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14 MARINE REVIEW January, 1925 and at the same time have an efh- cient method of handling freight under vormal conditions, a new system of. in- dustrial tractors and trailers has been installed on the docks of the Eastern Steamship Co., Boston, operator of the above fast steamers, and has met with unusual success. The nature of the equipment used may best be studied by an account of a normal day’s operations. It should be said at first, however, that regardless of the equipment, successful handling of material depends to a large extent on the work of the dock super- intendent or of the man in charge of the freight. Each day at the Boston dock, an FIG. 2—AN ELEVATOR ABOARD SHIP QUICKLY TRANSFERS ITS LOAD OF TWO TRAILERS BETWEEN THE HOLD AND THE ’TWEEN DECKS FIG. 5—IN WET WEATHER, AT HIGH AND LOW TIDE, A POWER DRIVEN ESCALATOR GANGPLANK IS USED average of 500 tons of miscellaneous freight is handled. A visitor during the rush period between three and five o’clock in the afternoon is amazed at the rapid- FIG. 3 NEARLY ALL FREIGHT IS HAULED DIRECTLY TO ITS FINAL LOCA- ity with which large piles of boxes, TION ON BOARD SHIP BY SMALL TRACTORS crates and barrels on the dock melt away through the activity of the long trailer trains which run on and off of the ship. Because of the variety in the character of freight, no definite system of load- ing can be followed. Some days, the freight will be light consisting of tex- tiles, furniture, mattresses, etc., and the next day a run of machinery, boxed paper, molasses, and sugar may double the average weight for a given space. It is these variations that tax the in- genuity of the men in charge of loading, for it is not enough merely to get the material on to the vessel, but it must be placed on the proper deck and in a way to give the proper trim to the ship both fore and aft and laterally. The vessels with which this article is particularly concerned are sister ships 402 feet long, 72 feet 6 inches beam, i and 5450 tons displacement. They are FIG. 4—TRAILERS AND HAND TRUCKS ALIKE ARE ASSISTED UP STEEP designed to carry 690 passengers and INCLINES BY THE ESCALATOR have about 90,000 cubic feet of freight