BOB MEREDITH

. . . out on the front line w h e r e everything counts

Meet Bob Meredith, Salesman. You see him making the

rounds. What's he selling? "You," he says. "I mean that literally," he empha­

sizes. "The only product anybody will

buy from me is efficient transporta­tion. And you Penn Central people are the ones I depend upon to pro­duce it.

"I mean you trainmen, enginemen, yard clerks, yardmasters.

"I mean freight agents, car tracers, car inspectors, car repairmen.

"I mean trackmen, signalmen, towermen, rate clerks, secretaries, key-punch operators—all the thou­sands of people who have something to do with moving freight or dealing with customers or helping the Rail­road reach top efficiency.

"Your knowledge, your skill, your conscientious w o r k . . . .

'That ' s what I'm selling." Robert G. Meredith is a redheaded

six-footer who started railroading in 1946 as a telegrapher in his home town, Westport, Ind., after two years with the U.S. Marines. He's now the PC sales representative covering the northern half of Youngstown, Ohio, and the busy industrial area stretch­ing up toward Lake Erie.

He's one of Penn Central's sales­men who solicit business along the 20,000-mile System and in key cities elsewhere in the country.

"Our Railroad's very existence de-

B o b M e r e d i t h starts his d a y m a k i n g s u r e his c u s t o m e r s ' f r e i g h t is m o v i n g o n t i m e .

H e cal ls o n F l o y d L. P o i r e r , t ra f f ic m a n a ­g e r f o r K a i s e r R e f r a c t o r i e s , t o discuss t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f D F ( d a m a g e - f r e e ) c a r s .

pends upon attracting more busi­ness—bringing in more dollars to meet our payroll and pay our bills," Bob Meredith says in his broad-voweled Hoosier way.

His typical work day is a series of ups and downs.

"One call gets you new carloads— the next one is a turndown," he says.

He tells about a visit to a small manufacturing firm.

"I handed in my card and waited," he recalls. "And waited.

"After twenty minutes, the traffic manager walked in, said, 'I have nothing for you,' and walked out before I could get in a word."

But things turned out differently in a call at another firm.

"We'd been getting practically none of this company's business," Bob Meredith says. "I found that the trouble was that we couldn't provide the special bulkheaded gon­dolas this company needed.

"After several calls and consulta­tion with our Transportation Depart­ment, we worked out an arrangement to get these cars from a connecting line which serves the Southwest, where this freight was going.

"We got the business—first a little, then a lot.

"We were subsequently able to supply new cars of the same type, built by us.

"And this shipper is very happy with our service—which brings us revenue in the tens of thousands of dollars."

Bob Meredith's day starts with an early breakfast with his wife, Ruth, before their daughters—Julie, Kathy and Linda—are awake. He gets to the PC office in downtown Youngs­town by 7:45 A.M., and promptly starts checking how his customers' freight is being handled.

First, he gets a list of the loaded cars waybilled out of his territory the day before. He selects cars that need particular attention and types their numbers on his ICL (Instant Car Locator) machine. This produces a tape, which transmits his message to the central computer.

Back comes a message giving the last reported location of each car, thus verifying whether the car is being moved on schedule. If action is needed, he phones the trainmas­ter's office.

Next he reviews his "yellow sheet" —the computer report of freight volume in his territory, showing where business is going up or down. This guides him in planning his calls.

Then he's out in his automobile, covering his territory.

To the customers he calls upon, a sales representative is many things. He's the guy the shipper looks for

In his c a r h e p r e p a r e s f o r his n e x t c a l l b y r e v i e w i n g t h e latest r e p o r t o n t h e v o l ­u m e a n d t r e n d s o f t h e customer's f r e i g h t .

B o b M e r e d i t h discusses l o a d i n g s w i t h A l M . B r o e n n l e , d i r e c t o r o f p u r c h a s e s a n d t raf f ic a t V a l l e y M o l d a n d I r o n C o . , m a k e r o f p i g - i r o n m o l d s , w h i c h w e i g h a s m u c h as 50 t o n s .

ments, to get advice on problem shipments, to clear up rate questions, to get loading suggestions, to get cost-cutting ideas, and to be the liai­son between the customer and the Transportation and other Depart­ments.

"You never know what you're going to run into," Bob Meredith says.

On a recent visit to a major com­pany, Mr. Meredith found that the shipper had ordered three empty DF (damage-free) boxcars, but only two had arrived.

The shipper couldn't wait—he gave the third load to a motor carrier.

"This shipper doesn't have to rely exclusively upon us," says Bob Mere­dith. "In addition to trucking com­panies, the main lines of two com­peting railroads run through here, and, let's face it, they provide good service. W e ' v e got to do some step­ping to be competitive."

