FACILITIES FOR INTERCHANGE BETWEEN RAIL AND WATER The only facility equipped to handle general cargo direct from ship to cars is the United States quartermaster terminal now operated by the Port Utilities Commission. This terminal is equipped with a single track running the entire length of the wharf on the apron. The remainder of the piers and wharves on the Cooper River south of Columbus Street are connected with the belt line which is owned and operated by the Port Utilities Commission. By means of this belt line the railroads serving the port are in direct communication with every facility. One of the Southern Railway piers is used exclusively for the handling of shipments of fresh vegetables produced on the islands in the vicnity of Charleston. This pier is equipped with several powerbelt conveyors and gravity roller conveyors by means of which the produce can be transferred from the small boats to railroad cars direct. At the Clyde-Mallory Line terminal, the wharf of the Oakdene Compress Co., the Concentration Compress & Warehouse Co. pier, the Seaboard Air Line terminal, and the Columbus Street and Union Wharves of the Port Utilities Commission, the trucking distance from ship side to railroad cars is very small. The fertilizer companies on the Ashley River that receive their materials from ships are equipped with unloading towers and electrically operated trams for unloading and transferring cargo from ships to the factories. SWITCHING The Seaboard Air Line Railway names a switching charge of $2.25 per car, when in connection with a line-haul for movement of carload traffic between the interchange tracks of connecting lines and private or assigned sidings located on its lines south of Magnolia Crossing. On the same traffic between the same connecting lines and private or assigned sidings, located at Magnolia Crossing and Walburn Fertilizer Works or north thereof, a charge of $3.60 per car applies. On linehaul traffic the usual charge by all carriers for the ordinary movements within switching limits is $2.25 per car. There are, however, exceptions published by all carriers of which the above charge of $3.60 per car of the Seaboard Air Line Railway is representative. On nonline-haul traffic, the intra plant, intra- and inter-terminal switching charges of the Seaboard Air Line Railway are based upon industries and sidings in groups numbered from 1 to 7. The charges governing the various movements cover a wide range, and limited space prevents a complete statement. The following are representative. For movement of carload traffic between points within the several groups the charge is $5.85 per car, and for movements between the several groups the charge is $7.20 per car. Exceptions to these charges are published in the governing tariff, also other bases for movements between the several groups, of which the following are important. On cotton in bales, for movement from points in group 1 to points in groups 3, 4, and 5, the charge is 21%1⁄2 cents per bale, minimum 50 bales per car, and on other traffic (except as provided) 45 cents per ton of 2,000 pounds, with a minimum charge of $7.50 per car. Complete switching arrangements of this company are contained in its I.C.C. A-6826. For the character of service performed the switching charges of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and the Southern Railway system are the same as or similar to those of the Seaboard Air Line Railway shown above, the principal differences being in the location of tracks or industries served. Some important exceptions are as follows: For intraterminal switching of carloads of oil and petroleum of not less than 40,000 pounds, from the Standard Oil Co.'s plant near Magnolia Crossing to the Charleston Navy Yard, a charge of 45 cents per ton of 2,000 pounds is named by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. This company names an intraterminal switching charge of $2.70 per car for movement from tracks connecting with the Seaboard Air Line Railway to private or assigned sidings on the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad city terminals, when traffic originates on the Seaboard Air Line Railway tracks and that company furnishes the car. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad also names the following interterminal switching charges on traffic for movement between Charleston proper and the U.S. Government general reserve depot. The Southern Railway system provides that cars loaded or empty, set for loading or unloading and moved to or reset at another location within the same plant or industry, are subject to a charge of $1.35 per car for each movement. For the movement of partially loaded cars from one location to another, connected with the Southern Railway, for completion of loading and subsequent forwarding over its lines, a charge of $2.25 per car applies. The Port Utilities Commission names the following switching charges on local, export, and import traffic for movement between warehouses, industries, or terminals located on its line and points of interchange with connecting lines: On all traffic (except cotton, cotton linters, and cord or fuel wood), $4.95 per car. On cotton to Charleston, 14 cents per bale. On cotton linters and regins to Charleston, 17 cents per bale. On cotton, cotton linters, and regins from Charleston, $4.95 per car. For more complete information reference should be made to the following tariffs. Seaboard Air Line Railway I.C.C. A-6826, Atlantic Coast Line Railroad I.C.C. B-2734, and Southern Railway System I.C.C. A-10420. CAR DEMURRAGE Export, intracoastal, and coastwise traffic.-Except on coal and coke (shown below) and as otherwise provided in tariffs of carriers, 7 days' free time, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays, is allowed for unloading all freight moving to the port for export or for intercoastal or coastwise movement or so ordered within 48 hours after arrival. At the expiration of free time, the charges are the same as for domestic traffic shown herein. Tariff authority, Seaboard Air Line Railway I.C.C. A-7492. Demurrage charges on coal and coke.