Jack, actually the ice dock on the IHB was a double deck affair. What is
visible in the photo
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/owi2001016254/PP/resource/ is several rows
of reefers with the ice dock in the background. But you are only seeing the
upper level of the ice dock which is lined with ice carts, which are filled
with crushed ice commonly used to ice meat reefers. The ice was dumped from
the cart via a funnel or chute down into the ice bunker hatch, hence the
double deck ice dock, where the upper deck was about 10' above the roof of
the cars being iced. If you look close you can see one of the salt boxes on
a leg of the dock, which had an opening at the bottom for scooping shovels
of salt. The opening being on the lower (not visible) which would be at the
height of the car roof and would have the common chain moving solid blocks
of ice which were slid over to the ice bunker hatch and broken up into the
sizes specified by the shipper, more typical for cars hauling fruit or
produce.



Doug Harding

www.iowacentralrr.org