On another call, a shipper com­plained that a PC switching crew had run a car too hard into his siding, breaking the bumping post. Mr. Meredith promptly checked with Division officials; the damage was inspected; and the shipper was told to get the damage repaired and for­ward the bill to Penn Central.

A call on a steel company brought a hearty compliment. Penn Central and a connecting line had collabor­ated in providing faster-than-ever delivery for a carload of steel bars to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

But at a baking company, Bob Meredith was met by an angry traf­fic manager. A TrailVan trailer loaded with urgently needed baking supplies had been misrouted, causing delayed delivery and disrupting the company's production schedule.

"I'm disgusted," snapped the bak­ing company official. "See that this doesn't happen again, or I'll have to make some other arrangement to re­ceive these supplies."

What had happened, Mr. Meredith says, was that the use of the Trail-Van ramp facility at Youngstown had been discontinued some time ago, and the ramp at Canton was being used. Somebody along the line had overlooked this and routed the Trail-Van car to Youngstown.

"Believe me, we've gotten the word out so we won't make that same mistake again," he says.

Despite such incidents, there is overwhelming evidence that PC service has made a vast improve­ment, declares Mr. Meredith—"and

Y o u t r y t o p l a n y o u r d a y w i t h a d v a n c e a p ­p o i n t m e n t s , b u t s o m e t i m e s y o u still h a v e t o w a i t t o s e e a b u s y t raf f ic m a n a g e r .

shippers are responding to this im­provement."

"For example, about a year ago, a producer of steel tubing stopped using our service for shipments to a certain North Jersey customer," he says. "The customer was unhappy with the delivery times, and re­quested a switch to trucks.

"Well, lately the shipper has been so impressed with the job being done by Penn Central people that he has persuaded this customer to try rail again. And just the other day, we were given our first two carloads. They were handled with complete satisfaction."

Bob Meredith says he often wishes all Penn Central people could have a chance to make the rounds with the sales representatives.

"Then you'd realize that every little thing you do to help make the Railroad more efficient is important to us out there on the front line," he points o u t

"So I'm not kidding, I'm not exag­gerating, when I say:

"What we salesmen are selling is . . . .You."

B o b M e r e d i t h w o r k s f o r P C , b u t m a i n l y h e w o r k s f o r M r s . M e r e d i t h , J u l i e , K a t h y , L i n d a .

N e w Haven Change States assume financial responsibility for commuter service on this line

he final papers were signed, and the changeover became official

as of January 1: The States of New York and Con­

necticut assumed financial responsi­bility for commuter service between New Haven, Conn., and New York City, including the Danbury, Water-bury and New Canaan branches.

"This is the beginning of a new era in public transportation," said William H. Moore, president of Penn Central Transportation Company. He pointed out that the two States "will be able to do things that are beyond the financial ability of Penn Central or any private enterprise."

The arrangement works like this: The Connecticut Transportation

Authority (CTA) has taken a 60-year lease on the line from New Haven to the New York State border.

New York's Metropolitan Trans­portation Authority (MTA) has pur­chased the line from the border to Woodlawn Junction, N.Y.

The New Haven West-End Service will pay tolls for use of the tracks from Woodlawn Junction to Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

The State Authorities will specify the number of trains, the schedules and the fares on this line, which carries about 27,000 commuters daily.

The Railroad will provide the ser­vice required under a Service Con­tract with MTA and CTA, and will be paid a fee of $100,000 a year.

The employes will continue to be employes of Penn Central Transpor­tation Company. The Service Con­tract signed by the Railroad and the two State Authorities makes this clear:

"Penn Central shall have sole re­sponsibility for the day-to-day oper­ation of the service, and shall provide the necessary crews, work force, and supervising personnel, none of whom shall be deemed to be employes of MTA or CTA."

Every three months, the Railroad will provide an accounting to MTA and CTA, stating how much money was collected in the New Haven service, and how much the costs were. If the result is a financial loss —as has been the case for years— MTA and CTA will pay the Railroad the amount of the loss. If there should be a profit, it would go to MTA and CTA.

The two States are embarking on an extensive improvement pro­gram to cost more than $100 mil­lion, with Federal aid.

Station improvements will include the building of high-level platforms where needed to speed loading and

P r e s i d e n t M o o r e t r a n s f e r s f i n a n c i a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r c o m m u t e r s e r v i c e t o F r a n k M . R e i n -h o l d , c h a i r m a n o f C o n n e c t i c u t T r a n s p o r t a t i o n A u t h o r i t y , a n d W i l l i a m J . R o n a n , c h a i r m a n o f M e t r o p o l i t a n T r a n s p o r t a t i o n A u t h o r i t y , w h o h o l d s t r a c k m a p s . ( P h o t o b y M T A )

unloading. Signal and electrification systems will be upgraded. Cars will be renovated.

