38 CARGO HANDLING AT PORTS 
trucked to the foot of the hatchway and there raised to 
eck level, either by slings worked by cranes, or the ship’s 
winches, or by elevators.  Sheep’s carcases are more suit- 
able for handling by the third method (vide fig. 65), quarters 
of beef being more generally lifted in slings. Arrived on 
deck, carcases are conveniently transferred to a conveyor 
for sending ashore. If the cold store is located at the quay- 
side or in the vicinity, the conveyor will be not unlikely 
inclined upwards, so as to convey the carcases to the top 
oor of the store for lowering through a hatchway to any 
particular chamber. 
Beef is usually man-handled, or power driven, along an 
sverhead rail on the quay, or inside the quay sheds, each 
-arcase being suspended by a hook on a runner. At a 
certain point in the track, a live rail is interposed, which 
enables the quarters to be weighed. The quarters are then 
passed to lifts for storage, or to van or car for town delivery. 
A description of the overhead runner-rail system for hand- 
ling chilled beef and carcase of sheep out of the ships’ 
holds will be found on page 9I. 
DISTANT DELIVERY. 
If intended to be conveyed some distance, the frozen 
produce will be transferred by railway wagon. motor van, 
Sr barge. 
A typical English railway insulated refrigerator car 1s 
about 16 ft. long overall by 7 ft. 4 ins. wide. Its inside dimen- 
sions are about 14 ft. by 61 it. by 7 ft. It hasa capacity of 
about 630 cubic feet, and receives either 250 carcases of 
sheep, or 54 quarters of beef. It is insulated by four layers 
of boarding, with waterproof paper insertion between the 
inner and outer layers and I inch hair felting in the centre. 
The ice bunkers have a capacity of 1,100 1b. of ice. 
A typical American railway insulated refrigerator car 
is of considerably larger dimensions. It is about 33 ft. 
long internally, 8 ft. wide, and 7} ft. high, and the ice 
bunkers hold 10,000 Ibs. of ice. The insulation is much 
thicker and more complex. 
Mechanical refrigerator cars are also used, cooling being