-The following rules and charges apply on cars containing anthracite or bituminous coal and coke. An average of 5 days per car free time is allowed (except on cars containing coke for export or coastwise movement, on which 10 days' free time is allowed), exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays, computed from the first 7 a.m. after day on which notice of arrival is sent or given to consignee. Settlement is made on basis of detention of all cars released during each month in the following manner. The date of arrival notice is subtracted from date of release. From the total days' detention of all cars thus obtained, deduct 5 days' free time allowance for each car (except coke, deduct 10 days' free time), and the remainder, if any, is the number of days to be charged at the rate of $2 per car per day. Complete information is contained in Seaboard Air Line Railway I.C.C. A-7492; Southern Railway I.C.C. A-10055, and Atlantic Coast Line Railroad I.C.C. B-2718. Domestic all-rail traffic. On this class of traffic, the railroads at Charleston are parties to and governed by the provisions and charges contained in Agent B. T. Jones's I.C.C. 2639 (except in connection with coal, coke, and livestock). Under this authority 48 hours' (2 days') free time, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays, is allowed for loading or unloading all commodities, except as provided. Free time is usually computed from the first 7 a.m. after placement of car, or first 7 a.m. after notice of arrival is sent or given to consignee. At the expiration of free time a charge of $2 per car, per day, is made for each of the first 4 days, and $5 per car, per day, for each succeeding day. WHARFAGE, HANDLING, AND STORAGE Wharfage, handling, and storage charges are published for account of all railroads at Charleston and Wilmington by Agent F. L. Speiden in his tariff I.C.C. 1657. Under this tariff and the tariffs of the individual lines, export traffic is usually allowed 7 days' free time exclusive of Sundays and holidays and import traffic and traffic from the Pacific Coast is allowed 5 days' free time when for reshipment from the port, and 48 hours' free time when for local delivery, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays. If the import and Pacific Coast traffic is loaded in cars during the 5-day period, free storage will apply in the cars for the remainder of the 5-day period. The following table shows charges published by Agent Speiden applying at the ports of Charleston, Wilmington, Savannah, Brunswick, Fernandina, Jacksonville, Key West, Miami, Mobile, Norfolk, Pascagoula, Pensacola, Tampa, and other South Atlantic and Gulf ports for wharfage, handling and storage. Wharfage, handling, and storage charges at South Atlantic and Gulf ports Storage charge is 1 cent per bale per day or fraction, with no deduction for Sundays or legal holidays, and free storage for 10 days. * In 100-pound sacks. The sacking charges on this commodity range from 50 cents per ton of 2,000 pounds when in 200-pound sacks, to $1 per ton when in sacks of 25 pounds or less. In connection with these charges the carriers provide that no charge will be made for wharfage on freight handled by owners from or to small river craft, not over 90 feet in length, passed over wharves for 80 20 45 80 50 50 30 50 50 40 10 50 50 50 50 80 50 50 30 50 50 loading into or unloading from cars, transported or to be transported beyond the port. 1 On domestic all-rail traffic, carloads or less-than carloads, stored in or on railroad premises, the railroads at Charleston and Wilmington are parties to and governed by the provisions and charges published by Agent B. T. Jones in his I.C.C. 2639. Under this authority, 48 hours free time is allowed for removal of inbound freight from car or railroad premises, or to complete a carload shipment and furnish forwarding directions. On less-than-carload freight held to complete a shipment, or less-than-carload freight held for reshipment, only 24 hours free time is allowed. At the expiration of free time, a charge of 11⁄2 cents per 100 pounds per day applies for each of the first 5 days, and 3 cents per 100 pounds for the sixth and each succeeding day. In addition to the above general provisions, the Southern Railway System publishes the following handling and storage rules and charges, applicable only on carload traffic, except as provided, stored in warehouses operated exclusively as storage warehouses at Charleston, and applying only on traffic received via the Southern Railway for local delivery: Handling charge on all commodities is 2 cents per 100 pounds (on actual weight). Storage charge on all commodities, except cotton and hay, is 2 cents per 100 pounds for each 30 days or fraction thereof after the expiration of free time as provided in Agent B. T. Jones' I.C.C. 2639. The storage charge on cotton is 1 cent per bale per day, for each 30 days or fraction thereof; on hay, 21⁄2 cents per 100 pounds for each 30 days or fraction thereof, following free time, as provided in Agent Jones' I.C.C. 2639. Storage charges are assessed on actual weight remaining on hand at the beginning of each storage period. Handling charges are assessed also on actual weight, subject to minimum weights as per Southern Classification. Tariff authority, Southern Railway tariff, I.C.C. A-9961. For more complete information, reference should be made to the tariffs named and to Seaboard Air Line Railway, I.C.C. A-7492. The following charges are published by the Southern Railway System for handling coal and coke over the coal tipple of the Southern Railway at Charleston, S.C. The charge for dumping coal, all vessels, is 5 cents per ton of 2,240 pounds, and for dumping coke, 7 cents. On cargo coal, the charges for dumping, skidding, trimming, and leveling, range from 11 to 18 cents per ton of 2,240 pounds, depending upon the percentage of cargo requiring trimming. On bunker coal for steamships, the charge for dumping, skidding, trimming, and leveling is 30 cents per ton of 2,240 pounds. Complete information on the services at this facility is contained in Southern Railway System Tariff I.C.C. A-8699. 1 Until Apr. 19, 1935, 4 days free time is allowed for removal of all inbound less-than-carload freight other than explosives. |