The States have signed a contract with General Electric for 144 new cars, with delivery to begin in about 18 months.

Meanwhile, plans are going for­ward for the Metropolitan Transpor­tation Authority to assume financial responsibility for commuter service on two other commuter lines tunnel­ing out of Grand Central Terminal: The Hudson Line, which extends to Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; and the Harlem Line, which extends to Dover Plains.

These two lines serve about 40,000

commuters daily. These plans should be completed

by Spring. A letter of intent provides that

MTA will lease these lines at $1 a year. It will pay the Railroad a man­agement fee to operate the service, and a rental for Grand Central Terminal.

The employes who operate and maintain the trains will continue to be employes of Penn Central Trans­portation Company.

The Port of New York Authority will buy 80 new cars and lease them to the Railroad. MTA will assume any loss or profit on the service.

Soft r ide for f r a g i l e f r e i g h t Meet PC's new air-pillow boxcars.

Freight never had it so good. Here's John Alamprese with an air

hose, blowing up a pair of giant-sized rubberized pillows. They swell up in the middle of the car, and gently but firmly press bulkheads to secure the freight that's stowed on both sides.

If there's any shock in transit, the air pillows absorb it.

Penn Central first used the air-pillow principle in cars assigned to hauling refrigerators, electric ranges and other household appliances. The cars have been a big success.

Now the men at Penn Central's Samuel Rea Shop, in Hollidaysburg, Pa., have built 55 more cars for the liquor industry. The cars have already gone to work.

"The development of these cars is another example of Penn Central's determination to solve the special­ized transportation problems of shippers," said Edward G. Kreyling, Jr., vice president-sales and market­ing.

"We have every reason to believe that these cars will deliver ship­ments free of damage."

Mr. Kreyling can say this with confidence. A test car rode the Penn Central and other railroads carrying a total of 1,300,000 bottles of liquor, and didn't crack one.

The doors in the new cars are

B u l k h e a d s t h a t a r e m o v e d b y a i r - p a c k s a r e i n s t a l l e d b y L. C . W i s s i n g e r , J . E. D o d s o n .

A t r i g h t , J o h n J . A l a m p r e s e a r r a n g e s t h e b i g r u b b e r i z e d b a l l o o n s t h a t s e c u r e t h e f r e i g h t . A b o v e , h e c h e c k s a i r p r e s s u r e .

11 1/2-feet high—a foot higher than average. This permits loading of car­tons on pallets with efficient two-tier forklift trucks.

"By using this high-speed method, shippers and receivers should be able to reduce loading and unloading time by more than 25 percent," said Mr. Kreyling.

The performance and utilization of these 55 cars will be closely watched. Special attention will be paid to two of the cars, which are equipped with radically new springs. They're chevron-shaped and made of rubber. They take the place of the standard steel springs in the wheel trucks.

W e l d e r D a n i e l F l a r k e y h e l p s b u i l d t h e c a r a t S a m u e l R e a S h o p in H o l l i d a y s b u r g , P a .

METROLINER JEWELRY In stock a g a i n a r e e i g h t j e w e l r y i tems a d o r n e d w i t h t h e n e w s - m a k i n g M e t r o l i n e r in h a n d s o m e r h o d i u m f i n i s h , s h o w n a t left . T h e i tems a r e l isted o n c o u p o n . P l e a s e a d d a n y s a l e s t a x in y o u r a r e a .

T o : Penn Central Souvenirs, Room 1040, Six Penn Center, Phila., Pa. 19104 I

Please send following items (prices in-clude postage a n d handling):

Item Q u a n t i t y Price K e y holder, $2.25 C h a r m bracelet, $2.75 Circle pin, $2.75 Tie bar, $2.25 Tie-tack, $2.25 Set of cuff links, $2.75 M o n e y clip, $2.25 Letter opener, $2.75 R A I L R O A D M U G , $5

T O T A L . N a m e A d d r e s s . City _State_ - Z i p . Enclose check or money order p a y a b l e to Penn Central Transportation C o m p a n y . A d d a n y sales tax in effect in y o u r area.

