ilepoSls Western Pacific Volume XIX, No.3 MAY-JUNE, 1967 *Milepost No . 175 affiliates with Public Relations Department WESTERN PACIFIC RAILROAD SACRAMENTO NORTHERN RY. Fruit Growers Express TIDEWATER SOUTHERN RY. 526 Mission Street San Francisco, Calif. 94105 ONTRACTS have been completed ing arrangement with PFE has been Lee "Flash" Sherwood, Ed itor C with Fruit Growers Express Com­ satisfactory for nearly a half century, pany making Western Pacific one of the services to be offered by Fruit the owners of this large eastern-based Growers will be more compatible with Member car line headquartered in Washington, Western Pacific's needs during heavy Association D.C. Beginning at midnight, June 30, seasonal movements. of Roi.lroad Fruit Growers Express will supply all For one reason, Fruit Growers and Editors *Milepost No. 175: Approaching connection with of Western Pacific's refrigerator car its associated companies, Western Sacramento Northern, half mae ahead. and van requirements. This will en­ Fruit Express and Burlington Refrig­ able Western Pacific to offer greater erator Express, have heavy demands flexibility and improved service in for their equipment in eastern and moving perishables to the nation's southern areas of the United States MANIFEST Page markets. from November through May. This TV Winners Harold Ingebretsen and John Reis. See Page 10... .... Front Cove1' The development also marks the diversified refrigerated car and trailer equipment can then be released to Western Pacific Affiliates with Fruit Growers Express...... ...................................... 3 addition of California to the nation­ wide service area of Fruit Growers serve W estern Pacific's customers More Power Pulls Today's Freights................................................................... ....... 6 Express, which brought this comment whose season of heaviest demand is WP is Willing People............................................ ............................................... ... 8 from its President, J. J. Quinn: "We during the six months from May That's the Way the Tide Flows!............. ............................... .. .. .. .... .................. 10 are looking forward to joining with through October. On The Move ............ ' .."" .. """"""""" ............................ ............................ 12 Western Pacific in servicing their cus­ Western Pacific serves many perish­ D.O.T. Goes into Action .......................... ................... ... .. .. ................. ..... 13 tomers with the best in equipment ables shipping points in central and and perishable protective service." northern California. It also receives A Pipe gets V.I.P. Treatment.... ................. ... 14 In reply, President M. M. Christy shipments originating on its wholly­ People On The Move... .................................................................................... 15 said: "We are pleased that we will be owned subsidiaries, Sacramento Retirements ............................................................. ................ ............. .......... ................. 16 able to offer our customers the services Northern and Tidewater Southern; They Came from Far and Near to Honor Jimmy Lynch......... .... ............................... 17 of Fruit Growers' large fleet of mod­ from the Central California Traction Dear Editor: ......................................... ......................................................... 18 ern, high quality refrigerated cars and Company, jointly owned by WP, SFe and SP; and from two independent ·W.P.R.R. Means Safety .............. ....................... ................. ............................. 21 piggyback trailers." carriers, Modesto & Eastern Traction, Mileposts in Gold ..................... .......................... ......................................... 22 Concurrent with the start of the new service, Western Pacific will termi­ and Stockton Terminal and Eastern. Caboosing ................................... ......... ................................. 24 nate its contracts with Pacific Fruit P erishables are an important com­ Old Eyeglasses ............................................... ... .. ......................................... 30 Express, which have been in effect modity among the varied types of traf- In Memoriam ........................................ 