NEWS & EDITORIAL COMMENT edited / DAVID P. MORGAN TIME THEY GAVE A LISTEN Trains ! 1 I BACK in the 1930's, when General Motors' research staff was absorbed in the development of the 567-series diesel engine, Charles F. Kettering liked to talk about attempting to "understand what a two-cycle engine was trying to tell us." What "Boss Ket" referred to was a two-cylinder 567 test engine which was used to study pistons, rings, liners, pins, bushings, rods, and the like. As various components were installed, tested, and changed out Kettering and his staff listened intently to the engine's "opinion" in terms of vibration, fuel consumption, horsepower, cooling. That is, if the engine liked an injector, all else being equal, fuel consumption went down; if it didn't, vice versa. Isn't it time that we "listened" to what the railroad is trying to tell us? We're usually so preoccupied with the corporate and political connotations of railroading that we forget to diagnose the industry in the abstract. After all, the only excuse for a railroad is that it can haul more for less: (1) because of the adhesion of steel on steel; and (2) because flanged wheels constitute an automatic guidance system which in turn permits one power unit to pull many trailers behind it. Now, if we place a stethoscope to the heart of railroading, what do we hear? What is this mechanical device trying to tell us? Example: Last year Norfolk & Western posted a low, low operating ratio of 57.7 per cent, brought 25 cents out of each revenue dollar down to net income after taxes, boasted of being "virtually a brand-new railroad" (e.g., average diesel age: three years). Coal is 70 per cent of N&W's business; in 1961 it moved more than 60 million tons of coal in about equal proportions east and west in a fleet of more than 65,000 coal cars. If we "listen" to N&W, its statistics tell us that a railroad works best as a mass-transportation machine, that given enough of even a low-rated commodity to move, it can do so at a profit. N&W is the exception to the rule. Traffic is seldom as comparatively captive to the rails as West Virginia coal; N&W carries no commuters; few roads are possessed of ex-VGN grades to roll 200-car trains with ease. Granted. But the point is that when we "listen" to railroads which are, inherently or otherwise, the antonyms of N&W, we hear disturbing things. Aging locomotives, 90 per cent operating ratios, net deficits. "Listen" to what the rails say between the Buffalo gateway and the New York waterfront. In a region of less than spectacular postwar growth which is peppered with closed anthracite mineheads there operate New York Central, Erie-Lackawanna (two roads until 1960), Lehigh Valley, and Pennsylvania—just to name the direct, single-system routes. On top of this transportation plant place the New York State Thruway as well as the New York State Canal and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Then add the burden of commuters to all of the railroads but the LV on the Hudson River end. Then figure up the operating expenses and taxes on New York City area railroad terminals and compare them with the nontaxed, publicly sponsored New York Port Authority's fees charged the competition for their terminal facilities. Is it any wonder that the operating ratios of the railroads fighting for their lives in this jungle ranged from 82.4 to 95.9 per cent for the first 11 months of 1961? What does the Buffalo-New York City railroad scene say? It says that railroads, being mass transportation factories by nature, cannot survive as one-man corner tavernkeepers when the level of tonnage for which they were built recedes actually (by waning anthracite production) or artificially (by diversion to Government-built highways and waterways); or when line-haul railroads are forced to become rapid-transit operators; or when the rails are not allowed to express their inherent economy (e.g., the I.C.C. and Supreme Court turndown of contract rates on rugs moving west from Amsterdam, N. Y., on NYC); or when the rising productivity of railroading in 1962 because of diesels, C.T.C., larger cars, and so forth, permits less physical plant to do more work than in, say, 1920 