In the Yards.
—After the logs are sawed the lumber is stacked up in yards either at the point of sawing or elsewhere. It must be hauled to the shipment point and from the cars to the yards. Trucks are applicable for all these purposes. When it comes to delivering the lumber to the consumer a wagon known as a dolly is of great assistance for collecting materials to load on the delivery truck. Most retail yards now deliver their lumber by truck even to a distance of 15 or 20 miles. When an order for mixed grades, sizes, or kinds of materials is received, a light wagon or cart having a dolly upside down for its floor, the whole known as a “dolly,” is used in the loading. The dolly has a roller placed cross-ways of the wagon bed and the lumber is piled directly upon it, care being taken that some long pieces are used for the bottom of the load. The dolly is pushed by hand from place to place in the yard until the order has been filled with the various pieces desired. The truck, which may be out during the time the selection is being made, is backed up to the end of the dolly, the floor of the truck body passing under the lower boards; then by turning the cross roller with a crank the whole load is conveyed to the truck. To facilitate the action another roller is placed in the floor of the truck near its rear end. Both rollers may be turned at the same time. The dolly may have two or four wheels.
A short truck is often arranged for a semi-trailer which may be loaded in a manner similar to the dolly. With two or three of these trailers a busy yard will keep the truck and driver on the road practically all the time at a considerable saving in expense over waiting time if the lumber is loaded directly upon the truck.