Riding the Locomotive That Shifts Like A
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RIDING THE LOCOMOTIVE THAT SHIFTS LIKE A CAR Call for Change in Rate Structure IN THIS ISSUE CALL FOR CHANGE IN RATE STRUCTURE Is Sounded by NYC President SOUNDED BY NYC PRESIDENT . 2 SEVERE STORM STUNS SERVICE . 3 "The railroads of the United States must take a more realistic ap• But employes pull trains through proach to the pricing of their transportation if they are to remain strong RIDING THE LOCOMOTIVE THAT and efficient." These are the words of New York Central's President, SHIFTS LIKE A CAR 4 Alfred E. Perlman, in an address before the Toronto Railway Club last A ride in the cab of NYC's Xplorer month in Toronto, Ont. —Reprinted from Popular Science Monthly Mr. Perlman called for a flexible freight rate structure that takes into account cost of service, standby requirements, load factor, demand NYC SPONSORS MICHIGAN 4-H SHOW 7 and volume. GOLD PASSES REWARD LONG NYC SERVICE 7 "While all other utilities and other forms of transportation base their charges upon costs, plus an adequate return on investment, the railways REPORT ON THE GIRL OF THE CENTURY 8 DESPITE HAMPERING SNOW DRIFTS, TRAINS ON THE CENTRAL PLOWED THROUGH TO KEEP SERVICE ACTIVE DURING BLIZZARD. have based their freight rates upon the theory of what the traffic will PREVENTION VIEWS 9 bear," Mr. Perlman said. "This is carried down from the time when the RAIL QUIZ 9 railroads had a monopoly in inland transportation. Employes pull NYC out of snow as TRANSPORTATION TAXES PENALIZE "Since this monopoly has not existed since the advent of the EVERYBODY 10 motor truck and airplane, the railroads' rate structure must be changed By Samuel H. Hellenbrand, Director Severe Storm Stuns Service to meet the new conditions of competition, if railroads are to survive. of Taxes inter's worst weapon against the senger trains made unscheduled stops to be abandoned throughout the area. The Canadian railways have been more realistic in this regard and it HEADLIGHT HIGHLIGHTS .... 12 railroad—the sudden freak at spots east and west of Erie to pick Red Cross units were active in the is high time we in the States modernize our pricing structure." Around the System in pictures W snow storm—struck its hardest blow up stranded motorists and even freight distressed area. Helicopters were Although United States railroads since World War II have spent W. T. ALEXANDER SUCCEEDS R. H. McGRAW AS GENERAL MANAGER OF in 12 years at the city of Erie, Pa., on and work trains were picking up pressed into service from the U. S. Air billions for physical improvements based on new scientific and techno• WESTERN DISTRICT 14 Thanksgiving Day, isolating the city snow-bound travelers in isolated coun• Force at Ft. Belvoir, Va., for emer• logical developments, rate systems have not been similarly modernized, CENTRAL MEN NAMED TO NEW POSTS 14 and surrounding countryside. try places. gency medical and food distribution Mr. Perlman said. The present rate structure, he said has: The blizzard, which weather bureau Extra work crews were called out and rescue service. Several thousands Forced the railroads into the position of a standby industry. NYC FREIGHT SALESMEN MEET TO MAP '57 COURSE 15 officials tagged "the Lake Erie phen• to keep the rails clear and many em• of people, unable to reach their des• Driven rates upward, by general increases, to the point where trucks omenon" caused Erie's Mayor, Arthur ployes were forced to trudge several tinations, were cared for in local NEWS BRIEFS 17 now take much of the most profitable business. Gardner, to declare a state of emer• miles through rapidly increasing drifts churches, schools, fire stations, private THE SAFETY ZONE 18 Helped divert more than half the freight business to private, un• gency in the area. Public transporta• to reach the tracks. Snow fighters were homes—and in some instances—jails! regulated carriers. THESE ARE THE FACTS 20 tion was brought to a standstill and hired by the railroad especially to com• No single New York Central man About NYC's current business bat the elements and these men, as well can be praised above another since Mr. Perlman recalled that in the early days of railroading, a carload private vehicles were left abandoned in HERITAGE OF PROGRESS .... 