WESTERN PACIFIC Jl!~!~p.~Sls 'Best wishes for a verB O)errB Christmas ilepoSts Vol. x, No. 5 DECEMBER, 1958 • Mi.lepost No. 113 D ~ partment of Publi c Re lations WESTERN PACIFIC RAILROAD SACRAMENTO NORTHERN RY. TIDEWATER SOUTHERN . RY. 526 Mission Street To All Members of the San Francisco 5, California Lee " Flash" She rwood, Editor Western Pacific Family: A . L. Lioyd, Associate Editor * Milepost No. 113: Ap­ proaching Thornton, about midway between I he year has been a trying period for Stockton-Sacramento. many. However, it now appears that CONTENTS Page with recovery on the way 1959 should be better President's Christmas Message ___ ________ _ ___________ 2 When Santa Leaves an Electric Train ___ _ ______ 4 for all concerned. Teachers Learn Railroad ABC's __ _ _____ 10 How We're Doing _________________ _ ___________ _ 11 Dear Editor: _____________ _ _____ ___ 12 Mileposts in Gold ________ ____ _ __ 13 WP Will RemembeL ____ __ ____________ 14 I he Board of Directors and the General R ailroaders on the Move_____ _ ________ 15 In Memoriam ________________________ _____ ____________ _ 16 Officers join me in expressing to all Paul J enner sez: "Don't Be HALF Safe!" 18 Caboosing ____________ ________________ ________ ____________________ ______________ ___ _ _ __ 19 members of our Western Pacific Family our very "This was Railroading" ________________ _ __ 27 "Thirty-seven Miles of Snow" __ _______ 27 best wishes for a Merry Holiday Season, and a Christmas Lines ___________ _____ __________ . _________________________ _ _ _____ 28 safe, bright and Happy New Year. COVER: This winter scene of the Exposition Flyer was taken at Sloat in January, 1949, by the late Fireman A. D. Vogel. The Vista-dome car midway in, the train Most sincere! y, went into Californ;a Zephyr service the following March . ~7 DECEMBER, 1958 3 area was very crowded and, quite sur­ HERE was a small pile of descriptive prising, there weren't many young­ Tliterature on one corner of the sters. Mostly men, like himself! counter, and he reached over some­ It took more than a glance to see the one's shoulder for a copy of "Life at entire pike. Trains were running in Lionel." every direction - passengers and He had never associated model elec­ freights - through tunnels, around tric trains with big business, but what curves, across mountain passes, and Dad read beginning on page 7 opened over bridges. Tiny villages, country his eyes. The story of The Lionel farms, and illuminated industries had a Corporation. realistic look. A flashing light blinked "Its steady growth over a period of on and off as a double-headed freight more than a half a century, is typical ran past a crossing. He had felt a little of thousands of American industries. foolish when he had exclaimed louder It has grown to provide more and more than he had wanted, "that's a WP employment each year and higher train!" And except for size it was no standards of living, exemplifying the when Santa leaves different than those on which he opportunities available to all under the worked. an electric train . .• American system of free enterprise. Lionel is the only toy firm listed by the A Lione l operator r emov ~s a locomotive body New York Stock Exchange. Sales run from the mold of a die-casting machine. over $20 million each year and ship­ he knows very well who it's for! ments are made to 62 foreign countries. Altogether, some 25,000 miles of Lionel track have been laid in the living HRISTMAS is a wonderful day-when Before Rusty can curl up into a ball rooms, basements and attics of six con­ C it finally arrives! The family's all at his feet, his head begins to nod. tinents. Pre-Christmas thoughts soon run together, the tree's trimmed, gifts are 58th Anniversary wrapped, and the gobbler's turning through his mind. Particularly, the brown in the oven. Dad finds the day he had gone Christmas shopping "Lionel Manufacturing Co. came into morning paper a bit easier to read after for his son. existence in 1900 in a small loft in New he's downed a second cup of coffee. Strange how, without calling the York. Its personnel consisted of its The children - not too surprisingly­ floor, the operator sensed his wants founder, Joshua Lionel Cowen, and a are especially well behaved. Even the and opened the elevator door at the single helper. Personnel today num­ family pooch, Rusty, seems to sense floor for toys. And, there was a certain bers about 3,000, and the business pro­ something's in the air. It's Christmas! sense of pride, and responsibility, too, vides them a comfortable living. as he elbowed his way through pack­ Mom