or 1930. Passenger points Two big Western roads are heartened by the passenger gains they've posted. Burlington took in 1.7 million dollars last January, 11.7 per cent more than in January 1961. This was the busiest January the road's Chicago ticket office had experienced since it was opened in 1940. If the trend continues, CB&Q could set a postwar record. Santa Fe is doing well, too, judging by the number of inbound and outbound passengers handled through Dearborn Station, Chicago, last Christmas. During the period of December 14-31 62,520 persons went through the gates vs. 53,813 in the same 1960 period. Elsewhere: [Southern Pacific is before the I.C.C. again with a renewal of its bid to drop A WORTHY CAUSE MORE than half (60.3 per cent) of the voters who went to the polls in St. Louis January 23 to decide several city bond issues voted for a $100,000 issue which would have relocated the National Museum of Transport under cover at a downtown riverfront site. However, the bonds (along with 9 out of 10 other issues) failed to win the necessary two-thirds majority for passage. Now, because the weather was bad on election day and because the bonds did win a majority vote, it's likely they'll be resubmitted for approval. We hope so, for Museum Director Dr. John P. Roberts has assembled the finest, most comprehensive collection of engines in the U. S. They warrant a permanent home under roof and behind glass. Kalmbach Publishing Co. 1962. Title reg. Pat. Off. Published monthly by Kalmbach Publishing Co., 1027 N. 7th St., Milwaukee 3, Wis., U.S.A. BRoadway 2-2060. Western Union and cable address: KALPUB Milwaukee. A. C. Kalmbach, President. Joseph C. O'Hearn, General Sales Manager. Ward Zimmer, Advertising Manager. TRAINS assumes no responsibility for the safe return of unsolicited editorial material. Acceptable photographs are held in files and are paid for upon publication. Second-class postage paid at Milwaukee, Wis. Printed in U.S.A. YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION, $6; 2 YEARS. $11; 3 YEARS, $15. For life, $60. Outside the Americas, 50 cents a year additional (for life, $5 additional). the Overland between San Francisco and Ogden, Utah, on grounds that Nos. 27 and 28 lost 11⁄2 million dollars last year. Overland now operates 1 hour ahead of (eastbound) or behind (westbound) City of San Francisco and makes the same stops, which helped to account for an 18 per cent drop in patronage in 1961. ¶As an auditorium the huge and famous rotunda of Cincinnati Union Terminal could seat more than 4500 people - and it may soon if the city accepts the station as a gift from its seven owner railroads and redevelops it as a convention hall. CUT, billed as a "Temple of Transportation" when completed in 1933 at a cost of 42 million dollars, now troubles its proprietors on grounds other than declining passenger revenues. The terminal is assessed for tax purposes at more than 3 million dollars and pays taxes totaling more than $2000 a day; and CUT is still in debt on its original cost by some 28 million dollars. If Cincinnati accepts CUT as an outright gift (and pays $300,000 for its 30-acre site), the rails intend to lease back lower-level station space for $1 a year, and treat the donation as a loss for tax purposes in order to help pay off the outstanding bonds. The alternative to giving the city the property is apparently its destruction as the owner roads attempt to climb out from under its huge operating and tax costs. Expect more subtractions from Baltimore & Ohio's already slenderized passenger timetable. The road calls its 1961 I.C.C. formula passenger deficit of 20 million dollars "intolerable," and aims to place the service on a paying basis this year by cutting off "trains that cannot carry themselves," boosting certain one-way first-class and commutation fares "where the traffic can stand it," and reducing other fares, particularly for round trips, "where it appears that additional patronage will result." About mergers "Cloudy, with possible rain or snow" appeared to be the best weather report the industry could get on its merger plans in the first quarter of 1962. Making news were these participants: Louisville & Nashville, which had been one of three roads seeking exclusive control of Chicago & Eastern Illinois (others: Mopac and IC), has now changed its position "to avoid undesirable and inevitable delays" by withdrawing its control application and asking instead that the I.C.C. order the successful bidder to sell to L&N (or to grant trackage rights over) C&EI's Chicago-Evansville main and branches, including access to Southern Illinois coal mines. Says L&N, Mopac wants C&EI in order to establish singlesystem service between Chicago and the Southwest via joint gateways at Thebes and East St. Louis, Ill., and therefore can have "no substantial interest" in the Evansville line which L&N wants. And IC, the road continued, "can have no great interest since it already has a line of its own between Evansville and Chicago." Missouri Pacific immediately said it would be happy to talk turkey with L&N, but Illinois Central declared that both Mopac and L&N were making an attempt to invade the IC's traffic territory and it would continue to protect that traffic. ¶Rock Island and Southern Pacific have both withdrawn their objections to the proposed Hill Lines merger (i.e., the 24,664-mile hookup of GN, NP, CB&Q, and SP&S); Milwaukee Road, which wants trackage rights into Portland and Billings among other "safeguards" in the event of I.C.C. approval, will state its case in Seattle at hearings which will begin March 29. Chesapeake & Ohio, in view of Baltimore & Ohio's "precarious" position, has asked the I.C.C. to expedite approval of C&O's bid to control the Eastern line. C&O advised stockholders that "no dilution of Chesapeake & Ohio strength is involved in the B&O affiliation, since C&O's application is not for immediate merger, but for control of B&O as a step to merger. B&O losses in 1961 [worst net deficit of its 135-year history] were foreseen; its earn Announcing Advance Ticket Sales Mid-Continent Railway Museum and Scenic Excursion on the tracks of the Hillsboro & North Eastern Railway, 35 miles from Baraboo, 40 miles from Wis. Dells. Bring your children to see and ride behind real live steam locomotives and cars of yesteryear. A 10-mile ride through the picturesque Baraboo River Valley. You can insure the SUCCESS of this non-commercial project by helping us off to a good start with the purchase of your tickets now. Operations will begin May 27 thru Sept. 7, 1962. Static exhibits free. Operation display; Adults $1.25, Children 75¢. Make remittance payable to Hillsboro & North Eastern Railway, Hillsboro, Wisconsin. Additional Information on Society for S.A.E. Mail to: Mid-Continent Railway Museum 2133 N. 62nd St. Milwaukee 13, Wis. Here is an intimate view of America's oldest short line railroad on the eve of its 130th birthday. Copiously captioned, hi-fidelity color plates depict every phase of Strasburg operations-from changing a pair of worn tender wheels to highballing the half-century-old open platform varnish over the meandering four and one-half miles that is the "Road to Paradise." In this pictorial salute to the restoration of the venerable Strasburg, vice-president of operations, Bill Moedinger, has enlisted the aid of Jim Hess, one of eastern Pennsylvania's leading color postcard photographers, whose four-by-five inch color negatives comprise the basic ingredient in this photographic essay. ORDER YOUR COPY NOW FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY. $1.50 postpaid "Battlefield Special" to historic Gettysburg, Pa. from Bethlehem, Allentown and Reading, Pa. with Locomotives Nos. 2100 and 2101, in sequence. Features bus battlefield tour (extra cost) during 3-hour stopover. Speed picture stop - Mt. Holly Springs. Train leaves Bethlehem 7:50 A.M. (EDT), returns 9:30 P.M. Fare including tax, Bethlehem and Allentown $9.25 and $5.10 and; Reading $8.25 and $4.60. Attractive souvenir for all. Tickets - Passenger Representative, Reading Terminal, Philadelphia 7, Pa., or District Passenger Agent, Reading, Pa. SUNDAY, MAY 20: "Photo Special" to Zionsville, Pa. from Bound Brook and Belle Mead, N. J., with Locomotive No. 2100. Speed picture stops at Klapperthal Curve, Topton and Zionsville. Fare, including tax $10.00 and $5.50. Train