21 as all of the train and engine service everyone—train crews, office workers, of sugar beets could be shipped to the refinery at a rate below the cost drifts that reached heights of five and First installment of a new capsule crews, remained on the job, battling supervisors—pitched in and did the of transporting them. This was because the value of the beets in the car six feet. history of the New York Central System the blizzard until conditions were work that had to be done. It was an• was so low that adequate transportation charges would have distorted However, with virtually all surface PENSION POINTERS 21 under control. other fine example of the way in which the sale price of the commodity, F.O.B. the refinery. transportation halted and all airline service completely shut down, trains on State highways and secondary road the men of the New York Central, To compensate for this loss in hauling beets, the railroads added to QUIZ ANSWERS 21 the Erie Division managed to come routes were completely blocked, not without fanfare and fuss, always pitch the rate charged for the refined sugar moving from the refinery to RECENTLY RETIRED 22 through, although service was, of only by the severe snow drifts but by in to meet and conquer any emergency market, because of the much higher value of the sugar, Mr. Perlman course, drastically slowed down. Pas• the trucks ana" passenger cars that had arising on the railroad. said. THE COVER: This month our cover sym• bolizes the start of a new year. Bright with "As the spiral of inflation increased, the rails asked for a percentage hope, New York Central, represented by a increase in all rates," he said. "This still did not give a compensatory model of one of its diesels, crashes through rate for the sugar beets; moreover, rates for refined sugar reached the the calendar on its way into the future. point where much of such sugar could profitably be transported by trucks, which base their rates upon the cost of handling commodities." HEADLIGHT Similar challenges have been met more realistically by electric power JANUARY, 1957 companies, which face competition with publicly financed and non-taxed 10 facilities, Mr. Perlman said. They have not become a standby industry Vol. 18 No. 1 Printed in U. S. A. because they charge more for standby service than for regular service. They also charge more to the small user than to the customer who uses a NORMAN M. STONE Editor large volume of power, Mr. Perlman said. He added: ALLAN R. CAHAN "Years ago, many industries and municipalities generated their own Assistant Editor KATHERINE MOORE power, but the pricing structure of the public utilities, plus their greater Editorial Assistant efficiency due to mass production soon ended this competition. So, while The HEADLIGHT is published by the New the public utilities are subject to regulation, just as are the railroads, last York Central System for its active and year in the United States they earned 9.7 percent on their investment, retired employes and their families. All communications should be addressed to the while the railroad industry showed a return of little over half of that. HEADLIGHT editorial office: Room 522, 466 "Thus the railroads should realize that their old, monopolistic theory Lexington Avenue, New York 17, N. Y. of basing rates upon what the traffic will bear must be cast aside to be Member: American Railway Magazine PARALYZED MAIN STREET of Erie, Pa., can be seen as NEITHER SNOW NOR SLEET will keep this U. S. Mail Editors Association; House Magazine In• replaced with a sensible rate structure, which will take into account such truck from its appointed rounds as snowplow-equipped stitute ; and International Council of Indus• night falls over storm devastated area. Stalled cars at items as standby requirements, load factor, demand and volume." trial Editors. curb made all but small area inaccessible to snowplows. tractor moves in to the rescue during the storm in Erie area. 2 New York Central Headlight January, 1957 3 SUPERCHARGER COOLER BOB COOPER, veteran engineer (41 years with NYC) highballs The Xplorer on its start out of Cleveland. DRIVE SHAFTS TRANSMISSION AXLE DRIVE Riding the Locomotive ThatShifts Like a Car What It's like in the cab of the first diesel mainliner to have a torque-converter transmission This article was written by a Senior Editor the side windows have sliding panels with the early automatic car transmis• as Cooper scoops up a train order. STANDARD COACH XPLORER COACH of Popular Science Monthly, after he rode and wind wings. sions. The green flimsy annuls a previous in the locomotive cab of The Xplorer on a For riders there is a wooden bench regular run from Cleveland to Cincinnati. "It'll shift to third at 44, and into order. "They've got the westward track It appeared first in the December, 1956, with a cushion, set against the bulk• high at 70," the engineer explains. repaired," says Cooper. "Saves us wait• issue of Popular Science and is reprinted head. Tucked into a niche is a water Now the throttle is in the sixth notch, ing for that manifest freight." here by special permission of that publica• cooler. Beside it is the instrument the tach at 1,500. You wait for the up• The other train roars past before tion.