The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-01-25
RAILROAD NEWS.
Railway Earnings Increased by
Uniform Freight Car.
Greatest Delay in Traffic Is
Caused by ''B. o. Cars.
STANDARD TYPES.
This Would Do Away With
Usual Serious Troubles.
Other Items of General Interest
in Railroad Circles.
TYPES.

Buffalo. n. Y, Jan. 25.-At the annual
meeting of the Central Railway club Of
this city. W. o. Thompson, master car
builder of the New York Centrars
western division, read a paper on The
Past. Present and Future of Car inter-
change" In discussing the subject, Mr..
Thompson said:
With all our modern improvements
and methods we are still confronted
with this question: Why is the aver
age movement of a car 22.6 miles per day,
and what portion of this movement is
to be found charged up to car inspec-
ton and interchange?' The greatest
delay is caused by cutting out cars by
several previous interchange points. as
perfectly safe for movement to final
destination, thus causing a serious and
uncalled for delay to lading, which can
not be directly charged to inspectors,
but to existing Instructions or condi-
tions existing at other points, over
which no direct control can be exer-
cised. The following suggestions must
sooner or later be taken up and work.
ed out:
Car owners Responsible.
The car owners shall be responsible
for any and all necessary repairs re-
quired to keep their cars in service,
either loaded or empty, no matter I'M
der what conditions the repairs become
necessary.
Amy road having in its possession Il
car, the property of another company,
such car being in need of repairs, no
matter whether the repairs needed to
place the car in first class seryiceable
condition be Of light or medium nature,
or whether the car is in need Of gen.
eral heavy repairs, the company hav-
ing the car in its possession to have
the authority to make such repairs
without consulting the owner and bill
the owner for complete cost thereof, no
matter whether the road making the
repairs is located in California and the
owner in Maine, or vice versa.
Standard Types Necessary.
1.-The above suggestion again brings
us face to face with the necessity for
having standard cars of each type in
use throughout the country. Maintain
a committee something similar to Ar
thur Hale's committee on car service
to establish and maintain a ratio of
equipment per mile of road.
Maintain and operate a. board of
arbitration, whose duties shall be to
dispose of all charges covering repairs
made, and to organize and direct a
corps of travelling inspectors Every
road to consider the initial of cars Sec
ondary. their one and only object being
to keep car in service and fit at all
times to be loaded with any commodity
suitable to its construction, and to edu-
cate all to lie common standard of &C
ton and having one end IN view, the
movement of traffic with as little de-
lay as possible.
Increase in Mileage.
with the above suggestions in eff
feet, a car, on conservative estimate
could reach % miles per day, making
a total annual mileage per car of 1920
miles. or 1871 miles in excess of the
present annual mileage. or 10 additional
days in which the car could be earning
raV0nna A constant hanr16rjncr down
Of rates on one side and equally as con-
slant demands by employees for higher
salaries anc a very critical public for
their patrons, make it necessary to de-
rive more benefit from the present in
vestment in rolling stock. 1t is believed
that the earnings can be increased 20
per cent by working out the above rec
concentrations"