plans which would simultaneously allocate every railroad, no matter how small or weak, a place in the sun. Unfortunately, such statesmanship has not been exhibited in spite of such deafening alarm bells as the financial deterioration of Eastern roads in general and of New Haven in particular, so the Commission must act.

And if NYC + PRR doesn't get the regulatory body off its duff, nothing will. Can railroading survive?

"I am one of those pessimists who believes that the railways can disappear and that they may well disappear unless railway management is able to find solutions for the many problems that now beset us." So Dr. O. M. Solandt, a Canadian National vice-president, described himself last November in a speech to the Railway Systems and Management Association, the industry's liveliest forum. He then defined his vision of railroading in the next 10 to 15 years - providing technology keeps pace:

FREIGHT TRAFFIC It has "great potential" because no other means of transport can move so much so far so cheaply. Except pipelines. Solandt thinks it's likely the rails will lose substantial tonnage in certain commodities to pipelines as the movement of solids in pipes is perfected, but he thinks the losses will not be lethal.

PASSENGER TRAFFIC- "The short-term outlook is not encouraging." Still, he sees "clear indications of a steady and rising demand for improved urban and suburban rail services, and of an increased willingness to pay for them." Also, as highways and airways grow more crowded, "some of you may live to see an active revival of the [long-distance] rail passenger business."

THE FUTURE-Solandt sees in his crystal ball a "relatively simple network of main lines carrying relatively long-haul traffic at very high density. All thin traffic branch lines and many industrial sidings will have been abandoned." Rail and highway services will be integrated with piggyback trailers or containers providing door-to-door delivery. Fundamental to such railroading will be a low-cost, thoroughly reliable freight car truck, which will mean radical changes in such components as wheels, brakes, and bearings. Next, he wants a "reliable automatic coupling that will couple the air hose and the draft gear without human intervention" as a first step toward automatic train operation. We accept automatic vertical transportation (i.e., elevators) without question, so Solandt thinks train operation with no hands is quite practical - if not imminent. Also needed: a data processing system that will permit a "central memory" to provide from one source accurate, up-to-date data on every freight car's number, type, load, origin, destination, revenue, location, shipper, and consignee. Moreover, railways should own compatible data processing systems. One result which could save "a great deal of time, money, and irritation" would be a central clearing house for all interline charges, whether for freight car service,

rental, or repair. Another benefit could be the operation of a car and locomotive pool whereby equipment could be moved, continentwise, from areas of surplus to areas of shortage; most roads today own more diesels and cars than they need simply to meet traffic peaks of short duration. As for locomotives, Solandt sees no threat to the diesel in "existing cycles of transformation of nuclear energy to heat, heat to steam, and steam to electricity or mechanical energy" but direct nuclear energy-to-electricity transformations might "radically alter the picture." Also on the horizon: direct-drive gas turbines, with either free-piston or gasturbine gas producers.

CN's man believes the threat to such technological progress lies in the industry's "pitifully small" research budget. He'd like to see the Association of American Railroads undertake "a vastly expanded research program to be paid for by the railways on some assessment basis and probably with substantial help from the Government." Sums up Solandt: "An initial budget of 10 million dollars a year would be a useful target. This is an astronomical expenditure for research when compared with past performance by the railway industry but is small in comparison to the expenditures for research now being made by some of the growth industries and by the Government. It would represent roughly one-tenth of 1 per cent of the gross revenue of railways. Many industries consider that they must spend from 1 to 5 per cent of their gross revenue on research in order to remain in business." His implication was all too clear for comfort.

