05-01-2009, 09:50 AM
Looks like you've got your answer. 
It's easy to forget (or to not realise if you weren't around at the time) that there was a lot of manual labour used right into the late '50s when it came to loading and unloading railway cars. Lumber is one commodity handled this way, but gondola-loads of coal or gravel were often unloaded by a couple of guys with shovels, and some ores, bagged or loose, were shipped in boxcars that had been loaded manually. Bagged sugar and flour loading and unloading, before the use of forklifts and pallets, was done by crews with strong backs, one bag at a time.
Wayne
It's easy to forget (or to not realise if you weren't around at the time) that there was a lot of manual labour used right into the late '50s when it came to loading and unloading railway cars. Lumber is one commodity handled this way, but gondola-loads of coal or gravel were often unloaded by a couple of guys with shovels, and some ores, bagged or loose, were shipped in boxcars that had been loaded manually. Bagged sugar and flour loading and unloading, before the use of forklifts and pallets, was done by crews with strong backs, one bag at a time.Wayne