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Dock Management Progress Section How Successful Dock Operators Have Met Problems of Giving Best Service to Ships Building Big Terminal at Memphis IONEERS in the revival of river barge transportation for steel prod- ucts, the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. of Pittsburgh also is the first to establish its own terminal and warehouse facilities in Memphis to serve the central southern and southwestern territory. Day and night workmen are busy on the property which, located on the Wolf river diversion canal a mile from _ its entrance to the Mississippi river, is to cost $250,000. The canal location was chosen because of the freedom from strong currents and high water. The H. W. Nelson Co. of Chicago has the contract. At present one terminal unit is being built, but space is provided and con- struction planned with a view to adding five others as soon as practicable. Will Transship at Memphis Steel will be transshipped at Memphis to Mississippi, west Tennessee, Ken- tucky, Arkansas and to points in Texas, while Louisiana consignments will continue by barge. Two double-track railroad bridges, immune to high water, cross the Mississippi river at Memphis. The first terminal is to be equipped with a 10-ton traveling crane of canti- lever construction, which will have a 300-foot runway with 80-foot centers. The crane will load river barge cargoes into railroad cars on a double track, or will carry the steel beyond the railway to electrically-operated truck trains run- ning on a wide concrete platform from the terminal to the warehouse 300 feet away. Fifteen hundred feet of double track railroad is being laid for the first unit. The warehouse is to be of concrete and factory steel construction, and the steel at present is in process of shipment from Pittsburgh. It is estimated the en- tire plant will be in operation two months after this steel arrives. The warehouse is to be 124 x 240 feet, with storage space of 30,000 square feet. The concrete platform will — ex- tend around two sides of it. Construc- tion is with a view to adding to the warehouse on the rear, almost to double its capacity. When this is done the plat- form will be built all the way around it, and another double-track railroad _ will be built on the new: side, so that there will be railroad facilities both front and rear. A 12,000-volt transformer station is being installed, to operate the derrick and truck trains and for lighting pur- poses. Will Dredge Harbor As soon as dredge boats can be ob- tained, the company will dredge the har- bor, depositing the dirt into the sites of the proposed additional terminal units. Heavy sheet steel piling is being driven the full length of the plant as_protec- tion in flood-times. However, no fear of high water damage to the land units is felt, the warehouse floor being at an elevation to withstand 48 feet on the Memphis gage. Steel for transshipment will be loaded direct into railroad cars at the terminal and sent on its way. Or if it is to go to a point down the river, will remain on the barge after other orders have been removed.’ At the same time that steel is being loaded onto the cars, other steel for storage can be passed beyond them and placed on the trucks to be sent to the warehouse, without interference. At present all steel handled through Memphis passes through the Municipal River-Rail Terminal and Warehouse, which is across the city from the Jones & Laughlin site. A. S. Castle, manager, estimates that at least 50,000 tons an- nually pass through the terminal. Buffalo Improves Port New plans involving the expendi- ture of $5,000,000 for elaborate har- bor developments of the port of Buf- falo have been prepared and have re- ceived the enthusiastic approval of the citizens committee on harbor improve- ment of the chamber of commerce. These plans call for the construc- tion of nine slips extending from a point west of the foot of South Mich- igan avenue to the west bank of the Buffalo river. HANDLING AND 203 STORING CARGO ECONOMICALLY IS ‘CALLS FOR MUTUAL APPRECIATION BETWEEN THE SHIPOWNER AND THE STEVEDORE A PROBLEM WHICH