The Meeker herald., 1917-06-09
LOST FREIGHT CARS
Tracing Them Is Often a Hard
Job For the Railroads.
HIDE AWAY LIKE CRIMINALS.
One Of These Runaways. That Holds
the T-uaney Record. Was Visiting
Around For Two Years and Had Been
In Nearly All Of Our Big Cities.

the Truaney Record. Was Visiting
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 to place an
embargo upon certain classes of goods
the problem of keeping track of Its
cars to see that they do not run away
and become wanderers upon the face
of the earth Is stupen1Ous one for
each company.
Before the National Association Of
Car Accountants was formed and
there was no close traffic arrangement
between the various railroad systems
respecting the control Of freight cars
it was common thing for some err
ratio unit to travel ten or fifteen thou
sand miles before 1t returned to its
starting point. There is the record of
one runaway car that was away from
home for nearly two years. and In that
time 1t Travelled triie over 10000
miles. visiting NEARLY all the principal
cities OF the United States.
In all that time II car trnccr from
the company which owned 1t was on
its track. but 1t eluded him constantly
until 1t was finally run down and sent
back home from a remote region In
Texas. When 1t left the home sheds
it was bright new car: when it re-
turned it was battered and old-so
travel stained that Its own maker
could hardly recognize 1t. 1t holds the
prize record for truancy among freight
cars.
Traffic conditions have been greatly
improved since those days. and rail-
way ompanies OBTAINING car belong
ing to anotuer company are penaliZel
by fine. The agreement is that when
a car is received from another railroad
it shall be Immediately unloaded and
returned to its owner. But In time of
general car famine not all of the
railroads obey this rule. Because there
ia more profit in using the car. even
though daily fine is exacted for Its
unlawful detention. some railways
keep 1t for weeks or even months for
its own traffic. returning 1t only after
the congestion has lcssened. The
small connecting railroads are often
Tue SlCulcSt tih' sSepSN'
In times such us the present. when
traffic congestion. is more than usually
abnormal.
When freight car is built 1t is Civ.
en- number before 1t leaves the shop.
and thereafter 1t Is always known by
TINT number until 1t Is worn out AMI
scrapped. When new cur receives
its number and stnrts out upon Its
business career 1t Is entered in the
record book. and q careful account OF
its wanderings and earning powers Is
kept there. This record book is his
tory of the car. and by consulting 1t
one can learn how many trips 1t has
made. what cities 1t has visited. how
many times 1t has been to the repair
shop and also where 1t is supposed to
be at any given time.
But In spite of all this care In keep
ing record of each car. now and then.
for some unexplained reason. one dis
appears from sight. literally running
away. Some of the big companies en-
ploy cur tracers. but as n rule print
ed tracer is first sent after the car to
bring 1t back home. This printed trac
err. In a blue envelope. is sent to the
person in whose Jurisdiction the car
was last supposed to be. and II it has
passed out OF his district the tracer
Is sent on to the next one to whom the
car was consigned. This little printed
tracer failing to bring the car home In
reasonable length Of time man
known as tracer is sent after 1t. The
tracer is really railroad car detective.
And sometimes 1t Is more difficult to
track runaway freight car than n
criminal. There are tens Of thousands
Of miles of railways and hundreds of
thousands OF freight cars. and TO find
one carrying certain number is often
like hunting for the needle In the hay
stuck. The tracer may arrive in n
city where the runaway is supposed
to be at the very moment when the car
is leaving 1t In the opposite direction.
Ii may cross his track on parallel
fine or dodge around him on n short
line. 1t may be headed south while lie
Is travelling north or rolling merrily
toward the Pacific while he is going to-
ward the Atlantic.
A runaway car apparently is as de-
PRAYED as any criminal. 1t hides on n
lonely siding or gets lost in short
swamp line. One such runaway rest
ell nearly year on a siding In south
ern Texas simply because 1t got lost.
and no one seemed to know just what
to do with It. In the course Of time 1t
was occupied by family Of squatters.
who lived quite comfortably In 1t for
six months and were routed out only
when. quite by accident. the car tracer