RAILROAD MUG N o w a v a i l a b l e is this h i s t o r i c - t y p e L a n ­c a s t e r m u g w i t h s t e a m e n g i n e e m b l e m . It's m a d e o f a b l e n d o f m e t a l s t o p r o d u c e t h e a p p e a r a n c e a n d f e e l o f C o l o n i a l p e w t e r . T h e s e m u g s a r e cast in s a n d m o l d s , s i m i l a r t o t h e p r o c e s s u s e d b y e a r l y A m e r i c a n c r a f t s m e n . T h e p r i c e , $5 e a c h , i n c l u d e s p o s t a g e a n d h a n d l i n g . U s e t h e c o u p o n a t left. P l e a s e a d d a n y s a l e s t a x in e f f e c t in y o u r a r e a .

Accidents? Who needs em?

On December 13, 1967, there was a lost-time accident at Orange-

ville Enginehouse in Baltimore, Md. There hasn't been one since. And so, on December 13, 1970, the

employes marked 1,095 days, or three solid years, without a single lost-

N o b o d y w i l l t r i p o v e r h o s e b e c a u s e D a v i d H a c k n e y p u t s it o n h o l d e r w h e n n o t in u s e .

time injury. How did they do it? "By not letting ourselves get into

a safety rut," says General Foreman Ken De Haan.

You have to be constantly alert around an enginehouse, he points out. You work with heavy things. There are compressed air hoses and strong solvents.

"We just don't let familiarity with these things make us let our guard down," explains Electrician Ells­worth W . Mills.

Orangeville was once home to steam engines. Now it's home to 39 diesel locomotives and 118 highway trucks.

"The same safety rules apply to diesels and trucks," says Calvin Cooper, who spent 20 safety-con­scious years in the Navy before joining the Railroad two years ago.

"I started here 25 years ago," says Machinist Harry G. Smith.

"The old-timers let me know fast when I did something unsafe. They helped me then, so I help the newer men now."

Mr. Smith, who is using his spare time to panel his home basement, says, "I follow the safety rules there, too—no reason to let down at home."

"We use safety equipment such as goggles and cuff straps," says Ma­chinist Frank E. Roscoe, "but you've got to use good sense, too.

"One day, 15 years ago, I was working on a brake line cut-out cock. I was wearing safety goggles—but neglected to bleed the line. The air

The shop has passed 3 years (1095 days) and is still going strong. Clare Shipp keeps score.

blew some grease right under my goggles and into my eyes. Luckily I didn't lose any time, and my eyes are okay, but I've been a lot more careful since."

"The foremen keep us thinking about safety," says Machinist Clif­ford H. Borne. "And so do the safety signs."

The signs are the spare-time creation of Robert I. Gentile, a pipefitter and former member of the local safety committee. He says:

"Our big message is that there's no such thing as luck. It's knowing and obeying the rules that counts."

"I'm 62 years old," says David C. Hackney, who started with the Rail­road in 1945. "When I retire, I'd like to be able to say I worked in one of the safest shops on the Railroad."

C h e c k i n g m o t o r o f P C t r u c k , C . H . B o r n e w e a r s g o g g l e s a n d uses a s h i e l d e d l i g h t .

The men of Orangeville intend to do all they can to see that he gets his wish.

A love letter to Newark, NJ.

Patrolman Kenneth V . W a r d Parking Attendant Bob Foote Ticket Seller Elenor Clarke O u t s i d e e n g i n e h o u s e , E. W . M i l l s w e a r s a c i d - r e s i s t a n t g l o v e s c h e c k i n g d i e s e l b a t t e r y .

Mrs. Elsa Kingman Newberry brought her elderly mother to

the PC station at Newark, N.J., to put her on a train for Boston.

Mrs. Newberry was so pleased with what took place that she promptly wrote a letter to the New­ark Evening News.

Here were some of the things she said:

"We found a new and efficient parking lot in operation, with a po­lite attendant.

"Inside the station the floors shone with a brilliantly clean sparkle, and an attendant was sweeping up every scrap of paper and cigarette butt.

" T h e i n f o r m a t i o n d e s k w a s manned by a courteous and knowl­edgeable person.

"The ticket office was helpful and

fast in its service. "The waiting room was constantly

policed. No one was allowed to an­noy anyone in any way.

"A uniformed train announcer (usher) gave information accurately and cheerfully.

"The conductor said 'good morn­ing' as I put my passenger aboard.

"The porter took her bag, helped her remove her coat and settled her comfortably in her seat."

Mrs. Newberry concluded: "There seems to be a new and

healthy atmosphere of progress, at least insofar as the Penn Central in Newark is concerned.

"My experience renewed my own lagging confidence in the nation's most valuable and underrated me­dium of mass transportation."

He had to move fast Robert Q. Garner saw the lit-

tle boy close to the rail. He saw t h a t t h e e n g i n e m a n wouldn't be able to stop in time.

Brakeman Garner, who was riding behind the engineman, knew what he had to do.