31 since the early 1920s. While this work- (Continued on Poge 4) 2 ~7 MILEPOSTS MAY-JUNE, 1967 3 WP-FGE .. decreed by the Interstate Commerce frigerated trailers with loading capac­ Commission in February, 1965, to re­ WP-FGE . ity of 2,100 cubic feet. This popular fic carried by Western Pacific and tain its identity as an independent vehicle, widely used in perishable F the five major railroad-owned future prospects for increased p~rish­ railroad, the railroad has proceeded piggyback loadings for both fresh and O refrigerator car lines, Fruit abIes traffic are good. These predic­ with a vigorous marketing policy. As frozen commodities, will have r ibbed, Growers Express Company is the sec­ tions are partly based on the increased Charles K . Faye, WP's assistant vice molded fibreglass lining, sliding tan­ ond largest. If Fruit Growers associ­ use of higher capacity mechanical re­ president-freight sales, put it-"... our dems and load r estraining devices. ated lines (Western Fruit Express frigerator cars (which FGE can sup­ arrangements with Fruit Growers are Two hundred additional mechanical owned by Great Northern, and Bur­ ply), heavier loadings due to incentive one example of how our Company reefer cars are scheduled to be built lington Refrigerator Express owned rates, continuing growth in the frozen confidently proposes to move forward. at mid- year with high-load, 57 % ­ by Burlington Railroad) are included, foods traffic, and the growing phe­ It's another way by which we propose foot capacity, cushion underframes it ranks closely with PFE, the largest nomenon of piggyback services. Im­ and expect to give better perishables load dividers, and insulated foamed~ in terms of total cars owned and total portant, too, is the fact that since service to our many California cli­ in-place polyurethane. Western Pacific emerged from its con­ assets. Fruit Growers is controlled by ents." This building program will follow trol fight with SP and SFe and was 15 railroads including Wester n Pacific (Continued o n Page 5) which own all of FGE's capital stock. the completion this year of 466 insu­ Both the mechanical and ice bunker lated box cars for lease to FGE owner railroads. They are 50-foot cars with Although regular service begins on July 1 some refrigerator cars of the three compa­ F. G.E. refrigerated trailers have been rolling nies are operated on a pool basis, and cushion underframes, insulated, and on WP roils on a cooperative basis. are used as if all were of the same equipped with latest type loading de­ ownership. Virtually all of the 15 vices and side fillers. owning, or member, roads of FGE are Beginning in August this year, 200 also contract lines for use of their cars mechanical refrigerated cars will also (and trailers) , and perishable protec­ be built for Western Fruit Express. tive services. In addition, some 40 The 1967 acquisitions will bring the other non-member roads are contract FGE-WFE-BRE fleet to more than lines of FGE. Burlington and Great 24,000 refrigerator cars and 3,500 trail­ Northern railroads are not contract ers. Shippers located on their contract lines, but through their car line sub­ sidiaries (BRE and WFE) obtain the railroads have their choice of the use of cars in the FGE pool. giant - sized mechanical car, or the sleek, high - cube trailer-both with Western Pacific will have the b enefit automatically controlled temperatures of Fruit Grower's pool of over 3,000 refrigerated trailer units which will from zero to 70 degrees; modern insu­ provide Western Pacific with a more lated box cars which afford cann ed adequate supply of refrigerated equip­ and bottled goods (and all semi­ ment to enable the railroad to better perishable commodities) a safe and solicit and handle piggyback as well smooth ride; or the standard ice re­ as refrigerator car traffic. frigerator car which throughout the In addition to equipment already years has been preferred for many owned, Fruit Growers Express recent­ fresh fruit and vegetable shipments. ly announced an expenditure of $20- All in all the affiliation is a good million for additional mechanically move- for Western Pacific, for Fruit refrigerated equipment in 1967. This Growers Express, and for WP's cus­ year, FGE will take de.livery of 500 tomers and their important perish­ additional 40-foot mechanically re- ables traffic! 4 MILEPOSTS MAY-JUNE,1 967 5 MORE POWER PULLS TODAY'S FREIGHTS ESTERN PACIFIC was one of sev­ W eral railroads pioneering diesel freight service in the United States, purchasing 12 FT units early in 1941. During the peak of World War II ad­ ditions were made to the fleet, bring­ R. E. Shid eler, superintendent of shops, took ing the total number of F T diesels to this picture on March 24 o·f the last FT locomo­ tive to leave Sacramento Shops. Foremen in the 48 by 1944. pi.cture a re, from left , E. V. McCorkle, E. R. Mc­ The FT's were generally operated Pherson, l. H. Clapham, W. E. Fosha, E. W. in groups of four units to form one Steuben, T. N. Fa ssett. One of WP's newest locomotives, a GP-40 5,400-h.p. locomotive, contributing a total of 64,800-h.p. to WP's diesel fleet. This was enough power and versatil­ ity to move