Evening star., 1924-11-20
RAILROADS T0BUY
MUCH EQUIPMENT
"Go Ahead Signal Means
Outlay of Nearly Billion
Dollars Next Year.
BY J. G. ROYLE.
>ecial Dispa tch to The Star.

NEW YORK. November 20.-The
railroads of the country have been
given the high ball." the signal to
90 ahead. AS consequence OF their
present position, they can be depend
ed on to spend nearly billion dol
lars In 1925 for new equipment, main
tenance and materials. These facts
became evident at the meeting Of repre-
sentatives Of the Class l roads in sssion
here today
Since the railroads are the best
customers Of score of different In
dustries, this spells activity and pros
perfty in certain lines from one end
OF the country to the other. Mainte-
nance alone requires terrific, ex-
penditure. 1t has been the general
impression Of the public that the days
OF railroad construction have been
passed except in the movies. But w.
II. kirkbride. engineer of maintenance
or way and structures of the South
ern Pacific Company, declares it has
just begun.
Old Tracks Being Rebuilt.
Track. he declares, is constantly
being rebuilt and old materials en-
tirely replaced. The old tracks con-
sisted of rails weighing Sc to so
pounds to the yard. Now 110-pound
rails are being used. In the last
year over 400 miles of old track have
been entirely reconstructed and over
$4,000 tons of rails replaced on the
Southern Pacific. Each year about
100000 ties are required for this
road alone. These cost from 81 to
$3.50 each and cutting them requires
the services of thousands of woods
men. Substitutes have been at
tempted, but so far railroad engi-
neers say that wooden ties provide
the best medium for transferring
tremendous traffic loads from steel
rails to stone ballast.
Gravel, extensively used as ballast
in the past, now Is being replaced on
nearly all roads by crushed rock or
smelter Stag, making a dustless. road
bed. Rock crushing plants have been
established by the various roads,
each of which provides enough ma
terial to ballast several miles of
track a day. One large carrier keeps
up 10000 miles Of fence along its
rights of way.
Heavy Equipment Orders.
To provide for the heavy traffic
which the railroads expect in 1925
they have already begun to fill their
requirements, although normally they
would not make these purchases for
some months yet. This trend was
aided by the position Of the equip
ment companies. which had largely
completed their heavy orders placed
last Spring and were willing to make
price inducements for business. which
would enable them to keep their
plants running at fair speed over
what normally would be a dull
period. The volume of orders which
has come in is sufficient to keep the
equipment manufacturers running at
capacity well into next Spring
This buying undoubtedly is a ma
Jor factor in tho trend toward high
er prices and larher production in the
steel industry. In the last two
months orders for 1850 freight cars
with 2.030 in the corresponding Pc
riod last year. Orders for the 10
months OF this year have Leen AZ per
cent heavier than for 1928. the total
being 123,350.
Seek Aid Of Shippers.
Roads are appealing to their pa
irons to help them get, or rather to
save, the money to make thes Sc ex-
tensive purchases. 1t is estimated
that at least $3.50, 5000 could be cut
from railroad expenses IL each ship
per loaded freight cars as he avily as
they were loaded during the war.
ItdilTOdO men Q6CiaTe tndt SuCn CO.
operation would also result in a saw
ing to shippers. since reduction In ex-
penses is the only road toward lower
freight rates.
Roads are also making efforts to
increase the number of cars hauled
per train and the gross tonnage per
train and to decrease fuel bills. Fig
Ures of the Interstate Commerce Com
mission show that while gross earn
ings OF the roads have increased 100
per cent in the last 10 years. oper-
ating expenses have risen 110 per
cent. wages 125 per cent and taxes
162 per cent per mile. On the other
hand, railroads are loading and NOV
ing more freight than at any time in
their history. There Is no danger of
a car shortage at present. but 1t is
by no means certain that one will not
occur II severe winter weather should
tie up certain equipment.