with THE CARGO CAPACITY OF BEEN LOADED BY MEANS OF THE TWO LOCOMOTIVE TYPE CRANES, EQUIPPED WITH LIFTING MAGNETS, IN 50 HOURS lifting magnets in 1916, but this equip- ment was removed when the steamer was put in ocean service. The brief experience with this ship showed that it was feasible and econom- ical to load cargoes of pig iron by magnet cranes mounted on deck, so when the Charcoal Iron company re- sumed pig iron shipments during 1923, the first step was to equip the GrirFrIn with magnets in the same way that the CICcoA equipped, except that the cranes and magnets are larger to allow for faster loading and unloading. The equipment consists of two 45-inch, 220-volt, Cutler-Hammer Mfg. Co., lift- img magnets and two Orton & Stein- Was _brenner Co. steam locomotive-type cranes 476 THE GRIFFIN IS 3000 TONS, AND THE BOAT HAS with 36-foot booms. Steam pressure is supplied from the ship’s boilers. The cranes have special channel iron bases and rest on rails bolted to the deck. The cranes may be rolled from one side of the deck to the other. While in operation or while the ship is moving, they are securely fastened to the deck by special rail clamps. Current for the magnets is supplied from an_ engine generator set in the engine room. This set was added to the ship’s equipment when the magnets were installed, The Grirrin has seven hatches. One crane is located between hatches 1 and 3, and the other between hatches 5 and 6. The operating area of the cranes covers the entire portion of the hold directly