Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-23
RAIL CH|EFSST STUDY |
PLANE LINE RIVALS
Conviction That Air Travel
Is Practical Is Growing
Among Executives.
arac,sl n,spatch 10 The star.

epecial Dispatch TO The star.
NEW YORK, August 22--At a time
when "the plight of the railroads" is
a leading topic of discussion through
out the land, evidence Is accommodating
that American railroad executives are
becoming convinced of the practicability
and permanently of air travel in the
general transportation picture.
Some of the biggest railroad systems
now have large holdings in the air
lines and are adding to them steadily.
There are a few railroad financiers who
still will not admit that air trans
portation Is destined to make heavy
inroads In rail travel, but they are IN
the minority,
WneaO Ere cir lines parallel the rail
fNktems. the executives are keeping a
close check on their own patronage ana
are watching every move being mace
on the Nations skyways. Tney are
preparing to cope with the situation
whenever 1t becomes acute. Some are
even considering the establishments OF
their own lines and others already are
trying the experiment.
Rivals Speed Up Railroads.
AIR travel admittedly has speeded up
surface transportation wherever the
lines are paralleled by plane systems,
and some railroad officials admit that
the introduction of air travel In their
immediate field has increased their
traffic and forced them to put on finer,
faster trains and to increase their daily
schedule by additional trains. The
taste of fast air travel created a desire
to 20 faster by train, hence the rail-
roads were able to put on these extra
fare trains and obtain the patronage
without difficulty.
The PENNSYLVANIA road has large
holdings in Transcontinental and West
ern Air, Inc, the "Lindbergh line" that
parallels its system across the corti-
nent. The railroad system also Is af1li-
ated with the Ludington Line, which
operates passenger planes between New
York and Washington by way OF Pniia-
delphia The former line carries mail,
express and freight, besides passengers,
while the Ludington planes haul only
passengers on schedule which calls
for departure Of planes from New York
and Washington every hour. Gen. w.
w. Atterbury, president OF the PENN
sylvania Railroad, from the first has
been q hacker of air transport.
w. A. Hartman, director OF the
Illinois Central and Union Pacific, is
also a director of American Always,
which spans the continent from At
lanta to the Pacific. operates lines in
Alaska and has a network that stretches
from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of
Mexico.
Rail Head Studies Air Line.
Two Of the newest railroads to take
eognizance Of the air transport pos
sibilities are the Boston 81 Maine and
the Maine Central. They are coop
Grating with Pan-American Anyways
and American Always In the operation
of an air line which parallels their
system In New England.
Although J. J. Policy, president OF the
New York, New Haven a. Hartford, does
not have any holdings in the Colonial
Division of American Anyways, which
flies mail, express and passengers be-
tween New York and Boston, it Is
known that he has been studying the
progress the air line has made In the
last few years. The New Haven line
was one Of the railroads that was
forced to step UP its service and put
on additional extra-fare trains since ali
transport came into the picture.
The railroads have felt the competi-
ton Of the bus and viii feel that of the
air transport lines In q few years" an
air transport official said In discussing
the speeding up of travel He ad.
comforts to offer the traveller, but
Of the plane enabled man TO cross
the continent In day and half. as
compared to four and half days on
the fastest trains.
Copyright. 1887