He dashed from the cab, ran forward on the catwalk, leaned over, and pushed the child out of the path of the locomotive just in time.

His sigh of relief was shared by Engineman Raymond E. Steusloff and Fireman Rodney Hayne in the engine of their 37-car freight train. And PC Patrolman Jim Ryan, who had seen the whole thing, took 5-year-old Allen Dunn home.

"I know I was more scared than the boy was," said Mr. Garner. "He would have been brushed by the locomotive as we went by, but he didn't seem

the least bit worried when it was over."

Mr. Garner, who has four grown children, is a Toledo Di­vision man with 31 years' ex­perience. He says his action was "all in the day's work."

Mr. and Mrs. George Dunn, little Allen's parents, don't think that way about it.

Info Clerk W e n d e l l Wil l iams Station Cleaner J o e Marques Usher Peter A . Manganel l i

FORT WAYNE DIVISION A i m i n g for n e w highs in serv ice

"It's hot territory. Railroaders on the Fort Wayne

Division handle a bustling portion of PC's main line.

And they have an up-front role in today's big push to improve ser­vice and win more business for their Railroad.

"We're out to do a better-than-ever job for our customers," says Robert A. Shaw, the Division's su­perintendent.

"That's our assignment. Every­body on the Division knows it. And we want our customers to know it."

The Fort Wayne Division arrows through the heart of rich Midwest­ern farmlands.

Grain elevators follow the Divi­sion's tracks from central Ohio, through Indiana, and halfway across Illinois.

"During the harvest we move mountains of farm products," said Robert S. Slack, PC's freight agent at Decatur, Ind.

A n a r r a y o f m i k e s h e l p s Y a r d m a s t e r B e n n y O v e r m y e r r u n t h e y a r d a t L o g a n s p o r t , I n d .

A t P i q u a Y a r d , B r a k e m a n J o s e p h L. S h a n k cuts c a r s g o i n g t o c l a s s i f i c a t i o n t r a c k s .

"I'm mainly involved in beans— for Central Soya. We move thou­sands of cars into this plant, and take out thousands more, filled with soy­bean products.

"And the job's getting bigger— Central Soya recently opened a new processing plant here at Decatur."

Mr. Slack shaded his eyes from the sun as he looked up at the grain elevators. The Division men must move 14,000,000 bushels of beans to fill the lofty concrete cylinders, and another 5,000,000 bushels to fill the "Bean Bowl," a ground-storage area, and outside storage tanks.

"But while you're talking about farm products, don't forget the thou­sands of other things we carry," says Superintendent Shaw. "Like candy, dog food, lawn mowers, rubber tires, auto parts, steel coils, cement, phone books, newsprint, canned foods, newspaper supplements and farm machines, to name just a few."

The Division people speed 41 freight trains, 2 unit coal trains, 11 passenger trains and 4 mail-and-express trains daily.

In t h e t o w e r a t P l y m o u t h , l n d . # O p e r a t o r J o h n H . H u l l c o n t r o l s t h e s i g n a l s a n d s w i t c h e s .

They serve hundreds of firms with their 14 local freights. They claim that two of these are the longest lo­cals on the System.

One runs 115 miles from Fort Wayne, Ind., to Bucyrus, O., inter­changes with four other railroads, and serves the main-line industrial areas, including Lima, O.

The other local goes 105 miles from Fort Wayne to Valparaiso, Ind. Among the firms it serves is Lakeside Press, a subsidiary of R. R. Donnelly and Sons, which prints phone books and newspaper supplements.

"Parts of our Division, the Kan­kakee and Effner branches, are at the very end of the Railroad," says Superintendent Shaw.

"On the Kankakee, we move six to eight hotshot trains every day, in­terchanging with the Santa Fe, N&W and Rock Island railroads via Streator, Reddick and DePue, Ill., completely bypassing Chicago.

"On the Effner Branch, we give a fast relay to fruits, vegetables and meats from the TP&W Railroad to the eastern seaboard. We put them on the 'Astronaut', AST-2, and make connections at Columbus, Ohio, with SW-6, TV-4 and TV-4P."

Bob Shaw joined the Railroad in 1950 as a junior engineer in maintenance-of-way, later switched to assistant trainmaster at Wheeling, W. Va. He worked at Enola, Pa.; Buffalo, N. Y., and Springfield, Mass., before being named superintendent at Fort Wayne in April.

He's tall, lean and 42, and despite his graying hair, he looks about as fit as when he left the U. S. Ma­rines in 1946.

He's constantly on the road, super­vising train operations over 889 miles of PC territory.

