The sub., 1945-09-13

110WS. AnSIS II UC JOOS nCAS'
 Just before automobile building was stopped back three years aga, one maker was using an all-welded frame in his cars. This was not 8 conventional type of frame, out rather on the bridge-girder idea, with members going up past the windshield, over the doors and down the back panels, with various cross-memberS. The body was att tached directly to this frame. This sensible design lowers the car floor, makes the sprung part of the car one unit, and increases protection for the occupants while indulging in rolling down banks or diSputing rights-of-way. Welding was used in the fabrication of these frames, and To! more will be heard of this great improvement in body construction.
 The inevitable increases in the sizes of busses and trucks will open up a fine field for welderS, either in the large shops or as builders of special units. In the truck line, welding offers the possibility of the truck being attached to the big box or the tank, rather the faSten- ing hem onto the truck as sort of after-thought, resulting in far lighter and simplified unit. The greatest asset of the welding pro- cess is the flexibility of design it makes possible. It also means strength with lightness. Dead weight is the great profit-reducer in transportation, and it is the greatest headache for the designers. Welding has already proved itself in the transportation business.
 Americas railroads have taken a pounding these war years, and have opened our eyes as to their real importance in our Set-up. When it comes to moving a lot of material in a hurry they are the ones that can do it. The rolling stock is get ting rather battered, though ancient freight cars and coaches have been pulled off rusty Sidings, and the modern stock has been used and used. When war traffic has died down and material and labor are again available, the railroads will want to junk lot of stock, remodel the best stuff, and get in a lot of new cars of all types. Here again, dead-weight Is the great profit-re- ducer. Just welding up an ordin- ary freight car would reduce the weight a respectable amount, as well as increase the strength and longevity. Redesigned for welding, rolling stock cap be greatly re- duced in weight at no sacrifice of any essential quality. The great work of the railroads is moving freight long distances in large amounts by what is usually the shortest and Ievelest route. Using, in general, that abundant fuel, soft coal, the freight train is here to stay, even to increase as Americas naturalization roarS on. More stuff to move about means more means to move it. Trucks have nib- bled at the business, but the coun- try'S 25 million car owners will never stand for "trainS' on the highways. It is bad enough now. The railroad car of the future will be all-welded. Why? Because the result is lighter, stronger, longer lived and better adapted to it's use. And quieter too, we hope.
 The proven success of welding as the means of fabricating that great est of all pressure-veSsels, the sub- marine, throws a rosy light on the future of welding where locomo- tive construction is concerned. Live steam under great pressure attacks rivet heads, lap-joints, stay bolts. etc, pitting or growing them. weakening the joint or the plate until a dangerous condition comes about. Welding boiler makes pos sible a smooth interior, rounded corners, etc., virtually eliminating these troubles. Welding, properly done, is automatically leak-proof and the joint is just as strong and flexible as the plate itself. This just about answers two of the boilermakerS' biggest problems. All in all, the railroads are going to offer a place by the boiler to the welder who knows his stuff.
 Steel, of course, is an old story where building construction is con-