Evening star., 1928-06-07
BETTER RAILROAD
YEAR IN PROSPECT
Traffic on Steady Increase,
|. c. C.. Decisions Affect
Pending Rail Mergers.
BY 7. c. ROYLE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

! Special Dispatch TO The Star.
/ NEW YORK, June Tt is now APP
parent that railroad traffic is on the
/ increase and that it can be expected
to continue at q rate fully comparable
with that of 1927 up to the last quarter
of the year. This is abundantly fore
cast by the volume of industrial pro-
duction now in progress.
| The commodities being turned out
must be distributed. and the regional
| boards are signifying the need Of the
| country in their outlines for the num-
| Der Of cars required. Railroad profits
/ according to the transportation experts
can be expected to compare faForably
! with those Of other years.
| The recent decisions of the Interstate
/ Commerce Commission have had GER
! tain unsettling effect on some of the
| railroad situations. notably the Erie,
/ Chesapeake a. Ohio, Nickel Plate. Pere
| Marquette decision and the Wheeling
/ & Lake Erie and the Western Maryland
/ rulings. These decisions undoubtedly
will affect railroad financing TO some
/ extent.
| Control the Roads.
| AS to the actual operation OF the
/ roads involved, the rulings will make
/ little difference. The Van Sweringens
/ hold ocntrol Of the roads they proposed
! to merge, and viii continue TO operate
them whether they are formally joined
in q consolidation or not The attitude
Of the commission is affecting otner
roads with merger possibilities and Is
certainly delaying plans for further
concentration Of holdings.
Fer the last month, car loadings nave
increased at a faster rate than at any
time IN the last seven years. Tne total
loadings for the year are fast rising 70
the level which they reached in 1896
and 1927 and within few weeks It is
anticipated loadings viii be heavier
than year ago. Coal and ore loadlngs
are advancing and the volume of grain
/ carried Is higher than in 1927.
Harvesting has commenced in the
| Southwest and is moving steadily
| northward. with little chance Of inter-
rllption Of shipments until next Octo-
/ Der at least. The roads themselves are
in splendid shape physically and equip
nIent is in prime condition. To this
! fact is due the slack demand Tor freight
cars and locomotives This has left the
railroad equipment manufacturers In
worse case even than a year ago.
Moreover, the carriers are turning re-
newed attention to clectrification plans
and are loath 10 load up with additional
steam locomotives IN the meantime.
Safety Devices in Demand.
Automatic safety devices and signals,
on the other hand. are In sharp demand.
In fact, the Reading road has just put
a rev stretch Of road under such equip
ment this week.
So far this year freight car orders
have been held down 10 1853 units, or
Al per cent less than in the CORE
spending period Of 1927. Surplus Of
good order cars On hand on May is was
/ 299. .62e. Moreover. all cars are being
loaded more heavily and run more miles
PR day than year ago.
The aid given By Congress 10 the Fed
eral barge lines on the Mississippi and
Warrior Rivers viii undoubtedly be q
factor IN the rail- transportation situa-
tior There is no doubt that more
freight VIII be handled by the barge
lines this year than IN 1927. Last year
the Mississippi bargcs carried 535, 1853
tors up river in st. Louis and 4l3l0f
S2utn-bound. The Warrior River barges
carried 50,930 tons up and 99,997 down.