Most of this was the former PRR Fort Wayne Division's Bucyrus-to-Valparaiso and Bradford-to-Scherer-ville lines. The former NYC Kan­kakee Branch (South Bend to Chur­chill) gives the Division connections

A t D e c a t u r , I n d . , J . W . O s b o r n p u n c h e s i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t c a r m o v e m e n t s , w h i c h w i l l b e t r a n s m i t t e d t o t h e c e n t r a l c o m p u t e r .

W a r d B. S l a t e r c h e c k s a j o u r n a l b o x a t s a f e t y - m i n d e d Ft. W a y n e E n g i n e h o u s e . H e h a s 44 y e a r s w i t h o u t a lost-t ime i n j u r y .

A t F o r t W a y n e C a r S h o p , E a r l H a m i l t o n , a c a r r e p a i r m a n , uses c r a n e t o lift c o u p l e r .

with western roads. In addition, the Division includes

the Effner, Grand Rapids and Water­loo branches and the Culver, Ply­mouth, Columbia City, Fort Wayne and Vandale secondary tracks.

"It's the best possible combination of property," declares P. Edgar Ford, bustling, fast-talking supervisor of train operation.

"We have direct lines in and out of Chicago on the main line. We also have convenient bypasses around Chicago, through Kankakee and Eff­ner. Our other branches and secon­dary tracks go through the areas of heaviest farming and industrial ac­tivity.

"You can't beat this setup." Operations are centered around

terminals at Fort Wayne, Logans-port and Kankakee. All three have large yards, car-repair facilities and locomotive fueling stations.

At Fort Wayne, the PC people handle main-line traffic between Pittsburgh and Chicago. North-south traffic comes off the Grand Rapids and Waterloo branches and the Fort Wayne and Columbia City secon­dary tracks.

"We switch a lot of the main-line Continued on page Five

Continued from page Four

trains," said William H. Hardy, con­ductor at Fort Wayne Yard. "We cut off the local cars and cars going north and south. We add our cars going to Chicago and Conway.

"Now look—there's GR-6 coming in. It's from Grand Rapids and Kala­mazoo. We'll cut cars for rerouting east or west and add cars going south to Cincinnati, Columbus and the St. Louis Gateway connections.

"Another typical train, GR-7, comes from Cincinnati on the Fort Wayne Secondary. It picks up hot cars at Central Soya in Decatur and we put them in CG-10 with other eastbound traffic for Enola. Then we put our northbound cars into GR-7 for Grand Rapids and GR-1 for othei northern points."

A hustle-bustle scene is Fort Wayne Car Shop. The men in this cavernous building do minor and medium repairs.

"We also have a big special assign­ment," says Karl N. Kline, car re­pairman-welder. "We install bulk­heads and rails in special-equipped cars for the entire System. We fix these cars like new."

"We're putting belt rails in cars for Dana," adds Charles C. Misner, general foreman at the shop. "They'll carry automobile axles for Ford."

At Fort Wayne Enginehouse, Di­vision men maintain 31 road and switcher units.

A t C o n v o y , O h i o , C a r l R. G a y , C & S m a i n ­t a i n e d m a k e s a c h e c k o f s w i t c h m a c h i n e .

D o r o t h y M . V o g e l g e s a n g c a l l s c u s t o m e r s f r o m t h e D I C C S of f ice ( D e m u r r a g e I n d u s ­t r i a l C a r C o n t r o l S y s t e m ) , w h i c h k e e p s t a b s o n a l l c a r s in t h e s w i t c h i n g t e r r i t o r y .

" O u t d o o r o f f i c e " c o n f e r e n c e a t Ft. W a y n e Y a r d : R. A . S h a w , d i v i s i o n s u p e r i n t e n d e n t ; P. E. F o r d , s u p e r v i s o r of t r a i n o p e r a t i o n ; W i l l i a m S h i p l e y , assistant t r a i n m a s t e r .

A t K e n d a l l v i l l e , I n d . , C o n d u c t o r O. J . M i l -J e r m a k e s u p w h e e l r e p o r t in t h e c a b o o s e .

"And we do it safely," emphasizes Otto H. West, locomotive inspector.

The enginehouse boasts a top safety record—five years with only two days lost to injuries. Since those two incidents, the men have a string of more than 714 days without a lost-time accident.

Logansport is the Division's ter­minal on the line between Chicago and Columbus. It's also the connect­ing point for trains between Chicago and Cincinnati-Indianapolis-Louis-ville.

"It's mostly a relay operation," explains Trainmaster Norbert A. Gerdeman. "Speed and timing are important—moving our trains with­out clogging the Gateway.

