The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-23
THE FREIGHT CARS CAREER.
Its Capacity for Travel and the over
sight 10 which II is Subject.
From the Chicago Record.

From the Chicago Record.
To the average observer a freight car
is a very commonplace affair." and receives
but a small share Of his attention; but not
withstanding it is, as =. T. Barnum would
say. zone Of the greatest things on earth"
1t can move at the rate of sixty miles an
hour. but is equally adapted to remain
stationary on siding for weeks at
time; 1900 miles a year IS a common rec
ord for "a freight car to travel, and in
stances occur where cars make as high
mileage as $4,000 or 5000 miles a year.
The average mileage, however. is probably
not over 10000 miles a year. or about
twenty-five miles a day. This Is because
the car stands idle about five days for
every one II is in motion. The average
life of a freight car, with ordinary wear
and tear and occasional trips to the main
shop for the renewal of such parts as may
have become defective Is in the neighbor-
hood of eighteen or twenty years but
there is the possibility Of a car being con-
verified into a shaDeless mass before Il Is
twentyfOur hours old.
At the present time there are owned
and controlled by the railroads and pri-
Vate car companies of America nearly
10000 of freight cars, or, in other words
enough cars TO make two continuous
trains reaching from Boston to San Fran
cisco, with an engine for every forty-fve
cars. OF this total number probably not
over 100000 are in movement day ana
night a freight car is a great money
Garner so long as it is kept on the move
but from the time the car stops rolling
until its wheels reVolVe again IL is not
paying for the oil used on its journals 1t
is, therefore, largely upon the managing
or controlling of these thousands of freight
cars that the interests of a railroad are
dependent, and the earnings of the road
Will be directly propOrtionate to the man.
ner in which the cars are kept on the
move.
As these vast numbers of cars are owned
by nearly SEQ different companies, and as
each company's cars are by no means
restricted to its home road, it is some
thing marvellous how they can be con-
trolled and accounted for, both individu-
ally and collectively. The methods how
ever, by which the freight car accounts
are kept are so systematic and accurate
that ii is not difficult for any railroad To
have at all times a statement showing
the location of its entire equipment
If it is desired to know the wherea bouts
Of certain car belonging to a partic-
ular road on some specified date by call
ing on the car accountant of that road
the information will be forthcoming In
about five seconds. If need be- the con-
tents Of the car can be given, the num-
Der Of the train and hour the car left
the last station, the number of the en-
CINE drawing the train, the names of the
train crew, and what cars accompanied
Ii on it's Journeys.
Some roads are even able to tell the kind
of weather the car passed through while
in motion, as well as the hour of dav load
does not stop here, but at the end of every
thirty days the mileage is computed and
the number of miles each car travels is
put down as a part of It's history So
there is a complete record of the move
ments of the car in detail from it's daily
location down to the cost of moving il
over the respective divisions of the road
in whatever service 1t should be required