The border vidette. (Nogales, Ariz.) 1894-1934, 1923-09-01
BEATING RECORDS
IN RAILROADlNG.

San Francisco. Aug. 27.-How
Southern Pacific and the other
railroads in the first six months
of 1923 have handled the largest
tonnage in any six months OF
their history and in this period
have transformed a car shortage
into a car surplus is graphically
shown by j. H. Dyer, general
manager of the Southern Pacific
company, in statement today
on the transportation situation.
"The railroads loaded more
than 100000 freight cars in
both May and June this year, !"
said Dyer. Although this was
the heaviest ira fife ever carried
by American railroads in a sim
liar period, the car shortage
which had continued since the
fall of 1922, was wiped out and
was replaced by car surplus.
Despite this record breaking
movement, the number of freight
cars in good repair and imme.
diately available for use con
.tinued to increase so that on
July 81 a surplus of 76, 453 ser.
viceable freight cars was record.
ed. The surplus was attained
in spite of the fact that for the
week ending July % there were
loaded 1,041, 044 freight cars, the
largest number for any week in
the history of the country.
Efficiency of railroad opera
ton, probably never before
equalled, did this. Team work
played a big part-team work
among the railroads and the
shippers, and between the man.
agement and men within the
various individual railroad or.
CARNATIONS.
In meeting the heaviest tran
sportation demands in American
history with increased service
the railroads appealed to the
sporting instinct of all concern.
ed. They fixed certain definite
high standards of operating eff
cheney and then set out to beat
them, just as q golfer attempts
to beat par" or a baseball play
er tries to beat a batting aver.
age of 400.
A plan of action was agreed
upon by the member roads of
the American Railway Associa.
ton and the Association of Rail.
way Executives early this year.
Here's what they decided to aim
for:
1. Eighty five per cent of 10
comotives in serviceable condi.
ton by October 1, when the sea.
son of heaviest traffic starts.
2. Ninety five per cent of
freight cars in serviceable con.
dition by October /.
8. Thirty tons of freight as
the average carload.
4. Thirty miles per day as
the average car movement.
Here's the progress toward
this goal that has been made by
the railroads in general and by
Southern Pacific Company's Pa.
cific System, which serves the
states of Oregon, California, Ne
vada, Utah, Arizona and New
Mexico.
In getting their motive power
into the best of condition the
railroads as a whole increased
the number of serviceable loco
motives from 75.9 per cent on
January 1 to 1873 per cent on
July 1, almost to the IS per cent
goal.
by July 1, Southern Pacific
had 1873 per cent of it's locomo-
tives in first class condition and
available for immediate service.
THE railroads as a whole in.
creased the number of freight
cars in serviceable condition
from 90.5 per cent on january
1 to 81 6 per cent on July /.
Southern Pacific made an.
other outstanding record in this
work, increasing the number of
serviceable cars from "a 3 per
cent to 96.6 per cent, thus beat,
ing the national goal. This re
duction in bad order freight cars
by the Southern. Pacific means
the adding of 3O1 serviceable
cars to the supply available to
shippers. Compared with con.
ditions two years ago this single