REDUCTION OF WASTE IN MARKETING 
regularity than 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; 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. 
2—-43 
1329 
Rates 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, 
Fila., 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% 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, V4a., 
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 Yard, 
Virginia, is about 16, while the distance 
between Potomac Yard 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 1234 hours; 
to Boston from Potomac Yard, 36% to 40 
hours; and to Montreal, 463% hours. 
These figures include the time required 
