Interesting track config for produce terminal

[Brakie]

Guys,Thankfully for use modern modelers there are several produce terminals that is still rail served..

I don't recall seeing a produce terminal with that type of trackage.

Possibly because the picture was pre-1960. Back in those days manpower was cheaper, so you could have a small army of people loading or unloading boxcars or reefers by hand, and many cars were loaded in such a way that you kept the center (by the door) open - you needed to get in there to add or remove bracing etc. Loading or unloading a car would take quite a while back then. So it was very doable to load or unload by going through the center of one car to get to another car beyond it.

Not so sure that loading or unloading through another care is done so much today, when stuff in boxcars probably is on pallets, covered in plastic, and you use a forklift to load and unload?

Smile,
Stein

Stein,I not so sure the labor was cheaper because a lot of produce terminals was Union back then.A item that is overlooked when talking about wages way back then..Even as a 15 year old teenager I got paid good money for unloading boxcars.

As a side note even today you will find non palletized loads that must be unloaded by hand.At the warehouse where I was working before being medically retired had a 3 man "Gin" crew that did that..