Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-01-02
Railroads Carried
Impossible Load
Last Year
Py the Associated Press.


CHICAGO, Jan. 2.-The dispatch
er's nightmare of 1915, when the
Nations railroads carried an "im-
possible" load through victory and
the shift from war to peace, ap-
parently won't be eased until at least
June /, 1916.
Confronted with an all-out two
front war early in 1945, the railroads
were forced to shift the heavy east
ward burden to westbound move
ment after Germany fell May 8
and then again reverse the flow
after Japan quit August IA.
There ensued, especially since Oc-
tober 7, the greatest concentrated
handling of passengers on record,
due to the tremendously accelerated
return of military personnel from
the Pacific, as well as Europe. A
log-jam of nearly 10000 troops,
hoping against hope to get home
by Christmas, developed on the
Pacific Coast in December, despite
eastward rail movement of $4,000 a
day on as many as so troop trains
plus 10000 more nonregular trains
However, Col. j. Monroe Johnston,
director of Defense Transportation,
predicted this bottleneck would be
of short duration.
One Every IL Minutes.
So great was the eastward move
ment of passengers and freight that
one western railroad early in De-
cember counted one train passing
given point every II minutes for
"a hours.
Col. johnson in June said that on
paper the railroads task for the
rest of the year was impossible, ="
yet somehow it was done.
Hugh w. Siddall, chairman of the
Western Military Bureau. said
5000, GOO Army and Navy personnel,
returned to the United States from
We day to year end, were trans
ported by rail, most of them making
at least three trips.
| The total for December alone was
about 1,250,000, far more than anti
| cipated because ships arrived faster
than expected.
| Chairman C. E. Johnston of the
Western Association of Railway
Executives said that nationally the
railroads moved about CTS billion
revenue freight-ton miles and 80
billion passenger-miles in 1945,
somewhat less than in 1914. From
Pearl Harbor to this autumn the
railroads handled about $4,000, 900
armed service passengers in IS
months.
The magazine Railway Age pre-
dicted no let-up before next June
l, on the expectation troop move
ments will continue at about 1000
900 month until then.
Little Hope for Civilians.
Thus the situation for civilian
travellers. tougher in l945 than ever
before, promises to get little better
for at least another half year.
More than 80 per cent of all east
bound passenger traffic from the
West Coast in December was mill
tary. Nationally nearly rs per cent
of all sleeping car space, some 172,-
900 rolling beds, was allocated to
the military.
The problem included movement
of families to visit servicemen. in
ternal troop movements, repatria-
ton Of war prisoners, mass exodus
from war plant areas, necessary re-
conversion business travel and peo.
pie taking long-deferred vacations
| The railroads began 1915 with
three months of traffic disruptine
/ winter storms in the East. Through
out the year all authorities, includ-
ing President Truman, pleaded with
civilians to vacation at home" but
the only thing that stopped them
from travelling seemed to be ply
steal inability to get aboard trains.
High school athletes worked on
section gangs to help relieve man.
power shortages. Some men in Chi
cagos alimony row were released
from jail to take railroad jobs
Soldiers were furloughed for the
purpose.
Restrictions were placed on con.
ventions, fairs, trade shows, group
and resort travel, transporting race
horses, while civilian sleeping cal
trips were limited to a minimum O.
$50 miles and reservations coulc
be made only five days in advance
Pullman Sale Approved.
A 1945 highlight was APPROVAL by
the Philadelphia Federal Court OF
the sale of the Pullman sleeping cal
operating facilities to a combine Of
~ railroads. The parent concern
Pullman, Inc. elected to stay in the
car manufacturing business under &
court order to step out of either OPP.