"The big move is from west to east —from Chicago to Buckeye and Conway Yards. We also pick up a lot of eastbound traffic, mostly per­ishables, from the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway on the Effner Branch."

Logansport's traffic area covers the fast-growing industries around Mar­ion, Ind. Customers include Louis­ville Cement, Fisher Body, General Motors, General Tire, Essex Wire,

T r a i n I H B - 5 m o v e s t h r o u g h P l y m o u t h , h a u l i n g f r e i g h t f r o m C o n w a y , P a . , t o G i b s o n , I n d .

A t L o g a n s p o r t , I n d . , C a r R e p a i r m a n G e o r g e M i c h a e l r e p a i r s a h a n d b r a k e .

R.C.A. and Anaconda Copper. The Logansport railroaders will be

even busier with the opening of the Indiana Grain storage elevator at Dunkirk, Ind. It will take an esti­mated 3000 cars a year.

Kankakee Terminal straddles the branch that bears its name.

"We relay hotshot trains through here to other railroads," says Ed­ward M. Kemnitz, head clerk at Kankakee Yard.

"The Santa Fe cars go off at Streator. The Burlington Northern's go off at Zearing, and the Rock Is­land's at DePue. We hit the B&O/ C&O, Milwaukee, Erie Lackawanna, Illinois Central, Norfolk & Western —all the roads going into Chicago."

The Kankakee Branch, hooking into central Illinois, saves Penn Central considerable time, and therefore money, on the interchange of these cars. Without this branch, they would have to go through the busy Chicago Gateway.

The PC yard crews race the clock to make sure the cars are off line before midnight, when another day's car rent falls due.

Kankakee Yard is being expanded to help the men move cars better and do a more efficient job for local industries. The PC men serve such plants as Gaines Division of General Foods, Roper-Bradley, Short Mill­ing, and Mortell, makers of automo­bile insulation material. A new addi­tion is the Jones and Laughlin steel mill at Hennepin, Ill.

The Division's trains are con­trolled from Fort Wayne, where train dispatchers are in constant touch with crews and towers by two-way radio.

On a typical trick, Dispatcher R. O. Hawn keeps track of all trains on the Kankakee Branch from South Bend out to the end of the line at Ladd, Ill.

S. P. Biggs controls all traffic on the main line from Valparaiso, Ind., to Colsan, O., covering 241 miles.

Traffic west of Logansport and on the Effner Branch, about 200 miles of track, comes under the eye of W. T. Tarleton.

R. L. Ruble operates the traffic con­trol board controlling the switches from Anoka, Ind., to East Kirk, about 90 miles.

"Taken in pieces, the Division is like a puzzle," says Superintendent Shaw. "Put together, it makes a

A t D e c a t u r , I n d . , R. D. F e r r i s a n d J . S. K n u d s e n p r e p a r e t u r n o v e r f o r n e x t c r e w c o m i n g t o w o r k a t C e n t r a l S o y a p l a n t .

A t D e c a t u r , I n d . , C o n d u c t o r J . C . O s b o r n a n d A g e n t R. S. S l a c k c h e c k s w i t c h i n g o r ­d e r s w i t h A . A . O e t i n g a t g r a i n e l e v a t o r s .

A t K a n k a k e e , I l l . , Y a r d m a s t e r T . J . G a l l a ­g h e r h a s b u s y i n t e r c h a n g e w i t h o t h e r l ines.

well-planned, well-thought-out rail network.

"And the people on this Division are making the most of it. A great team. I've never met railroaders with more pride in their work.

"There are bigger divisions on the Railroad, but none are better—or busier—than Fort Wayne."

S h i p p e r s w a n t o n - t i m e d e l i v e r y , b u t t h e y w a n t it d a m a g e - f r e e , t o o . T h a t ' s m e s s a g e o f Miss C a r e f u l H a n d l i n g — C a r o l O v e r -b e y , t r a i n m a s t e r ' s s e c r e t a r y a t K a n k a k e e .

REPORTS FROM ALL OVER

Loans for the Railroad— The Trustees of Penn Central Transportation Company moved promptly to seek new financing after Congress passed a bill guaranteeing loans which railroads in reorganization would obtain from private lenders.

The Trustees prepared to issue $100 millions' worth of trustees' certificates. This step was approved by the U. S. Secretary of Transportation, Interstate Commerce Com­mission, and U. S. District Court Judge John P. Fullam, who is in charge of the Railroad's reorganization under the Bankruptcy Act.

The new financing was urgently needed because of the decline in the Railroad's cash position, approaching a point where operations would have to be shut down.

