First Reports Show Success of Unitized Lumber Shipping

The test program of shipping unitized lumber in boxcars now being sponsored jointly by the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association and the National Lumber Manufacturers Association has produced some interesting results in the first month it was in operation:

- Sixty-five cars have been ordered or reported on, participating_ re_tail lumb-er dealers now number 33{,97 mills have signi- fied their willingness to ship unitized lumber in cars and 37 wholesale lumber dealers are cooperating. Several new loading and unloading methods have been tried which promise to add to the value of this money-saving method of shipping lumber.

_ Wlr"" John E. Moeling and his three-man yard crew from Sterling Lumber in Chicago unloaded a box car of lumber in 2l minutes during the NRr,DA 1956 trxposition in Chicago, the 700 retail dealers who witnessed this-generally agree"d'that "This is fine, but it couldn't be done from groundlevel in a yard.'l |Vloeling ploved otherwise recently, when they unloaded a ca1 i1]h9 arnaziry time of 16 minutes-f,rom ground level.

The Union Pacific plug-door boxcar was loaded with 34,66O board feet of white fir by Boise Cascade Cory. (formerly BoisePayglt9 Lumber Co.) of Emmett, Idaho, and arrived in perfect condition. Two fork trucks,6000-pound capacity with side shift and 1.5,000-pound capacity, with d,rivers and one helper, worked together. The smaller truck was lifted into the car to raise the stacks in order to place rollers under them. Stacks were pushed into the doorway by hand.

I-argely responsible for the new record was the use of rollers of varying heights under the stacks which had to be moved into the doorway of a car. An &' roller was used under the end of the stack farthest from the door, then a d, under the center of the stack, and a 4n' under the end nearest the door, This made it easy for two men to push the stack "down hill" toward the car door.

When this car was completed, the same crew werrt to work on a car consisting of 39,168,board feet of white fir from Winton Lumber Co., Martell, California, and succeeded in unloading it in 26 minutes.

Thus, 73,828 board feet of lumber was unloaded and placed in storage in a total elapsed time of under 50 minutes. Mr. Moeling stated, "This certainly indicates the savings inherent in this method of shipping and unloading lumbei for those who will work to perfect their methods. I sincerely feel that we will unload a car in 10 minuteS."

Bob Kilgore Storts Own Business

Bob Kilgore (left), popular young Northern California lumberman, has entered the wholesale lumber business on his own in San Rafael. The business will be operated under Bob's full name-Robert P. Kilgore, Wholesale Lumber-with offices at l7O3 5th Avenue in San Rafael.

Kilgore's 20 years of west coast lumber experience goes back to 1936 when he ioined Stimson Lumber Company at Seattle. Prior to his own business for the first time on September 1, he had been two years with Fairhurst Lumber Company as its Northern'California salesmanager.

In addition to his lumber interests, Bob has been an ac- tive supporter of several Northern California Hoo-Hoo Clubs. He played a big part in organizing Club 9's big 1956 International convention and is currently serving as lst vice-president of San Francisco Hoo-Hoo Club 9. -