REDUCTION OF WASTE IN MARKETING 



1329 



regularity tlian are ordinary freight 

 trains. Delays are reduced to a minimum, 

 and especial care is taken to have the 

 cars carrying these fruits and vegetables 

 move promptly along the way. "Where the 

 traffic justifies it, entire trains are made 

 up of such produce. 



One feature of this service is the tele- 

 graphic report which is made of each car 

 as it passes each reporting station on its 

 route. These "passing" reports, however, 

 are made on some railroads for lower 

 classes of freight also. 



Some of the principal parts of this sys- 

 tem were in use before 1885 on at least 

 one railroad. Cars were reported by tele- 

 graph on passing certain points, and their 

 movement was recorded in the central 

 office, not only in writing but by means 

 of pegs. Each car was represented by a 

 peg bearing the symbol of the car and in- 

 serted in a block which represented the 

 train. The route over which the cars 

 moved was represented by a board on 

 which vertical lines and spaces indicated 

 the various stations from which "passing" 

 reports were made. When a train was 

 reported to have passed a station, the 

 block representing the train was moved 

 past the place on the board that repre- 

 sented the station. The telegraphic re- 

 port mentioned each car in the train j cars 

 not so mentioned were accounted for, with 

 the reason for delay, or were the subject 

 of prompt inquiry from the central office. 

 This system is now in use on a number 

 of railroads. The information shown on 

 the board is kept also in written form, 

 and, on some railroads, it is summarized 

 in circulars, issued daily. The "board" 

 is convenient but not an essential part of 

 this sytem. Some railroads do not use a 

 board at all; they keep all their "pass- 

 ing" records on paper. 



To facilitate telegraphing in some of 

 these "passing-report" systems, each car 

 may be given a symbol after the train is 

 made up. The symbol consists of a letter 

 or group of letters, which indicate the 

 station of origin, and a number to desig- 

 nate the car. The car is known by this 

 symbol until it reaches its destination 

 and the contents are delivered. 



Ba,tes of Speed 



The average rate of speed over long 

 distances for carloads of perishable freight 

 depends largely upon the character of the 

 roadbed and the number of transfers from 

 one railroad to another. From Los An- 

 geles to Chicago and from Jacksonville, 

 Fla., to Chicago, the rate of speed aver- 

 ages about 13 miles an hour, including all 

 stops. One train was scheduled to run 

 from Los Angeles to Chicago in 173 hours 

 and 25 minutes, the average rate being 

 13.1 miles per hour. A vegetable express 

 run from Jacksonville to Chicago over 

 three or four different railroads covers 

 about 1,140 miles in 89^,6 hours, the aver- 

 age rate being 12.7 miles per hour. By 

 another route the trip from Jacksonville 

 to Chicago is reported to be made in as 

 short a time as 84 hours. Over some 

 routes which do not traverse mountains 

 the average rate, including stops, is 

 about 16 miles per hour for long distances. 

 A certain train from New Orleans to Chi- 

 cago covers 930 miles in 57 hours and 20 

 minutes, the average rate being 16.2 miles 

 per hour; and on the Atlantic coast a 

 train carrying Florida produce northward 

 runs from Tampa, Fla., to Richmond, Va., 

 in 54 hours and 15 minutes, making an 

 average of 15.8 miles per hour. After a 

 train is once made up and does not have 

 to stop so often to receive new cars the 

 rate of speed is naturally much higher. 

 Between Memphis and Chicago the aver- 

 age rate of speed for a certain train is 18 

 miles per hour, while the rate from New 

 Orleans to Memphis is 14 to 15 miles per 

 hour. From Tampa to New York the rate 

 for the distance south of Potomac Tard, 

 Virginia, is about 16, while the distance 

 between Potomac Tard and New York is 

 covered at an average rate of more than 

 18 miles per hour. 



At the rates of speed mentioned in the 

 preceding paragraph, a train would run 

 from 312 to 432 miles in 24 hours. The 

 time taken to move cars from Potomac 

 Yard, Virginia, just south of Washington, 

 D. C-, to New York, is about 12% hours; 

 to Boston from Potomac Yard, 36% to 40 

 hours; and to Montreal, 46% hours* 

 These figures include the time required 



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