Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-06-02
GIANTS WHO CUT
OVERLAND COST
Batteries Of Heavy Presses
and Skyline Railroads Ex-
pedite Production

In Toledo the other day I made a
trip on the WHY'S Overland Sky Rail-
road. with Tim Montgomery at the
throttle.
There was a heavy thundercloud In
the sky just before we started, and
big drops of rain clung to the cab
window. l didn't fancy the prospect
of plunge through the air in the
face of hurricane, but Tim observed
Hhat the Willys-Overland Sky Rail-
! road did not stop for storms.
The Sky Railroad terminal, where
we We're at the moment. is in an
upper story of that stupendous Will
lys-Overland plant, which lies near
the battle-ground of "Tippecanoe" Har-
rison, Mad Anthony" Wayne, and Te-
cumseh. Tins little electric loco
motive was resting at the brink of
great open doorway that led into
nothingness. 1t reminded me of a
bird standing on the edge of roof
Outside the building, just above
this dizzy doorway, begins a lofty
trestle that encircles the shipping
platform on the ground, perhaps a
round trip of a quarter of a mile.
This structure supports the monorail
of the Willys-Overland Sky Railroad,
which runs on one track. Tins en-
gine hangs from it like an acrobat
who swings by his arms from a.
trapeze.
Before the Sky Railroad was
built" said Tim. the finished Over
land cars were packed on open docks
and pushed out to the shipping yards
by manpower. 1t took eight or ten
men to get a car there"
A gong changed somewhere back of
us and a hoarse voice shouted a clear
ance signal. Tim moved his controller
lever, and we went out the door into
space dragging our load. This was a
brand new Overland car. packed in a
box lined with tar paper to prevent
the ocean air from rusting the metal
for these cars were going abroad.
Always on Time
Just then the gale hit us. and the
rain on the cab roof sounded like the
rolling of a snare drum. Down below
us 1 could see men running for shell
ter. We swayed violently, but Tim
shouted above the noise of the wind:
IT'D take a tornado to blow 'er off
the track, and you needn't worry
bout washouts. 1 call her the Twen-
tieth Century Willys-Overland Linn
tied. She always goes through on
time.
Along the rail we slid to the freight
tracks, where Tim brought his curl
Gus train to a stop above the loading
platform, alongside string of box
cars While we lowered there in the
air, our load was lowered into the
waiting car. Clang! went gong
again.
Hold fastw warned Tim. as he
swung the throttle lever around its
arc. We've got some heavy curves
ahead, and some grades"
Surely we did have, and thunder
and lightning, too, but the WHY'S
Overland Limited climbed safely up
around the loop and back through
another sky door into the terminal,
where once more it rested on the edge
of the jumping-off place.
Let me explain how l happened to
be there. II was not chance. but a
telegram from the Willys-Overland
people that took me to Toledo. Usu-
ally kilograms mean something thor
oughly definite, but here was an ex-
ception. My mission proved for a
time quite intangible. 1t was an
errand that did not crystalline readily;
yet the idea back of it was big and
compelling.
A Message to the Public
"The functions of the modern great
Actory have never been adequately
interpreted" the Willys-Overland peot
pie said to me. Everyday adver-
tising is good so far as it goes, but 1t
doesn't carry the message or touch
the romance of big-quantity manu-
featuring. Surely in this vast plant,
with its eighteen thousand men and
its production of two hundred thou
sand automobiles a year, there is
something with a meaning for the
public-something that typifies the
present age and is worthy of transla-