The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-07-17
RAILROAD NEWS.
Importance of Topeka Store
House of Santa Fe.
Supplies Of Entire System Dis
tributed From Here.
HANDLE65 CARS DAILY
In Last Fiscal Year Value of
Stores Was 100000.
other Items of General Interest
in Traffic World.
HANDLE65 CARS DAILY

The stores department of the Santa
Fe is in a way a wonderful institution
OF, rather, organization, says the Santa
Re Employees Magazine.
Under the guidance of the general
storekeeper at Topeka. the ordering,
distributing and accounting of all ma
terial. supplies, stationery and fuel FOR
the system are effected. In conjunction
with this there devolves upon the de-
partment the duty of close super
vision and constant effort to prevent
useless expenditure. by retaining from
waste the innumerable odds and ends,
accommodations from changes in stand
ards or the curtailment of operating
expenses.
When the tide of business is at its
flood the effect is seen in the increased
activity and output of this department.
With the ebb Of the tide. when condi-
lions are below normal the entire en-
er9y of the department is brought into
play to assist in making every dollar
expended for material prove its neces-
sity.
BY a system of records originated by
General Storekeeper Rice and now en-
joying a national reputation, the stores
department concentrates In the office
Of the general storekecper reliable data
pertaining to the stock at each store
tenn, so 1t is but the work Of a moment
to ascertain If some important item
wanted by the operating department
can be procured and furnished from
stock without the necessity of pur-
chasing at the time, thus avoiding an
expenditure for material which might
under existing conditions be surplus az
the point where located. Thousands of
dollars are saved annually by this
Fystem Of records. and many more are
gained by the methods employed for
reclaiming material. The feature Of
ordering, carrying and accounting for
stock. by sections, in storehouses IS
equally productive of economy, as the
stock balance struck each month, by
sections. clearly discloses any surplus
or stock not on the move at each point,
thus giving notice for necessary trans
fer to points requiring just such ma
terial.
Through the Topeka office flows the
volume of business, often increased to
gigantic proportions but never de-
creased to the minimum, for. whether
the road enjoys a feast or endures
famine, constant watchfulness must
exist to provide for the feast or aid IN
surviving the famine.
At Topeka alone the monthly pay
roll Of the stores department totals
s19, 900, while the issues Of material pass
the million mark.
For the year ending June 80, 1910, the
issue of material and supplies for the
system was $36, 1853 051. to handle which
it cost $780, 1889; fuel. 80 OPS, the
cost Of handling increased by reason
of a miners strike, beir~ $3.50, 1857; sta
tionery, s646,s49, costing $7,1SS to
handle.
Through the main store at Topeka
the average number of cars handled
daily is sixty-five. This gives an idea
of the necessary labor involved in the
careful checking, storing and account
ing at that place alone.
The storehouse is made up of two
buildings opened into one. One build
ing is 6S by $50 feet, the other 40 by 125
feet, both two stories in height and
furnishing space for the fuel, stationery
ments, as well as a general store. Thera
are all told over three hundred en-
ployees Of the stores department
Just north of the storehouse is q
platform IS by 400 feet, at car deck
height, used by the stores department
for castings and finished locomotive
parts. Near this is a pipe rack, % by
So feet, in which is kept wrought iron
pipe.
But the building which is the pride IF
the entire stores department force is
the new oil house, the most completely
equipped oil house in America It is a
modern reinforced concrete building so
by $50 feet with concrete platforms,
everything being strictly fireproof. This
building is used as a stCreEouse for all
kinds of oil, paint, varnish. waste and
grease. It contains a very elaborate
installation of Bowser tanks and pumps
for receiving and issuing oils and
paints. In the basement are twelve big
steel tanks, each with a capacity of
ten thousand gallons. also twenty-five
smaller tanks for the less used grades,
each with a capacity of about three
hundred and fifty gallons. A complete
system Of piping removes any gases
from the tanks, insurinC immunity
from explosions. On the main floor is
a complete system of pumps. dials and
cages. so that an operator can dra "
exactly any amount Of liquid from any
tank, when the flow automatically
stops. He also can see in an instant
just how full are the various tanks
This is the most complete Bowser sys-
tenn ever installed in America and is ill.,
deed very great Improvement over
the methods in vogue a few years a 20