The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-02-22
Dearth of Box Cars Leads to
Use of Flats Shipment
of Automobile Develops
New Type of Car.


Detroit, Feb. 22.-Ln spite of a SER
ious handicap due to the shortage OF
automobile freight cars, Detroit au-
tonnobf1e manufacturers managed to
ship approximately 5S, 500 motor cars
of the passenger type during January.
This figure was obtained by q careful
canvass of the concerns here and is
q close approximation to the actual
number. Yet this rather large ship
ment would have been much greater
had the makers been able to secure
| all the railroad cars they wanted in
/ which to convey the vehicles to their
destinations Although in many cases
/ the number of automobiles that left
the city was greater than ever before
In the history of the concerns In ques-
ton, there are other big prod4seers
whose shipments were curtaileo as
much as 40 per cent by the lack OF
railroad cars. One big maker, for IN
stance shipped a little over $500 auto
mobiles, and would have been able
to ship 5000 could the freight cars
have been secured.
Yet this shipping situation and che
materials markets troubling them, the
car makers nevertheless enjoyed the
largest January in THE history of the
business here, taking the industry col
lective1y. 1t is an unusual thing for
dealers to be crying for cars at this
time of the year, and never before
have they been 80 insistent for them
when the winter months were on. In
/ fact, so anxious have some of them
become for cars that they have ac-
tuadIy driven them over the snow cow
cred roads to their own towns rather
than wait for freight shipping.
The traffic department of the Ma
tional8 Automobile Chamber of Com
merce has reported total carload ship,
rnents for the whole United States for
january to be II, 504- Although in
some cases less than five automobiles
make up a. carload, and. in others the
number is greater lit seems logical to
say that each freight car would aver
age five machines On that basis. the
number Of freight carloads leaving
Detroit in january was 11.7eo. This
figures to pretty near SIS per cent of
the total number.
However, there can be no disga1isi-Hg
OF the fact that freight conditions are
bad. In most cases the automobile
freight car is a special type, and while
1T liz OF use to other lines OF industry
as well as to the automobile maker.
the latter is not is so good position.
fort Is hard for him to utilize the
other types OF cars. But necessity has
forced the traffic departments OF the
big companies to take whatever rail-
road equipment they can secure
AS q result it is not uncommon to
see big shipments Of motor vehicles
on flat cars. and IN some cases they
are even utilizing gondo1a and other
over arid really make very nresentable
box cars cut Of them some OF the
makers who have made use of flats
are the Studebaker Corp, Maxwell,
Paige, the Overland in Toledo and the
VeIie at Moline III wherever possible
these flat cars have 50 far been used
only for the shipping of export cars
to the coast That is, the export ma
chimes are very tightly boxed and no
harm can come to them through open
shipment in similar fashion to 1ar-
vesting machinery etc Where the
er has been using flats in conjunction
with heavy tarpauIins which they use
S very carefully to cover the cars
: against any weather conditions. The
use OF gondola cars is perhaps the
most unusual adaptation of whatever
can be secured in the way of railroad
foIlfne stock
According to the trafffs bureau sta
tistics, there are in use by the Amer
lean railroads at the present time
( 68,2S5 automobile freight cars, and
there is prospect of 10000 more be-
ing added to this equipu emit in the
very near future. This will give an
enormous equipment designed for the
special service of the automobile in
dustry, which today has developed
to the point where it is one of the
chief sources of freight revenue of
the railroads. but even with tn add
ed number it is doubtful if the supply
will keep pace with motor car pro
s duction. The railroads seem to be
doing all they can to help the move
anticipate the demand and, although
they have fastened to build more
equipment. the difficulty of getting