Evening star., 1923-02-16
RAIL EQUIPMENT
ORDERS P|L|NG UP
Manufacturers of Cars and
Engines Plan Increase in
Plant Capacity.
BY J. C. ROYLE.
Special Dispatcf, to The Star.

BY J. c. ROYLE.
Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK, February 16.-Manu-
| facturers of railroad equipment are
planning increased plant capacity as
result of demands now being made
upon them. Some of the companies
probably could operate at a profit
throughout 1923 on the orders they now
! have IL not another dollars worth o.
equipment was bought until Decem-
| Der 81
There has been no check in the flood
| OF orders for new railroad equipment
\ since January l. Unified orders for
locomotives alone today amount to
| over 1925, 100000, according to rail-
| road men. orders for freight and
| passenger cars have been on an
| equally extraordinary scale. Con-
| servative estimates of capital ex
! penditures by the railroads of the
| country throughout the coming year,
| including new track, cars and loco
| motives. are placed at over s700,00O,-
I ed over complete to the railroads in
/ less than six months.
Latest Equipment Orders.
An accurate indication of the extent
of the movement for additional equip
| ment among the carriers is found II
the order of the Pennsylvania Railroad
| Company for 275 locomotives. placed III
one lot with the Baldwin Locomotive
| Works. This brings the total ordered
| by that road since January l TO 500 en-
gines. The Norfolk and Western will
be in the market within short time
| for 900 box cars, 1000 coal cars, twelve
passenger locomotives and eighty freight
engines.
PoIJroadc in uestern territory are
shopping for approximately 10000 freight
cars and several hundred locomotives.
The Terminal Railroad in st. Louis
alone has determined to put sl6,00e.OOO
| into improvements and new equipment
| Immediately. with an additional pro-
gram Involving ss5 100000 in prospect.
Tranic Swamps Railroads.
The rush of manufacturers TO lay u.
stocks of raw materials and the demand
! for finished products has taxed the
| freight capacity OF the railroads to the
| utmost this month. and 1t is expected
that export shipments will speed up rs
a result OF favorable action by Con-
gress on the British debt settlement
The electrifcation of railroads.
which as yet has scarcely been
| touched. is expected to advance tre-
| mendously this year, and in anticipa-
| tion of this the General Electric Com
pany and American Locomotive Com
pany have entered into an arrange
ment whereby the electric locomotives
| of each company will approach each
! other more closely in design and con-
struction.
This activity is calling for a con-
| stantly increasing number of skilled
| artisans and mechanics. Possible
| wage trends in the metal rtades were
| indicated today by announcement that
| several thousand employees of the
| Saco-LowelI machine shops in New
/ England will receive a wage increase
| effective February IS.
Ford's Winter Car Sales.
| Tho winter sales of the Ford Motor
| Company have been larger than the
most optimistic estimates, according
to reports from Detroit today. Th"
\ output for February is now expected
| to reach 125,0O0 cars. With 10S0Oh
| vehicles turned out in January, the
1 first two months of the year are en-
pected to exceed the records for the
| corresponding months last year El
10000 cars. The call for trucks has
! been such as to induce some manCfag-
! turers of commercial vehicles to do
| BILE their production schedules for the
next few months.
| Demand for farm labor in the
4 northwest is not confined to the
| United States. Calls for assistance i'll
| this regard are coming from the Ca
! madam grain fields and the Canadian
! Pacific railroad is conducting a cam
paign abroad in Great Britain, Bel
1 GUM, ftOlldnQ ana denmark 10 at
! tract farm laborers to the north
west.
| Sales of copper have reached sur
prising proportions in the last week.
both for domestic consumption and
for export, and the copper properties
( of the west are grdually increasing
output.
Railroad Service Better.
| BOSTON, February 16-RaiIroad
service throughout New England is
steadily improving, although there is
! still a good deal of congestion at
| obtain early deliveries of many es-
F! sential building materials, such as
plumbing and heating supplies.
Freight Traffic increases.
! ST. PAUL, February 16.-Freight
| tonnage received and originated al
| st. Paul terminals last year totaled
| 10,75O,00O tons, a gain of 100000
tons over the previous year.
| Less Passenger Traffic.
| SAN FRANCISCO, February Is
| Figures compiled today by local ship
ping men indicated that while there
travel to- the orent e the PEe
months, American ships have been
less affected by this falling off than
have the Japanese liners. and that
to those Of the Japanese and Ca
madam traffic, are almost phenomenal.
Note OF Caution Sounded.
! DETROIT. February 16.-Despite
! the fact that manufacturing opera
| tions are being carried on at an un-
| precedented rate and that other fac
! tors of the business situation except
! transportation are favorable, the in
| dustrial leaders of Detroit are be
ginning to voice a note of caution.
No fear is expressed as to the CON
| tinuation of good business conditions
| throughout the year. but there is an
| undercurrent of sentiment that ''busi-
ress Is speeding up too fast"
| Atlanta Business Good.
| ATLANTA. February 16.-The cold
! weather of this week has produced a
/ good demand for winter-end goods at
! the local department stores, and there
has been little. If any, slackening In
buying of spring lines. Voluntary
reduction by so per cent of the freight
| rate on calcium arsenate by southern
| carriers is expected TO effect a de
4 cided reduction in the price of the
| boil weeyil poison to consumers.
Copyright. 1921
NEW YORK RESERVE BANK.