07-25-2011, 08:40 AM
MasonJar Wrote:However, the "guy with shovel" was also a lot more common in days gone by, and the railroad or industry would have always had a few handy to assist with the unloading. It seems unthinkable today with all the mechanization, but I have seen videos (linked here at Big Blue... I'll find them later) of guys with shovels helping to empty ships of the last bit of grain...!
Andrew
And before the Rail Ferries in New York Harbour, Railcars were manually unloaded on one side onto barges, floated across, and then manually reloaded onto rail cars at the other side! The working man earned his corn in those days with hard, physical, labor for very little pay, and there were plenty of takers ready to do it!