Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-01-21
w ASI'E OF RA ILW a Us
HOW OLD Lo coMoTlvEs, CARS, RAILS,
ETC, ARE DISPOSED OF.

ETC, ARE DISPOSED OF.
Big Money Is Made by the Sale of
Discarded OF Wornout Material.
some Things Which Are Not Worth
the Trouble of saving.
Inventors of all classes most truly illus
trate the truth OF the old saw that men
rise on the stepping stones of their dead
selves to higher things. These men are
at once the delight and the dread of great
railroad systems. No sooner does one
magnificent locomotive place railroad
Fat the front of civilizations line of adj
vance than better engine comes along
and proudly plows it into the waste pile.
Admired and advertised today, the new
locomotive is sold tomorrow to logging
road and thereafter grcans out its time
on steep grades under loads that make
its round feet slip on the rusty rails.
What is true of the engine is true of the |
rails of the ties under the rails and OF
the fastenings that hold them together.
The statement of the purchasing agent
4 for the New York Central makes this |
| fact of railroad wastage most graphic.
I He said, Eve receive over ST ,OOO, 600
year Tor the waste material Of our 5000
i miles of track. He got out his book and
| after going over it carefully added, = Yes,
we get an average of 500, 600 month"
On this basis all the railroads of the
i United States would dispose of about
\ $3.50, OOO, 600 of wastage every year. The
theory and practice of economy therefore
are an important part Of a railroad mans
education.
I'VE could save more than we do, con-
i tinued the agent. but often it would cost
more than dollar to save dollars
worth of material. To one not familiar
with railroaeling it might look like pure
waste to let the dollars worth of mate
rial be lost, but nothing is worth saving
Il unless it will sell for more than it costs
Il to sayeit. Its on this theory that we pay
no attention to stubs of pencils and to-
empty ink bottles. short lamp wicks and
s. trifles of that class, although | have
!; heard that some systems do save them.
As we get most of our ink from one
concern, we could perhaps get some re-
Fl bate by returning the bottles, but the
saving would not justify itself. Broken
lamp chimneys. on the other hand, are
another proposition. Many of these are
Of flint glass, and we save the pieces. 1t
is surprising how many glass globes and
articles of good glass are broken among
s our thousands. OF employees. Every
i month we gather up the fragments and
sell the mass to the glass men for one
fourthso of a cent a pound.
I Every scrap of iron that falls by the
! wayside, every bit of iron bored out in
!, drilling holes. every broken bolt. old rail
:, and old hinge is saved and sold when
: there is bulk enough This material
amounts to hundreds of. thousands nf
:, pounds monthly. The iron waste is
:, gathered easily and practically without
: cost. The borings are swept up in the
: repair houseseand factories in the mere
operation of Keeping the places in order
& AS for iron that drops from trains On tias
: road, the section hands pick that up is
they chance 10 see it. toss it on theil
hanicars and let it accumulate at theil
5 section house. When there is enough 4
! make it worth while, train takes it L
9; market
e Empty BARRELS. carhoys, pieces OF
e rope, scraps of gold leaf used for letter
ing. sections of rubber hose, rubber clotl
& and such things lave q market value thai
makes them worth saving. The CHIEF
8 items of saving ire in the heavy articles
e We get about $4,000 year for discard.
g ed ties. These ties are of yellow pine
and when cut into short blocks make d
splendid fire. Some Of the best people OF
\ this city use them in their old fashioned
2 tireplaces. We sell the ties for dime
: each. and they are cheap fuel at that
e We cannot afford to haul them to market
2 from the distant places on the line. and
i what tie farmers and section men there
: do not want to take free we burn up tc
j. get them out of the way. TEefts of ma
: terial from the roadside are so trihine
9 as TO be not worth considering.
s Rails come next to ties in value. The
( best and heaviest rails must be used on
i the main lines all the time. Many rails
e are retired from the main line while still
s good Tor Lighter service. These are otter
@ placed on side tracks. Often rail tina,
Is is of no value To us at all is good enough
q for some road using lighter locomotives
\ or on some hackwoods logging road, ane
"a 50 il goes TO another mo ster, serving urts
Il finally worn out when it finds its way t.
Il the melting pot. to begin life again. per
4, haps as a rail- but more likely in some
Il other form.
4 The greatest loss in operation is. in the
. locomotives and cars. There as 50 man,
new types of engines and cars that it i:
B impossible to tell fairly what they cost
But for the purpose of showing waste WI
will strike an average. a new cngin,
!, costs from 900 TO $4,000. and vii
: last about - Years by being shifted fron
{, the main line 10 side lines and switches
!. In thesenl it is sold for about $4,000 o.
$1,000. according TO condition. II may b,
I, utterly unit for our work and yet be o
value to some smaller road or to som,
4 factory for shuniing cars among ware
:, houses. Often however. an engine &C
tually wears out in our service. and thel
!, it goes directly into the melting pot. Oh
y every engine there will be certain part
\ that are not worn, and I he old machine i
: carefully dismantied of all valuable ma
Y terial before it is sold as scrap
"Old cars are passed along the line il
much the same way. A new passenge
e coach costs about $1,000 and after 2
a years of service will bring about $500
II A new freight car will cost from $3.50 I
8 $500 and will sell after 10 or 20 years
* service for about $3.50. New cars are al
~ ways of the latest pattern. They ar
Is used at first on the best trains and a
iys they become ansiquated are retired I
I humber service until their final use wit
ID US is in construction trains. Many W
SCI sell to smaller roads in out of the wa
ia places. and many are bought by theai
Sc rical companies and circuses. When "
~ decide to put a car into the scrap pile
n. we sell to one man the privilege Of riI
lie ping out the wood. to another the pipes