The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-11-25
LOST FREIGHT CARS
Tracing Them Is Often a Hard
Job For the Railroads.
HIDE AWAY LIKE CRIMINALS.
Ore Of These Runaways, That Holds
the Truanoy Record. Was Visiting
Around For Two Years and Had Been
In Nearly All of Our Big Cities.

the iruancy kecore, was Vistln9
Around For Two Years and Had Been
In Nearly All of Our Big Cities.
At times when the scarcity of freight
cars causes the railroads 10 IN zee an
embargo upon certain classes Of goods
the problem OF keeping track of lis
ears TO see that they do not run away
and become wanderers upon the face
of the earth is stupenduns one for
each company.
Before the National Association of
Car Accountants was formed and
there was no close trailic arrangement
between the various railroad systems
respecting the control Of freight cars
IL was common thing for some err
ratio unit to travel ten or fifteen thou
sand miles before 1t returned 10 its
starting point. There is the record OF
one runaway car that was away from
home for nearly two years. and in That
time it travelled tlihe over 10000
miles. visiting nearly all the principal
cities of the United States.
In all that time car tracer from
tie company which owned it was OF
It's track. but it eluded him constantly
anfil II was finally run dawn and Sent
back home from Il remote glen in
rexaS When it left the home sheds
II was bright new car: when it re-
turned it wns battered pnd uld-so
travel stained that its own maker
could hardly recognize IL II hDlds the
prize record for truancy among freight
ears.
Traffic conditions have heen greatly
improved since those days. and rail
way companies OBTAINING car lclong
ing 10 auotLer company are iionalizeI
by IA line. The agreement Is that when
car is received from anuiher lTilrOad
il shall be immediately unlpnded ami
returned 10 It's owner. But IN Time OF
general ear famine not all Of the
railroads obey this rule. Recause there
is more profit in using the car. even
though Il daily fine is exacted far its
unlawful detention some railways
Keep IL for weeks or egeh months fer
its own traffic returning 1t only after
the congestion has lessened. The
small connecting railroads are often
the greatest offenders IN this respect
in times such as the present. when
traffic congestion is more than nSually
abnormal
When Il freight car is built it is Civ
en- number before it leaves the SHOP
and thereafter It is always known by
that number until 1t is worn out and
scrapped When q new car receives
its number aud starts out upon It's
business career II is entered IN the
record book. aud careful account ~
IFS wanderings and earning powers is
kept there. This record book is his
tory Of the car aud by consulting it
one can learn how many trips ii has
made. what cities it has visited, bow
many times 1t has been to the repair
shop and also where II is supposed TO
he at any given time.
But in spite OF all this care in keep
ing Il record of each chr. now and then.
fer some unexplained reason. one dis
appears from sight. literally running
away. Some OF the big companies EN-
ploy car tracers. but as u rule II print
ed tracer is first sem after the car to
bring it back home This printed trac-
err IN a blue envelope. is sent 10 the
person in whose Jurisdiction the car
was last supposed 10 be, and If ii has
passed out of his district the tracer
is SEM on 90 The next one 10 whom the
car was consigned. This little printed
tracer failing TO bring the car home in
Il reasonable length OF time u man
known rs u tracer is sent after 1t. The
tracer is really railroad car detective
And sometimes it is more difficult TO
track runaway freight car than
criminal There are tens of thousands
of miles of railways and hundreds of
thousands OF freight ears. and TO find
one carrying n certain number is often
like hunting for tie needle Ia the hay
stack The tracer may arrive in a
city where the runaway is supposed
TO he at the very moment when the car
is leaving 1t in the opposite direction
Il may cross his track on parallel
line or dodge around him on II short
line II may he headed south while he
Is travelling north or rolling merrily
toward the Pacific while lie Is going to
ward the Atlantic.
A runaway car apparently is as de.
PRAYED AZ any criminal Il hides on
lonely siding or GETS lost in Il short
swamp iae Cne >ncll runaway rest
ed nearly Il year on siding Ia south
crn Texas simply because II got lost
and no nnp seemed 10 know just what
30 do with It, In the course of time it
was occupied by family of squatte7s
who lived quite comfortably in II for
six mouths uul were routed ont only
when. quite 10y accident. lie ear tracer
discovered il. Popular Mechanics
Gilbert and Punch.