Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-02-26
WORST WINTER IN
RAILROAD CIRCLES
Period Between Mid-Dcccrnber
and February Without
Recent Precedent.


helow-zero temperatures. blizzards and
binding gales that made regular running
Of trains impossible and at times stopped
movement altogether-is told. rs far as
The Pennsylvania railroad is concerned, IN
a report just made to President Samuel
Rea, by acting Nice-President Elisha Lee,
who is IN charge of operation. The report
covers the period from mid-December to
the opening Of February, and has been
compiled from information as to weather,
labor and general operating conditions on
all divisions of the lines east of Pittsburg
during the severest portion OF the winter.
The features of the weather during the
period covered by the report were not
only the record-breaking cold, the heavy
anowfalls and high winds, but the un
prcccdented length of the frigid spells,
which gave no breathing time 10 recover
and prepare for the next emergency. In
the mountain regions traversed by the
Pennsylvania railroad these conditions
were practically unbroken throughout the
entire time.
Even as far south as Cape Charles
Virginia. where, ordinarily, little trouble
If experienced from snow or cold, there
were fifteen days on which 1t was i'm
possible 10 operate car floats across the
mouth Of the Chesapeake to Norfolk on
account of the ice barriers, and the pas
scnger, mail and express service WAS
suspended ON three different occasions
At Cresson, Pa, on top OF the Allie
ghcny Mountains, where q large proper
ton of freight for the eastern terminals
must pass, temperatures OF eighteen
degrees below zero were recorded, with
high gales and forty inches Of snow on
the ground From December 20 TO Janu-
p~ h.. fkarfnnrn.far rppIStprpH
higher than three degrees above freez-
ing, and that only for an hour or so on
four different days. For eight days from
December ~ 10 January :. the thcrmom-
rter continuously registered zero or be-
low, with high winds prevailing, and this
VAS followed bv ten-dav stretch. from
January IL 10 2l inclusive, on eight of
which the thermometer stayed below
sero.
On tho Remove Division, in northwestern
rennsylvsnia. the thermometer was be-
low zero ON fourteen DAYS This period
vas recorded by the Weather Bureau at
Ere As the ooldest In 45 years.
On the PIttsburg Division. stretching
from Altoona, Pa, to Pittsburg the
month Of January, 1918, showed total
deficiency Of 4S5 degrees Of temperature
A. compared with the same month last
wear 1 nt[t WAS "A %llON lhAl Di IL = Inches,
as against 9l2 inches in 1917. The snow
drifts az the entrance 10 the Gallitzin
tunnels, at the summit of the mountains,
were fifteen feet high
The Northern Division. serving Buffalo,
reported double the snowfall of last wear,
with several blizzards during which there
was practically no train movement for
- 10 ~ hours at a stretch.
The snowfall on the Philadelphia
Division, from Harrisburg 10 Philadel-
phia, in January was 80 9-l0 inches, or
two and one-half times rs great as IN the
same month of 1917.
The Williamsport Division spent FIVE
lni one-half times much money rs
ast year in removing snow and ice.
sHoPMEN STOOD ACID TEST.
This: the shopmen Of the PENNSYLVANIA
talirlad stood the acid test Of LOYALTY
and fidelity i shown by the services which
the, rendered IN shovellng SNOW. break
ing ice, clearing switches, etc. often under
weather conditions involving severe hard
ship While the withdrawal of numbers
81 these men from the shops for outdoor
work had serious effect on repairs and
construction, there was no alternative
but 10 take this step, as without their aid
Il would have been Impossible to open the
lines and restore traffic after the repeated
heavy snowfalls Of the winter.
The Altoona, Pa, shops reported that
between December 20 and January 81
their men spent 9,225 ten-hour days in
snow-shoveling and switch-clearing This
resulted IN the loss 10 the shops of class
repairs To 10 engines, the building of 80
steel gondola freight cars, the strengthen
ing OF 80 cars OF the same class, heavy
f..wR,.
passenger cars and the manufacture of $50
car wheels. In addition, the operation of
the shops in general was unavoidably
slowed up by the temporary disruption of
the forces.
Among miscellaneous results reported
from the severe cold on all divisions
were alr-hOse freezing, trains stalling.
trains parting due 10 broken couplings,
hot boxes due TO journal boxes being strip
ped of by snow and ice, broken rails,
frozen signals and signal wires, and failure
Of InterlOclling plants Much trouble was
with wateT-scOops on engines
freezing up 50 that they could not be
operated over the track tanks II was
frequently necessary 20 maintain large
forces OF men at each track tank TO remove
the accumulation OF ice caused BY the |
lying water freezing on the rails and
roadway.
Frozen ash-pans IN engines caused |
thousands of DELAYS over al portions of the |
system Coal freezing IN cars and on coal /
wharves caused great trouble and DELAY /
~ many points The coal obtAinable for |
railroad use during tins winter was below |
the usual quality, much Of 1t being pull |
verized. When saturated with water from !
ram or melting snow, followed bv low
IL solIdifled into a mass al |
most like concrete Where there were no
thawIng houses 1t was necessary to place
pans OF burning fuel oil beneath the cars t
Or place steam Jets IN the coal, before the |
cOal could be run through the hoppers or
could be shoveled out Thousands OF de-
lays in the very cold weather we're due TO
the lubrlcation in the journal boxes Of
'ars freezing, especially where the cars
we're stan ding IN classi cation yards In
such cases hot oil had to be used before it
Nas possible 20 move the cars over the
hump. II was often found necessary to
push cars down the hump grades be
ausc their axles were SO stifTened that
hey would not run by gravity The
.olidly frozen rOadbed which for weeks al
, time was Is hard and unyielding as a
cement pavement, greatly increased the
wear and tear on engines and the amount
i repairs required The Meadows Shop.
rear Jersey City, reported that from
December 80 10 January 81, twenty
inglnes arrived al the engnehouse with !
'roken frames, which is greater number
y this class Of failures than ordinarily
,ccur IN whole year Many main and
lap rods Of engines p-pra a Ia broLap -