The San Francisco call., 1901-12-26
LACK OF LOCOMOTIVES.

- OMPLAINTS made by the orange growers
of Southern California against the railroads
- for an Inefficient service in the transportation
of fruit direct attention once more to an evil which
seems to affect every part of the Union. 1t appears
the railway managers have been so much occupied
during the past year in reorganizing the roads and
manipulating stocks that they have permitted the
equipments of the reads to run down, and conse-
quently have been unable to handle the traffic Of
fered them by the industries of the country.
In 4le East complaints of the lack of transportation
facilities have been frequent and nsstent Again and
again exchanges have noted instances of large
factories refusing orders for work solely because they
could not get the railroads haul their freight In
one case large coaling company in Virginia found
itself unable to supply even its regular customers
with coal, and result something like coal fam
inc was threatened over wide district of country.
So serious the evil that was reported the
pany thought Of applying to the Federal Government
to compel the railroads furnish for its inter
state trade.
Many Of our Eastern exchanges after investigating
the trouble have reached the conclusion that the
deficiency is due more to lack of locomotives than
to lack of 1t is said that if the railroads had
engines enough to handle their traffic they could in
crease the rapdity of the movement of trains suf-
fcienty make the cars do double the service they
do. That view seems to be confirmed by the
complaint OF the orange growers, who among other
deficiencies of the service allege that in many
this it has taken twenty-five days to transport
car of oranges to New York and eighteen days to
Chicago when the distance should have been covered
in less than half the time. Itis clear that prompt
runs had been made the cars might have been used
twice perhaps thrice in the time consumed in
rying single load TO market
1t is not likely the roads will be caught next sea-
son with so deficient an equipment as that which
they now have. The recent combinations have prob
ably settled railroad organizations and control for
some years to come, and consequently the managers
will have more time to devote to the equipment of
the roads. Furthermore it has been noted that the
orders given for cars and locomotives have this year
been extraordinarily large Next season, then will
find all the roads with many more cars and loco
motives than they possess That fact howeveN
will not help the shippers of this year. 1t therefore
behooves railroad commissions and others having au-
thority do what they urge the railroad man
ayers to exert their utmost energies to supply the
needs of the time.
Reports from Great Britain are to the effect that
there would probably have been congestion of
business along the main railway lines there but for
the adoption of electric trains to handle local trade
thus leaving the heavy trains free to carry the
through traffic. The of electric traction has en-
abled the British roads keep light freights in al
most continuous movement, and recent estimate
based the service the Midland Railroad OF Eng
land is said to show that by doing away with infre-
quent and heavy trains and maintaining frequent light
trains moving at average speed of forty miles
hour for its entire traffic, the capacity of the road
could be practically doubled
So successful have these experiments been that
it is believed by experts that freight movement
by heavy, slow trains will soon be almost entirely
superseded by the continuous movement OF light
trains If that sangune expectation be fulfilled the
orange growers will not have in the future any com
plants to make on the score of delay in delivering
fruit to market. Certainly something will have to be
done. railroad that requires twenty-five days to
haul oranges from California to New York is prac-
tcay worth very little to the fruit trade than
an OK train.