New-York tribune., 1918-01-11
More Building of
Locomotives for
Domestic Roads
Cessation Of Work on Rus
sian Orders Helps Solve
Railroad Problem

from American manufacturers for do
mestic and foreign use. Figures COM
piled by the Railway Age Gazette"
show that orders for 7,e42 locomotives.
OF all sorts and kinds, large and small.
were booked by equipment companies
IN the United States. The output Of
completed locomotives from shops in
TINS country during the year totalled
o,446. production that has only been
exceeded IN 1905. 1906 and 1907.
Heavy buying of locomotives for use
abroad for war purposes tended to keen
domestic orders down to minimum.
Purely domestic orders totalled 2.704.
The United States government ordered
2'o57 locomotives for service in France
Tor the use OF the expeditonary forces
while orders placed by England, France.
RUSSIA and other foreign countries
called for 1881 motive units.
Russian Orders Held In
Russian orders placed last vcar
called Tor total of 1000 locomotive.
to be manufactured in American
shops ''-'i ''<'i'
These Russian ORDERS" saws "The
hallway Age Gazette" "as whole have
proved at once blessing and a curse
lor tne American railway supply field
ana through it for the RAILWAYS. The
first Russian order for locomotives
placed in June, 1915, when orders were
scarcer than they had been at any
time for the preceding six or seven
years, was received with something
closely akin to joyfulness, and so were
1he ert others Immediately following.
ne last two orders-that for 500.
placed last July, and that for 100,
nave simply had to be looked upon
as as an unwelcome duty, as something
tnat America as one of the opponents
OF kalserism has been properly called
upon to do for one of its brother on
ponents. But it is still true that these
RUSSIAN orders were given priority over
engines urgently needed for transpor-
'a1lon requirements at home and with
an the English, French, Russian and
Ainerlcan government orders for en-
E1nes which were placed, the American
orders were pretty we'll down on tha
builders lists.
The Russian order for 500 loco
motives of July, 1917, is now almost
completed, some of the locomotives
having been shipped, and others which
we're prepared for shipment are being
sIored until the time comes when use
can be made Of them by better folks
than the Kaiser or the Bolsheyiki. It
IS even announced that 200 of the
locomotives will be remodelled and nut
IN temporary service in our own conn
try. with the other 1900 locomotives
nelng held IN abeyance, the whole sit
uation is that the American railroads
can now look forward to receiving in
the near future the power they put on
order SIX months OR a year ago, and
specially manufacturers have already
received notification to ship the spe-
clalties for these orders"
Car Situation Unfavorable
Orders placed for freight cars called
lor the manufacture Of 1886, in
cludlng '4,2l4 for domestic uses, 49,
S44 Tor the United States government
ana oo.6'6 for France, Russia and
other foreign countries This com
parcs with 205,36S cars ordered in
1915. The freight car situation dur
ing the year was not favorable either
10 the railways or the builders, ac-
cordlng to "The Railway Age" The
prices were so high that the railways
ala not dare to come into the markets
AS result the builders were com
peiled IN some cases to operate as low
as 81 per cent, or even 25 per cent. of
capacity. The plant capacity of the
country is now about 250O0 cars a
month, and if sufficient orders were
placed 1T is stated that 100000 cars
couid be produced within the next six
months. ~"
During 1917 a total of os2 miles of
new railroad line were comrlefed in
the United States and 207 miles in
canada. The construction of new rail
ways IN this country during the last
'hree years is actually far below any
corresponding three-year period since
the Civil War, even during the panic
period of the middle nineties.
With new construction at mini
mum, 1917 was the first year since tho
hrst railroad in the United States was
oullt, in 1881, in which there has been
any considerable mileage of road VOL
unfairly abandoned by its owners or
taken up and sold for junk. The war
of all kinds probably had great deal
to 40 with the marketing of a consid-
eraole amount Of secondhand rails
and other supplies. Last year there
was actually taken up 451 miles of
railroad and sold for Junk. In addi-
tion, there was 491 miles of road on
which operation was abandoned. and
596 miles Of road which the owners
had asked permission from state com
missions or legislatures to abandon.
Some of the roads on the abandoned
and junk list were built with the
money and labor of farmers. In Iowa
short road that went on to the
scrap heap was built by farmers who
wanted transportation facilities and
assessed themselves to pay for the