leaves Bound Brook 8:25 A.M. (EDT), returns 7:47 P.M. Attractive souvenir for all. Tickets - Passenger Representative, Reading Terminal, Philadelphia 7, Pa. SATURDAY, JUNE 9: "Rose Garden Special" to Hershey, Pa. from Jenkintown and Wayne Jct. (Phila.), Pa., with Locomotive No. 2100. Four-hour stopover at Hershey Park includes trip through Rose Gardens. Speed picture stops at Klapperthal Curve and South Mountain. Train leaves Jenkintown 8:20 A.M. (EDT), returns 7:03 P.M. Attractive souvenir for all. Fare including tax $8.60 and $4.90. Tickets Passenger Representative, Reading Terminal, Philadelphia 7, Pa. SATURDAY, JUNE 23: "Family Special" to Port Reading, N. J. from Wayne Junction (Phila.), Pa. and Jenkintown, Pa. with Locomotive No. 2100. Speed picture stops at Durham, N. J. (Port Reading Branch) and Byberry, Pa. (New York Short Line). A short trip behind steam for the whole family, at economy fares. Fare including tax $6.00 and $3.50. Train leaves Wayne Jct. (Phila.), Pa. 9:50 A.M., (EDT), returns to Jenkintown 5:10 P.M. Attractive souvenir for all. Tickets Passenger Representative, Reading Terminal, Philadelphia 7, Pa. ings picture is expected to improve in the years immediately ahead." ¶Perhaps the most revealing statement about the dilemma raised for employees over the proposed NYC-Pennsy merger appeared in the New York HeraldTribune, which polled personnel in Grand Central and Penn Station for their reaction. Said one woman ticketseller: "I think it makes a lot of sense, provided I don't lose my job." BEYOND THE ATLANTIC ROBERT SPARK PANTOGRAPH TEST TRAIN: The Eastern Region of British Railways is using a pantograph test unit in connection with its overhead electrification schemes. The test unit, developed jointly by BR and British Insulated Callender's Cables Ltd., is capable of speeds of up to 100 mph. It consists of an instrumented car fitted with two pantographs and a generator car, providing electrical power for the instruments, lighting, and heating. The test car has a central observation dome and a Stone Faiveley pantograph at each end of the roof. One pantograph is earthed to the car and used during tests when the overhead line is earthed and the unit is being hauled by a diesel locomotive. The pantograph at the opposite end of the car is "live" and insulated for 25 kv., and is used during tests with the overhead line live and with a diesel or electric locomotive hauling the unit. The quantities which can be measured and recorded are: pantograph height, acceleration, contact loss, contact pressure ("dead" pantograph only), locomotive current ("live" pantograph only), and train speed. In addition, track marks and timing marks can be inserted on all recordings. SPLIT-LEVEL DINERS: New dining cars now being built for the forthcoming restyled Rhinegold Express service of the German Federal Railways will feature a splitlevel kitchen. The diners will be operated by the German Sleeping & Dining Car Company (DSG), and each car will weigh 50 tons and seat 48 passengers. The dining section and buffet-bar will be at normal floor level, but at one end, stairs will lead up to a high-level kitchen and other stairs will drop down to a low-level scullery. Elevators will connect kitchen, scullery, and buffet for the movement of food, china, and glass. There will also be an in tercom system between the three points. Dirty dishes will be moved to the scullery by a conveyor. Cooking will be by liquid Continued on page 12 But Even More Worthwhile Waiting For! Delivery now extended to June 15. Order now for the most complete and authentic Passenger Book ever published. It's "Steam, Steel & Limiteds" $15 "STEAM, STEEL & LIMITEDS" 2566 Farnam Omaha, Neb. HELP SAVE A STEAMER! "RAIL TRAILS" an Omaha railfan organization, will sponsor trips behind GREAT NORTHERN 4-8-4 Number 2580 starting in fall, 1962. To help preserve this engine and keep it in operating condition, Rail Trails is offering solid brass, engraved Lifetime Passes to contributors of $50 or more, and printed, single-trip passes to contributors of $10 to $50. Please help save this classic locomotive. Send your contribution now or "RAIL TRAILS" 4219 Burdette St. Omaha 11, Nebraska |