has a million and one things to "Early models were made by hand do. "Better duck out of sight," Dad aged-down shoppers. "No, thank you," and resembled flat cars. Electricity was decides, "because I'll only be in her he had said to an "extra girl" over­ not in wide use for home lighting in way." He tosses an extra log on the anxious to make a sale. Cute, too! fire, loads his well-rubbed meer­ It was easy to find the right counter, those days, so each car was equipped schaum Santa left a few years back, as flashing lights brightly illuminated with a tiny motor operated by battery. and slides into his favorite chair. the big Lionel sign hanging overhead. Tracks consisted of strips of thin metal "Probably be late when I get to bed He stepped a little closer for a better inserted into slots in wooden rails. The tonight so might as well catch a couple look, and heard the familiar shrill first accessory was a manually oper­ of winks." whistle of a tiny diesel engine. The ated switch. 4 MILEPOSTS DECEMBER, 1958 5 the company was incorporated as The "With the cessation of hostilities on Lionel Corporation, with Mr. Cowen as August 17, 1945, Lionel was faced with its president. a reconversion of plant facilities to "By the late 1920's, the demand for meet the coming Christmas trade. By Lionel equipment had reached such October assembly lines were humming, proportions facilities were again inade­ and thousands of sets were delivered quate. Land was purchased at the before Christmas arrived. present plant site in Irvington, and a "In 1945, Lawrence Cowen, son of the new factory building was erected. firm's founder, became President and "Production of miniature trains con­ Co-General Manager with the elder tinued on a curtailed scale in addition Mr. Cowen. The son joined the firm in to government work when America 1937 and served in an advisory capa­ was preparing for national defense in city. 1940. All peace-time work came to an "Each year following has witnessed After the body has abrupt halt with World War II, and new additions to the plant and all have been die cast, burrs the entire plant was pressed into the been outgrown within a period of and excess metal are production of war materials. months. Lionel trains have become one removed from the casting in cleaning operation. The assembly of many small parts requires deft ees. More than SO assembly operators work on fingers as shown by these experienced employ. this 135-foot-lon9 conveyor line, one of several. "Lionel was quick to take advan­ the transition from hand to machine tage of the increased use of electricity work. Three years later the firm again and a transformer was developed. Bat­ needed more space to grow and moved tery operated cars gave way to house to New Haven, Conn. current and each succeeding year saw "In 1914 the firm rented half of a the addition of new items to the line. four-story building in Newark, N. J., "The natural fascination of tiny elec­ and shortly thereafter the other two tric trains was responsible for the com­ floors were acquired. Even this proved pany's growth. But two other factors inadequate, and in 1917 a large factory contributed materially to keep it mov­ building was obtained in Irvington, ing forward at a rapid pace. Its founder N. J. strove constantly to improve the qual­ "During World War I, Lionel turned ity of his product, and he put virtually to building compasses, Compensating all of the profits back into the business Binnacles, Azimuth Periscopes, and a to expand production facilities and in­ variety of signal apparatus and naviga­ crease the firm's output. tional instruments. "By 1907 Lionel had outgrown its "The expansion of the company space and moved to larger quarters. made numerous changes within the or­ P ower presses were installed, marking ganization necessary and, in July, 1918, 6 MILEPOSTS DECEMBER, 1958 7 of America's favorite hobbies. Fans consist of the great names of Broad­ way, the sports world, Hollywood and Wall Street, and ages run from little shavers of four or six to men sixty or more in every walk of life. "In 1953 a new air-conditioned fac­ tory and office building were com­ pleted, and more than 100,000 square feet of additional space is available for further expansion. "All of this came about because of the dreams and ambitions of Joshua L. Cowen, whose leadership has created employment for many people and a product that has brought happi­ ness to millions of homes." A New York restaurant operates a miniature freight train that delivers hamburgers Dad slipped the booklet into his on flatcars to youngsters around the counter.