New Rock Island Terminal at Memphis

NEW FREIGHT TERMINALS AT MEMPHIS

(Reprinted from March 1915 Rock Island Employees Magazine)

New Memphis Freight House

The business at the new Memphis Freight Station has shown steady and healthy increase since its opening on July 6th, 1914, notwithstanding the unusual depression due to conditions abroad. The location of this station at Calhoun Fourth Sts. is an admirable one, despite the fact the territory was acquired after practically all other lines in Memphis had been established for years, and places us in closer touch with the wholesale district naturally shortening the haul from the warehouses to the station, and has made it possible for us to handle through carload traffic to and from other lines with greater promptness and satisfaction, due to points of interchange being closer together. The records will show that the new facilities have made it possible to handle greater volume of business more promptly, much cheaper, with greater ease, and apparently to the entire satisfaction of our patrons (the last claim being borne out by the absence of complaint).

New Memphis Freight House, Showing Driveway and Team Tracks.

Our old freight house facilities were located at the bottom of the hill just south of the Poplar street depot of the Illinois Central. While this was close to portion of the business district of Memphis for all incoming freight, it required hauling up this steep hill, which could only be accomplished by tacking, as in sail boat. The new freight house is very complete in every detail. It is one and two story building, the two story portion is of brick. The building is 46 feet wide, 484 feet long. The two story part is 155 feet long, the second floor being used for offices. The building has concrete foundation all exterior posts are of cast iron. The one story portion is covered with corrugated American ingot iron, which is especially pure iron.

The building is lighted with electric lights installed by our company force under Mr. Frank Roblin.

The working floors of the freight house are of asphalt mastic laid on subfloor of concrete, thus giving us floor that ought to last great many years with practically no expense. The space between the foundation walls 

being filled in, the floors can carry any load without thought of failure.

Office and Force, Memphis Freight House.

Total cost of the building was about $84,000. Parallel with the building is one of our standard transfer platforms 12 feet wide, 468 feet long. This cost $2,200. The office portion of the building is heated by steam which was installed by local contractors, the Fisher Heating Co.

W. L. Stout, Agent, Memphis, in His Private Office at New Freight House.

 Approximately the total expenditure in connection with this freight terminal was million dollars, including every thing from the purchase of property to the completed building and terminal yard, which covers more than three average city blocks, and which were originally occupied by cottages, ninety of which had to be removed to construct this facility. All of these houses were either moved off the property to new locations or razed. It required some 750 yards of grading to complete this work. The freight house is at the present time in and out bound. Later on when required we will build strictly out bound freight house on the other side of the teamway, which is 46 feet wide.

The first floor contains the cashier's office and cold storage room for storing perishable shipments in either hot or cold weather. The freight room floor contains freight room scales, two of which are equipped with the automatic dial scales. There are continuous vertical sliding doors on the team side so that the teams can line up continuously the full length of the house if necessary. On the track side the doors are parallel sliding doors so that an opening can be made any where the full length of the house to come opposite car door. All these doors are made of steel covered with corrugated ingot iron. Team driveway on the east side of the building is 46 feet wide and 1,100 feet long, is of paving blocks set on concrete base with pitch filler.

City Office, Rock Island Lines, at Memphis.

To protect teams standing at the freight house either taking or delivering loads, we have permanent 12 feet wide canopy the full length of the house as protection during stormy weather. This is great advantage, especially where it rains so continuously at times as it does in Memphis, and should be considerable help in securing business, as no other any freight house in Memphis has similar protection.

On the track side we have also another permanent canopy the full length of the house extending out to the center line of the car, which gives considerable protection to minimize the damaging of goods by weather elements.

One feature of this work was the sewage and drainage system that had to be installed in order to take care of the changed condition of grades caused by the track grading. This latter part of the work cost approximately $10,000. The railroad tracks leading into the freight yard had to cross Georgia avenue between Fourth and Wellington streets. At that point the street was lowered many feet, and concrete bridge had to be constructed. Special high steel towers had to be constructed at this point in order to elevate over our tracks the power wires from the power house that is located block distant.

Koehler Bros.-Fowler Construction Co. of Memphis laid all of the paving under the viaduct and for the teamways for the freight house.