Chapter 2
PRINCIPLES AND PROCEDURES
2.1. INTRODUCTION
Military equipment is constantly moving by railsome headed for
maneuvers; some on its way overseas; and some traveling to new posts,
depots, or maintenance facilities. And somebody had to load it. Because
you may be that somebody someday, you should find it profitable to learn
exactly how such equipment is loaded: what size nails are used, where cable
is attached, and so on. Chapter 1 discusses the fundamentals of rail
shipments: the physical equipment and the rules for using it. Now chapter 2
shows how that equipment is put to use, observing those rules, in the
shipment of some typical Army items. Whereas chapter 1 illustrates the
loading of a 5ton truck to show what could be found in a particular
publication, chapter 2 takes a closer look at the loading process and the
blocking and bracing materials themselves. Section I takes up principles
and procedures; section II applies those principles aid procedures to
specific loading problems.
Section I. Loading, Blocking, and Bracing of Military Equipment
2.2. GENERAL
As valuable as "learning by doing" may be under some circumstances, in
loading military equipment it can be both time consuming and dangerous. For
this reason, the Army spells out precisely how a particular item will be
loaded, blocked, and braced on rail cars. This section discusses ramps and
spanners used in getting vehicles onto the car, techniques employed in
loading, and materials used in blocking and bracing selected items.
2.3. RAMPS AND SPANNERS
Have you ever wondered how trucks get from the ground onto flatcars?
Although several means can be used, the customary method is to drive
vehicles up a ramp to the desired position on the car. When several
vehicles are being loaded onto more than one car, spanners are used to
bridge the distance between the cars, making one continuous roadbed of the
train. In this way, each vehicle is
29
Previous Page
