The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-03-05
In
JAPAN INTERESTS
.LANTRY, FORMER
DIVISION OFFICER
Tells of Great Rip-Rap
Work and Dispatching
of the Trains

next to the war is the taking over Of
the railways by the government, and
we are wondering what caused II
land what is expected from the
move, writes T. H. Lantry, former
superintendent Of the Yellowstone
division OF the Northern Pacific
railway, now in Japan with the Rus
sian railway service corps. His let
ter is dated Jan. 30, 1918.
Cur mail has been and still is
badly mixed. OF course, it has been
going to Vladivostok, Russia, and
everything there is in such an uproar
some Of US have not received any
mail and am one Of them. re-
ceived two letters since leaving AM
erica, one from my mother, and the
other from a friend. We have quite
the latest being Dec. 2S. You can be
sure every paper receives most thor
Ough reading.
Touching on the government TAX
ing control OF the railroads, Mr..
Lantry says he knows that the
Northern Pacific was not blocked in
any way as IL had an organization
and men who could and did move all
business without delay, but says he
supposes the good lines had to go
with the poor ones. so the Northern
Pacific went into the deal. He
predicts that those who caused the
move from a labor standpoint, will
rue the day 1t ever happened for it
surely means a lot of moves that
have not, heretofore, been practised
on railway. He adds that politics
is a funny game and makes funny
bed fellows.
| We go through exercises, study
| Russian and take long walks every
day, says Mr.. Lantry. I'VE also
have rented a bowling alley and the
boys play ball, etc. Sunday we
played a Jap team and they beat us,
and we win play them again next
Sunday.
Railroading In Japan.
Il recently made a 2,000-mile rail-
road trip up through Japan visiting
all the principal cities and looking
over the railways which are all gov
eminent owned and operated. The
gauge Is AZ inches, or IAN inches
less than ours and cars and locomo-
| tives are comparatively small. Their
freight cars hold about 10 tons, have
single pair Of wheels under each end
| for trucks, and have hand brake, but
no air. Passenger cars have a
vacuum brake. No cars have auto
matte couplers, but are coupled to-
gether with chains a good deal like
our safety chains and then are
frightened up with screw. a good
deal like Tightening up a truss rod
under one of our cars. They do not
have tonnage, but use cars the same
as we did years ago, twenty cars in
a train except on mountain descend
ing grades where 40 are hauled.
Their maximum grade is a little less
than two per cent.
Great Rip Rap Work.
Everything on the line is in first
class condition. Track Is all ballast
ed with crushed stone or gravel and
is kept in first-class shape. Bridges
are all steel or stone. Tunnels are
all two horde, that is one for each
track, all double track except branch
lines and $50 miles from here north.
never saw such wonderful rip-rap
work. All stone is laid perfect and,
OF course, they have no frost to
crowd it out nor ice to tear 1t out in
the spring, so it is permanent work.
Cuts which are liable to slide are all
faced with stone wall and bitches are
lined with stone. Small water tanks
are from ten to twenty thousand
gallons and only one coal dock on
the line. At all points coaling is
done by hand with baskets.
Their trains are dispatched from
one station to the next by station
masters. They have no train dis
patchers and trains. are always on
time. I will tell you something of
passenger trains. They are perfect
ly handled, never q bad stop or start
and in this way they are ahead Of us.
They have from five to fourteen cars
in passenger trains. No one is al
1nv -
ticket and as every station has a day
and night force, needed to move
trains, this can be done. In going to
a train you buy your ticket and pass
through a gate where the ticket is
punched. There are three classes Of
fares; namely first second and
third.
Fares On Zone Basis.
Fares are all made on zone |
basis, that is for the first fifty miles !
all classes of tickets cost the same. |
so you can ride ten or fifty miles for |
the same fare. Next zone is fifty |
to 100 miles; next, 100 to 200, and |
then 200 to 800, 800 to 400, and last |
all over 400. You can ride $50 miles |
for same amount as for 400 miles.
Passenger train crews consist Of |
guard (conductor) and two or more
boys (brakemen). The conductor |
does not take up. nor look at trans
portauion. When you get of the |
train at your destination you pass |
through a gate at the depot and |
your ticket is taken up by the station |
force. There is no such thing as a |
cash fare. Stations are not called in |
cars, but when trains stop at a sta |
ton employees go along the outside |
of cars and call the name Of the /
station and the people get off. All |
stations have separate platforms for /
up and down trains, with overhead |
or underground crossings, so yof go |
to or from the main depot to or from /
the train without crossing a track. |
1t is a violation of the law to walk /
on or cross tracks and you never see |
any one do it as all laws are enforced |
in this country.
The "Train de Luxe.
Il rode on the Japanese train call
ed Train de Luxe for 500 miles. 1t
is a dandy little train Of eight cars,
with an observation car and FULL /
sized diner. had a compartment
and was very comfortable. Berths
in sIeepers are all lengthwise of cars
as are seats in first-class and sec
ond-class coaches. Berths are all
single and none too large for large |
man. upper DerIns are numbered /
odd and lower berths even numbers.
Their wash rooms are very small, /
just barely room for one person to /
get in. Ali railway employees from
top to bottom are In uniform. This
includes hremen, engineers, station
men, section men, and in fact every
man working on the railroad wears
q uniform.
zone thing more / must tell you
about and that Is their discipline An
employe who violates rules or In