The border vidette., 1924-02-16
Traffic Handled Without Con-
gestion By Increased Rail-
road Efficiency
LOADING INDICATES
WESTERN PROSPERITY
Cars Loaded in 1923 Would
Make Train $500 Miles
Long; Would Encircle
United States

WSSCeFu shippers lOduCu 4,Voo,ooo
cars of freight on Southern Pacific's
Pacific System lines in 1923, an in
crease of almost 100000 cars over the
loading for 1922, which was S51,942
cars.
The 1923 loading, according to J.
II. Dyer, general manager Of the COM
pany, was the heaviest in the history
of the company.
II all the freight cars loaded on the
companys Pacific System in 1923 were
coupled up with the locomotives nee
essary to move them and with pro-
portionate number of cabooses, they
would make train $500 miles In
length--long enough to extend around
the United States from Portland, Ore
gon, through Chicago, Buffalo, New
York, Washington, New Orleans, Los
Angeles, San Francisco and back to
Portland, with about 400 miles OF cars
left over.
The figures cited give some idea OF
the prosperity and productiveness of
the western states, for these cars were
loaded in the states of Oregon, Cali
fornia, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and
New Mexico. The size OF the imagin-
airy train also gives an idea OF the
enormous task performed by the
Southern Pacific Company in handling
this traffic, which was moved quickly
and efficiently, without congestion or
general car shortage.
Southern Pacific, as one Of the
leading railroad systems of the coun-
try, has had a consistently good rec
ord in operating efficiency, extending
over period of years, but despite
this fact, Southern Pacific's 1928 per-
Torrance in heavy car loading, in
obtaining high daily mileage of
freight cars, and in keeping locomo-
tives and cars in repair, was uniform
ly better than in previous years.
Campaign Planned
When it became apparent that 1928
would be year of unusually heavy
traffic, the railroads joined in cam
paign to speed up transportation.
They set definite high standards of
operating efficiency as goal for the
individual roads to reach. These stand
ards were: 80 tons of freight per
car loaded; 80 miles per car per day:
IS per cent Of locomotives in service
able condition and not requiring heavy.
repairs by October 1, the start of the
season of heaviest traffic; and IS per
cent of freight cars in serviceable
condition, by October 1.
Southern Pacific bettered these
standards in every instance except in
the average carload, and its perform
ance in this respect was remark
ably good one and not to be measured
by the goal set for all the railroads,
because of Southern Pacific's large
tonnage of light loading, perishable
products, full car Of which averages
about fourteen tons.
The average tonnage per car loaded
in 1923 was 27.5 tons which was an in
crease of seven tenths of ton over
the excellent record made in 1922
The company made it's freight ears
travel twelve miles farther each day
than the goal set for the railroads as
a whole, getting an average daily
mileage per car of forty-two miles
In one month, an average of 47.3 miles
per car per day was obtained. The
average for 1922 was 36S miles.
Equipment in Repair -.
Southern Pacific, during 1928, aver
aged SS.5 per cent for the number of
locomotives in serviceable condition
and not needing heavy repairs as COM
pared with percentage Of S65 in 1922.
In only one month did the company
have less than S. per cent of it's loco
motives in seryiceable condition, the
goal set by the railroads as whole
for October 1. In only three months.
did the company have less than IS
per cent Of freight cars in serviceable
condition, the national goal by Oc-
tober /. The average for the year
was 95.4 per cent as compared with
1855 per cent in 1922.
Another Improvement in perform
ance was in the gross locomotive
load, which averaged 3 per cent better
in 1928 than in 1922. This means
that each locomotive was made to
haul a heavier load.
While there was shortage of re-
frigerator cars during the peak Of the
grape shipping season, it did not
approach liz extent the shortage of
1922 and did not appear until great
err tonnage OF grapes had been ship
ped up to that time than in any pre-
vious year.
The same effort for increased eff
cheney is being made in 1924, accord
Ing to Southern Pacific officials, and
improvements and additions are be-
ing steadily made over the system.
Mjre equipment, including new loco
motives and cars Of the finest design,
are being received, all uors are
EeEG ordered.