RS&MA delegates received small solace from another forthright speaker, North American Car's Director of Planning Aaron J. Gellman. "The pressure to conform in railroading is all but irresistible, and I believe, has cost the carriers dearly," he declared. He points out that because all lines are interdependent and must work in concert to provide national service through interchange of traffic and equipment, "it becomes possible for a few strategically placed carriers to stifle completely certain innovations that might otherwise be incorporated in the equipment subject to such interchange. Gellman defines the attitude of these obstructionists as "automatic generalized rejection" and he cites as evidence singleaxle trucks.* "There are railroad officials," he said, "who willingly tell you that four-wheel cars simply won't work

- won't stay on the rails - if their axle centers are more than a relatively short distance apart. I have had the frustrating experience of listening to such people say, 'It won't work and we know it won't work because it hasn't in the past and because it violates basic design principles.' And such people persist in this even after the presentation of test results which conclusively prove that it can and does work when appropriate engineering techniques are employed." Gellman

*North American Car imported the German-built AutoPorter last year, a 4-axle, 8-wheel, 119-foot 2-inch double-deck flat of articulated construction. The car, which utilizes single-axle trucks, is now a-testing on B&O - see page 11.

LOGGING RAILROADS

OF THE WEST

Photographed by Mac Owen

Here is beautifully photographed and extensive coverage of steam power on three of the important logging railroads of the West Southwest Lumber Mills out of Flagstaff, Arizona; both the Clallam and the Grays Harbor operations of Rayonier on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State; and the West Side Lumber Company out of Tuolumne, Calif., this latter operation just recently having been transferred to highway trucks. You'll see narrow gauge and standard gauge steam power - Shay and Heisler geared steam locomotives Mallets saddle tank jobs! Sharp curves high trestles long trains of logs rocking and rolling along through cuts and gashes in the forest! 810-276, 8mm. black and white version,

about 300-feet, pp-21c

620-88, 16mm. silent black and white version, about 600-feet, pp-19c

$9.98 $29.98

VINTAGE STEAM RAILROAD 8mm. MOVIES 810-184, THE BLOCK SIGNAL, 1926, with Jean Arthur, Ralph Lewis (800-feet on 4 reels), pp.39% 810-224, GHOST OF THE CANYON, 1920, with Helen Gibson (300-feet on 2 reels), pp-21c.. 810-93, THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (Edison, 1903), (150-feet), pp-18ci 810-181, THE HOLD-UP OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN EXPRESS (Biograph, 1906). (150-feet), pp-18c. 810-167, THE LONEDALE OPERATOR, 1911, with Blanche Sweet (150-feet), pp-18c 810-246, LUBIN'S GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY, 1904 (150-feet), pp.18c

......$19.98

$9.98

$4.98

$4.98

$4.98

810-253, MELODRAMA RIDES THE RAILS, 1904-1911 (200-feet), pp.18c

$5.98

$5.98

810-106, THE OPEN TRACK, 1914, with Helen Holmes (225-feet on 2 reels), pp.21c....

.$7.98

.$4.98

$5.98

810-91, THE PAY TRAIN, 1914, with Helen Holmes (150-feet), pp.18c 810-213, RAILROAD RAIDERS OF '62 (Kalem, 1911). (150-feet), pp.18c

GENE MILLER'S 8mm. MOVIES OF RAILROADS IN THE DAYS OF STEAM 810-231, BIG BOY AND HIS BROTHERS (275-feet on 2 reels), pp-21c 810-241, THE DAYS OF STEAM ON THE L. & N. (300-feet on 2 reels), pp.21..... 810-238, FIVE MIDWESTERN RAILROADS IN THE DAYS OF STEAM (150-feet), pp.18c 810-265, HUDSONS OF THE NEW YORK CENTRAL (200-feet), pp-18c

810-244, ILLINOIS CENTRAL STEAM SCRAPBOOK (200-feet), pp.18c

810-260, SMOKE AND STEAM ON THE C. & E. I. (150-feet), pp.18c

thinks the container may well become the dominant method of moving goods, that "it is possible, even probable," that the optimum container car will be of singleaxle configuration or articulated or both, and that those who reject such equipment out-of-hand may be "irreparably harming the entire industry by such tactics."

