The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-10-16
HEAVY TONNAGE IS
BEING MOVED FAST
But the Demand for Freight
Cars Is Unquenchable,
Officials State.

The heavy freight tonnage which
the Pennsylvania railroad is handling
al present is being moved with I'M
precedented rapidity. but according TO
local officials of that road. the demand
for cars seems unQuenchable. The
Pennsylvania is spending enormous
sums OF money to provide equipment
end to keep the present equipment in
good repair, Yet new cars and those
from the company's own shops are
swallowed up at once.
II is significant TO learn what the
Pennsylvania is doing to preclude the
possibility of car shortage on its
lines when the heaviest Fall traffic
is offered for movement.
II 1910 the total freight car equip
ment of all the railroads in the United
States was 2.297.620 cars. OF these.
the Pennsylvania System East and
West of Pittsburg and Erie held by
ownership or lease 263.o39-more than
IL per cent of the total.
The entire railroad freight car equip
ment of the United States increased
sSS.14s cars from 1901 to 1910. inclu-
sive. OF this increase the Pennsyl-
vania system supplied more than s
per cent.
1t is thus seen that the company pro-
vides more than IL per cent of the
freight equipment, and in the past ten
years has provided over s per cent.
of the increase in the numberof cars.
So eager has the Pennsylvania rail-
road been to anticipate the demands
of it's traffic that since January /, 1912
1t has ordered 12,S17 cars to be deliver
ed as soon as they can be turned out
of the shops.
To insure shippers on its lines ade
quate equipment for handling bust
ness, the company is waging an active
! campaign to get the greatest possible
service out of each of the 263,9s0
freight cars owned by the system.
One of the Pennsylvania precau-
lions against car shortage is to pre-
vent, as much as possible, the holding
of loaded cars at sea ports. The mo-
! ment notice is received of an accumu-
lation of cars loaded with freight for
export, quick steps are taken to have
the cars released at the earliest pos
sible time. This is only one of the ex-
pedients employed by the Pennsyl-
vania railroad; in cases where loaded
cars accumulate because of free stor-
age time in warehouses, new rules are
made to keep traffic moving through
the warehouses, thereby permitting the
prompt unloading of cars.
In addition to requesting shippers
= aud
| to load them to capacity, the Railroad
has announced that unusual efforts
were heing made to reduce the amount
of equipment awaiting repairs and to
complete unfinished work on new cars
and locomotives.
There are at present approximately
| q, 900 employees engaged on the rush
order to put all cars and locomotives
| in AL shape, and to get them out on
| the road SO that patrons can have the
| advantage of their use. In the Penn
| sylvania's various shops, IL, 500 men
are repairing freight cars and 1,225
are building new ones; more than TO-
900 are repairing locomotives while
| 1850 are constructing new ones. Some
$500 men are working on passenger
equipment.
| The Pennsylvania's agents are en-
deavoring to induce shippers to move
all traffic at the earliest possible time
in order to preclude any danger OF
congestion.
Five years ago the Pennsylvania
railroad, as well as other railroads of
the country, suffered very extraordin-
airy car shortage, and it was all the
/ Management could do to handle the
traffic with the existing facilities. Elk
penses which have been incurred in