Little-Known C&O Copra Cars, The

Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Magazine, Jun 2005 by Whittington, Margaret T

In May 1943, Mr. F. Marris, a Liverpool, England, businessman wrote to Mr. W. Y. Daly of the great shipping line, Cunard White Star Ltd., New York City, requesting information about a unique, but little known, machine that efficiently removes bulk copra from ships. Copra, the dried coconut kernel, is the source of coconut oil, a common ingredient found in-but not limited to-food items, soaps, shampoos, and cosmetics.

In his letter, Mr. Marris says his only method of removing shiploads of copra is by means of shovels and baskets, and that the removal rate is "deplorably slow." He goes on to say:

"When discussing this question with one of the other Lines here I was informed that Copra in bulk is being discharged at Newport News by means of elevators and extraordinarily good work has been done. ... I shall be very much obliged if you will make enquiries and let me know what method is used for the discharge of bulk copra at Newport News.... The copra we have been getting from Colombo [Sri Lanka] is what is described as uncut, i.e. consisting of the whole kernel being cut into two pieces. Any information you can obtain as to the exact appliance used at Newport News or other U.S.A. ports for the discharge of Copra in bulk and the rate of discharge per hour or day would be very much appreciated."

Mr. Marris has high hopes that information about the "appliance" used at Newport News will lead to increased profitability in his copra import business.

By July 1943 Mr. Marris' inquiry had found its way to J. C. Baker, Jr. (title unknown) of the C&O Railway Co., in Newport News, Virginia. Mr. Baker's files include the following description of the C&O copra unloaders, which Mr. Marris erroneously identified as elevators. You can follow his description by looking at the accompanying diagram.

The drawing shows the pipe arrangement from the receiving tank on the car into the hold of the ship. The piece of pipe from the side of the ship over into the hatch is solid. The other pipe, between the tank and the side of the ship and from the end of the pipe into the hold is flexible. These machines work on a vacuum system. The copra is sucked from the hold of the ship through the tank, located in our case on the railroad car, and from that point the copra is blown into box cars. The same system would work, however, if it was decided to blow the copra into a storage bin.

I haven't found any documentation indicating that Mr. Marris ever developed his own copra unloaders in England, but from the late 1920s until at least the mid 1940s, the C&O ran a successful operation for quickly, efficiently, and profitably moving copra from shipping vessels into boxcars.

The London businessman received his copra uncut, that is, the whole coconut cut in half. This surprises me because my research of 1930s copra production leans heavily toward the copra being made where the coconuts grow. That is, after harvesting, the farmers split the coconuts in half and spread them out to dry in the sun until their water content is 6% or less. In this dried form, the coconut flesh becomes copra. The copra is removed from the shell in small pieces, and then shipped to foreign markets where it is eventually processed into coconut oil. The machinery in the copra car could not process uncut copra; coconut halves would be too large and too heavy.

Copra car as a labor-saving device

Using the bucket-and-shovel method to remove 4000 tons of copra from a ship would, in 1929, cost $5480 computed at the rate of $1.25 per ton, and take the stevedores ten days to complete the job. Using the copra car would cost $4000 at the rate of $1.00 per ton and take five days. In addition to these savings, the new method would eliminate lost time for Sundays, holidays, and inclement weather. The new method also saves fuel and other costs resulting from not using the ship's winches, booms, and gear, and eliminates the cost of waste and loss of cargo incidental to the old method. The cars would be loaded and moved faster, " ...which is the keynote of all railroads at the present time," according to one C&O executive. Additionally, the ships' being unloaded more quicky released their berthing space sooner.

Building the copra car

The C&O built its first copra car in April 1929 and the second one within six weeks. (A list of each car's equipment follows at the end of the article.) The C&O initiated contact with the Guarantee Construction Company of New York, in late 1928 inquiring about constructing a copra car. On January 18, 1929, L.C. Spengler, Superintendent of Terminals for the C&O at Newport News, met with representatives of the Guarantee Construction Co. in Baltimore to observe a copra car on the Western Maryland Railroad. The deal was made, and construction of the Chesapeake & Ohio's first copra car began in mid-March.

The machinery for this first car was housed in a wooden shell and mounted on C&O flat car No. 80255. Together, the machine and the flat car were commonly referred to as a copra car. Occasionally other names were used, including copra discharging machine, vacuum suction discharging machine, copra discharging equipment, and copra unloading machine.