Gellman concedes that Government regulatory and depreciation policies have helped to stifle equipment innovations as have labor pressures (e.g., "useless running boards cannot be eliminated and some long-travel longitudinal cushioning devices cannot be freely applied because of unreasoning labor demands which can only serve to reduce still further the railroad share of the transport market and in turn bring about the elimination of even more railway labor jobs"). But he reserved his sternest criticism for management, and in particular those who employ what he termed "panoramic oversight." This malady, he explained, is "perhaps displayed most dramatically when a railroad spokesman publicly blames all the woes of this industry of ours on external factors beyond the control of the industry and fails to recognize that in spite of all the unfair regulatory, tax, competitive, labor, and other handicaps imposed upon us— which I deplore as much as any man - we have had and still retain within our own hands the means by which to press home the inherent advantages possessed by steel rails traversed by steel wheels."

Our sympathies

We hope the eyesight and hearing of I.C.C. Examiner Paul C. Albus haven't been impaired by the nearly 11 weeks' worth of public hearings over whether Santa Fe or Southern Pacific should win control of Western Pacific. Albus opened the hearings last July and wound them up in time to hurry home (on SP's City of San Francisco) to Washington, D.C., for a belated Thanksgiving dinner. During that time he heard in five western cities the testimony of 485 witnesses who introduced 320 exhibits and gave 21⁄2 million words of opinion on who should control WP. And now Albus is poring over 9500 pages of blue-bound transcript in order to arrive at an opinion for the Commission to approve or reject.

Now, if 1188-mile WP can generate 22 million words, will the proposed 24,000mile Great Northern Pacific & Burlington Lines case produce 50 million words?

Passenger points

All of a sudden it seems that everybody and his brother are alarmed lest anyone think they don't want to stay with the passenger business. For example: "Our passenger traffic is holding up very

...

well in the face of mounting competition," declares President Ernest S. Marsh of Santa Fe. In late November, Christmas season reservations were running 10 per cent ahead of December 1960 and the Super Chief was scoring a "whopping 43 per cent increase" in advance sales. In 1960 Santa Fe managed to reverse declining passenger revenues when sales climbed 1.3 per cent over those of 1959 and for the first three quarters of 1961 the business continued to hold its own. Missouri Pacific raised eyebrows just before Thanksgiving by kicking off a three-year program to rebuild its entire fleet of almost 600 passenger cars at its Sedalia (Mo.) shops and announcing plans to buy 50 new mail and express cars in 1962. "These two programs should spike rumors that the Missouri Pacific is trying to get out of the passenger business,' said newly elected President Downing B. Jenks. . . . President W. Thomas Rice of Atlantic Coast Line was just as emphatic when he told his passenger reps that we "are living in an age in which the average American would tell you that the railroads are not interested in passenger business . . . that they are trying to downgrade it . . . but that is not true on Coast Line, and don't let anyone tell you it is. We are constantly endeavoring to serve the traveling public just as much as we are the freight shipper."

Elsewhere on the passenger front:

"I'm afraid Ihra's escort days are over," says Burlington's P.T.M. of his chief ticket-seller in Chicago, Ihra Frank. While escorting the road's week-end excursions to Colorado, Ihra met and began talking to a Rosemary Kolle of Chicago. That was on a "Trip to Paradise" tour over the last Labor Day week end. And that was followed by a December 2 wedding, with a reception at the Fred Harvey Canterbury Room in Union Station and a ride on the Kansas City Zephyr to Aurora to begin their honeymoon at the Hilton Inn.

¶At year's end the A.A.R.'s statisticians were predicting a 1961 total of 19.5 billion passenger-miles for the rails whereas bus travel has recovered from a long decline and is expected to total more than its 1960 figure of 20.4 billion passenger-miles.

¶Little 465-mile Detroit, Toledo & Ironton is proposing Detroit-Frankfort (Mich.) passenger service if it acquires even smaller 294-mile Ann Arbor, presently freight only and Wabash owned.

