Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 91.djvu/739

 Loading Cattle on Trains in a New Way

��The cattle enter through the rear door of the end car and walk through the train to the first car, each front car being shut off as it is filled

��OREGON has produced a man who has tried to relieve the trials and tribula- tions of railroads by inventing a new way of loading cattle on freight-trains. The present-day method is long and tedious. As the loading is done from one spot and as there are no connections between cars, only one car can be filled at a time. When one car is full the train is moved on until the next car is in the loading position — and so on.

According to the new method, all the cars can be loaded through one opening. This is accomplished by placing the doors of each car at the rear and front ends

��Hinge which attaches door to adjacent car

��Door swung out to form side of bridge

���The hinged doors at the rear of each car swing back and are attached to the next car behind, forming a kind of "Bridge of Sighs" over which the cattle pass

��instead of at the sides. When the train is to be loaded the door of each car is swung out to form the side of a bridge between the car itself and the adjacent car.

The doors of two adjacent cars are hinged on opposite sides so that when both doors are swung out both sides of the bridge will be formed. Two platforms which fit behind the doors are lowered to form the floor of the bridge. The cattle are loaded from the rear end of the last car and are made to keep moving until they reach the first one. When the train is full the bridge-like connections are put back in place and the train starts for the slaughter- house.

In this way not only is a con- siderable amount of time saved, but the panic which is so often experienced by the animals herded together in the paddock waiting to be driven into the cars is avoided. Indirectly this may affect the market price of the cattle for they will be likely to lose less weight on the trip.

��which supports floorand holds sides of bridge in place

��Platform which is lowered to form floor of bridge.

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��Attendants keep the line of cattle moving until the forward cars are reached, the hinged doors being shut again as the cars are filled

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