• ■ LOADING AND UNLOADING LUMBER 



Most western lumber is shipped by railroad to eastern markets. This part of the 

 study compares the cost of loading and unloading flatcars with packaged lumber vs. 

 loading and unloading boxcars with "loose" (unpackaged) lumber. Some packaged lumber 

 is shipped on trucks, in wide-door boxcars, and in special "Tomco" flatcars but cost 

 data on these are not included in this study. 



■ ' LOADING FLATCARS 



Loading packaged lumber onto flatcars requires planning because package placement 

 is carefully prescribed by the American Association of Railroads (Section No. 5 of the 

 Rules Governing the Loading of Forest Products on Open Top Cars). A diagram is used 

 to show the placement of different length units to ensure proper overlap of unit ends 

 to make a solid load. 



A forklift with operator and one additional man are needed to load and strap the 

 packages on the car. This can be done with little or no supervision after the crew has 

 the experience of loading out a few cars. Assuming a 40-M-board-foot order to be 

 loaded on the car, a two-man crew can complete the job in 2 hours. A productivity rate 

 of 10 M board feet per man-hour is attained. 



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