[Effective October 29, 1961, B&O's Baltimore-St. Louis National Limited began operating through Cumberland, Md., instead of bypassing that city on the Patterson Creek Cutoff.

Strange but true: Canadian Pacific's new credit card covers its airline, steam

ships, and hotels, but excludes rail services. Company says nonrail services are "more manageable in terms of billing and accounting" but says the matter is "still being studied from a number of angles." Footnote: Rival Canadian National issues travel credit cards covering rail transportation, TCA air space, hotels, excess baggage charges, sleeping and parlor car space, and meals.

¶On November 8, 1961, Burlington's Denver Zephyr celebrated its 25th anniversary. Since 1936 the streamliners have carried some 51⁄2 million passengers, rolled 19.8 million miles, served more than 6 million meals. Re-equipped by Budd five years ago, today's domed Denver Zephyrs have netted a 9.1 million dollar operating profit on gross revenues of 22.7 million dollars since 1956.

At the blackboard

In his monthly printed chats with his employees, onetime schoolteacher Wayne A. Johnston, now Illinois Central's president, proves himself one of the industry's more articulate spokesmen. Recently he did a little figuring about 40 years' worth of railroading, the length of time it takes an IC man to get a lifetime pass and, in Johnston's words, a "good working lifetime." In 1920, a prosperous year, IC employed 62,750 persons with an average annual wage of $1713, paid 1071% million dollars in paychecks, and earned a bit more than 131⁄2 million itself. Since then commodity prices have risen by about one half. In 1960 IC employed 24,500 persons with an average annual wage of $5950, paid out 146 million dollars in paychecks, earned a bit more than 11 million itself. Thus during four decades, railroading on the IC has worked out like this: Today's company takes 39 per cent fewer people to operate, yet the over-all payroll is up because these men and women are earning almost 21⁄2 times more (even though average prices are up by only half). Including fringe benefits (e.g., IC pays $27 a month per employee toward his retirement, $14 on unemployment taxes), the average annual wage is really $7080. And the company is earning somewhat less itself.

Of course, IC has earned as high as 26.5 million a year (in 1955) since the war but also as low as 7.4 million (in 1946). Again, in view of the high retail prices prevailing in 1920, $1713 may not be regarded as a decent wage. Still, one might draw the conclusion (which Johnston did not) that in 1960 the employee was getting his fair share of the company's gross. Indeed, if present trends continue, the road will need just 10,000 people by the year 2000 but each will receive $14,500 or so, fewer fringe benefits; IC itself will earn a bit less

than 9 million dollars. In 40 years, then, the road will still be a good place to work, if you have a job, but the stockholders may have lost much interest in the property.

BEYOND THE ATLANTIC

ROBERT SPARK

UNDER OR OVER: For the first time in many years it looks as though a link-tunnel or bridge-between Britain and France could be a practical possibility. Gradually the various objections to such a project are being whittled away. Currently the big question is not the link itself, but whether the link is to be a bridge or tunnel. The bridge sponsors are backed by Union Routiere, which represents French road transport interests. Heading the Channel Bridge Study Society is Jules Moch, former French Minister of Communication. The bridge-300 ft. above the frequently turbulent English Channel - would carry a four-lane highway and two railroad tracks. Its opponents claim that it would cost twice as much as a tunnel to build, would offer a very poor financial return to investors, and would be a hazard to shipping and navigation. Bridge supporters point to the disadvantages of a tunnel which would require all autos, buses, trucks, and so forth, to be carried through it by rail. A railroad tunnel is the only practical possibility because the dispersal of gasoline and diesel oil fumes would raise enormous and expensive ventilation problems. Both projects would have a capacity far in excess of any likely demand in this centuryfor example, all road vehicles which were moved across the channel by sea and air in 1960 could be cleared through the tunnel in three or four days.

Naturally the tunnel project has the support of British and French railways, and at a recent press conference of the Channel Tunnel Study Group, the British Transport Commission displayed a scale model to give some idea of how traffic would be handled at a tunnel terminal.

The facts on a tunnel are that it would be 32 miles long, have two single-track bores with a service tunnel between them. There would be crossovers from one bore to another every few miles so that maintenance could be facilitated. Automatic block signaling would be installed for either-way working on both tracks and would be suitable for trains operating at an average speed of up to 70 mph and on a 3-minute headway. Tracks would be electrified on the overhead 25 kv. 50-cycles

system. Cost: 294 million dollars. On the anticipated traffic and charges, the average return on invested capital would be 6 per cent from the date of the tunnel opening or 10 per cent over the 20 years from the date construction started. The Group is confident that finance on this basis will be possible - mainly from British, French, and American sources. Construction time: five years.

There would be through trains between London and Paris and Brussels hauled by dual-frequency locomotives (BR 750 v. D.C. third rail and BR/SNCF 25 kv. 50cycles A.C.) and with stock suitable for British and French loading gauges. Longdistance Continental trains would commence running from the English tunnel terminal. By far the largest group of traffic going under the Channel would be motor vehicles. Accompanied automobiles would be handled by trains of doubledeck enclosed cars which would be of the "drive on at one end and drive off at the other end" type. Drivers and passengers would remain in their vehicles. Each train would take 300 automobiles, and loading or unloading would take only 10 minutes; transit time would be 33 minutes. Singledeck cars would take trucks and buses. "Car-sleeper" trains could also be run from the English terminal to a variety of Continental destinations. Freight trains would be made up of stock suitable for British or Continental operation. There is already a substantial nucleus of such vehicles because of the growing volume of trainferry traffic.

NEW RHINEGOLD: Whatever else may happen in the passenger traffic sphere in Europe next summer, one train that will take some of the limelight will be Germany's new Rhinegold Express. The Rhinegold [page 12, May 1961 TRAINS] is to be made up of new rolling stock, including a dome car. Four German manufacturers are busy on the new vehicles which will be finished in a blue and cream livery.

Haulage in Germany will be handled by "hotted up" E.10-class B-B electrics with maximum speed increased from 87 mph to 100 mph. The train will start from Amsterdam instead of the Hook of Holland. There will also be through cars from the Hook which will be added to the train at Utrecht. It will then run via Emmerich to Cologne where another section from Dortmund (containing the dome) will be added. The entire train will then run via the Rhine valley line to Switzerland, part going to Chur and the remainder via the St. Gotthard route to Milan.

AUTOS-BY-RAIL: For 1962: new "car sleeper" services by French Railroads. Carsleepers trains which convey private automobiles and their passengers in order to cut out driving to one's vacation area have steadily increased in popularity in Britain and on the Continent. Two of the new routes will start from Le Touquet, which is convenient for cross-channel vacationists from Britain whether they use the sea or air ferries. One route will run to Avignon (for the south of France and Italy) and the other will serve Narbonne (for Spain). A third service will run from the channel port of Calais to Switzerland. It will be routed via Bale, but the final Continued on page 14

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WHAT'S NEW

7 BECAUSE previous installation of aluminum roofs on box cars was so satisfactory, GTW has ordered 200 aluminumroofed cars from ACF, plans to standardize these roofs on its box cars. Five new tank cars with record capacity of 15,000 gallons for carrying liquid gases at temperatures as low as -320 degrees are in service for NCG Division of Chemetron Corporation. Convertible flat car with Hydra-Cushion underframe for reduced-shock transport of fragile goods was developed for Espee by Stanford Research. Car, built by Thrall, is shown with Evans tri-level auto rack. "Carquake" system at Marquette Cement Manufacturing Company, Nashville, Tenn., spots and unloads one hopper of limestone every 6 minutes, requires only two-man crew to operate.