O k a y for Enola —U.S. District Court Judge John P. Fullam has authorized the Trustees to go ahead with a $532,000 improvement program at the diesel inspection and repair shop in Enola, Pa. The Trustees had told the Court that the improvements would boost efficiency, enabling the shop to repair 37 locomotive units daily, instead of 30 as at present. The improvements include additions to the structure, a second story, and enclosed shop tracks that will improve working conditions.

More TrailVanS—Penn Central has started a new daily TrailVan service hauling trailers and containers between Kalamazoo, Mich., and eastern cities, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore. The trains, TV-16 eastbound and TV-15 westbound, will pro­vide second-morning availability. Pre-blocking of cars according to varying destinations eliminates the need for yarding and classification en route, and assures faster delivery for Penn Central's customers.

Staff c h a n g e s - J . Bruce Addington has been ap­pointed vice president-operation. He succeeds Robert G. Flannery, who resigned to become excutive vice president of the Western Pacific Railroad, where Alfred E. Perl-mar, recently became president.

William H. Moore, president and chief executive officer of Penn Central Transportation Company, said Mr. Flannery "has done a fine job for Penn Central. We hate to lose him and we wish him well in his new assign­ment."

Mr. Addington comes to Penn Central from the Southern Railway System, where he was assistant vice president-operation. He started railroading in 1936 as a messenger, and worked his way up as agent-telegrapher, train dispatcher, assistant trainmaster, trainmaster, as­sistant superintendent and division superintendent.

William R. Divine has been appointed vice president-finance and accounting, succeeding Jonathan O'Her-ron, who left Penn Central to join an investment firm.

Robert W. Carroll has been appointed secretary of the Company, succeeding Bayard H. Roberts.

Fast f a c t s - A new data storage system has been in­stalled at Pennsylvania Station, New York, to enable in­formation clerks to give fast answers to the 10,000 or so persons who phone for train information on an average day.

The information, taken from timetables and tariff books, is microfilmed and put on slides. To obtain the right slide to answer a specific question, the clerk punches a few buttons, and the information is flashed on a viewer.

Safety: Up—An intensified PC safety campaign in 1970 has scored a 9% percent reduction in the rate of lost-time injuries. "Extremely encouraging, and a hope­ful indication of even more progress in 1971," commented Joseph A. Bonelli, manager of safety.

Complete figures for the year 1970 showed the Canada Division leading Penn Central's 23 divisions with only one lost time injury. The other divisions, ranked according to safety achievement, were:

St. Louis, Allegheny, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Colum­bus, New Haven, Cincinnati, Williamsport, Chesapeake, Boston, Indiana, Mohawk (formerly Syracuse), Fort Wayne, Toledo, New Jersey, Chicago, Michigan, Phila­delphia, Buffalo, Valley, Cleveland, and Detroit.

RailpaX mOVeS ahead—President Nixon has named eight men as incorporators of the National Rail­road Passenger Corporation (popularly called Railpax). They will serve as a temporary board of directors until April 30, when a 15-member board will take office and assume control of intercity passenger service.

The eight appointees, approved by the U.S. Senate, are: Gen. Frank S. Besson, Jr., former Defense Department official; David E. Bradshaw, attorney; John J. Gilhooley,

former New York transit commissioner; David W. Ken­dall, Jr., legal vice president, Chrysler Corp.; Arthur D. Lewis, former president, Eastern Air Lines; Charles Luna, president, United Transportation Union; Catherine May, former Congresswoman; and John P. Olson, deputy Un­der-Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation.

Meanwhile, John A. Volpe, U.S. Secretary of Trans­portation, was preparing his final recommendations on areas to be served by the national passenger network. A preliminary list was issued by him in November. Since then, a number of suggestions, mainly for expansion of routes and trains, were submitted by the Interstate Commerce Commission, state public utility commissions, railroad labor unions, and others.

The Florida SCene—What's new on the beaches is being demonstrated by hostesses on the Florida Special, Seaboard Coast Line's "champagne train" which operates on Penn Central rails between New York and Washing­ton. In addition to fashion shows, the train has movies, color television, telephone service, group singing, bingo, and candlelight dinner with complimentary champagne. Other trains on the New York to Florida run are the Sil­ver Star and the Champion. From Chicago, the South Wind runs on the Penn Central for part of its route to both coasts of Florida.

Strike-day refund —Commuters with monthly or other time-restricted tickets lost a day's service during the December 10 work stoppage. Penn Central subse­quently announced that refunds would be made in cash or an extra day's service. The Philadelphia Evening Bul­letin editorialized: "It's a little thing, probably averaging less than $1 each, but it shows that the railroad has some concern for its regular commuters."

Freight rates—Eastern and Western railroads, in­cluding Penn Central Transportation Company, sought a 15 percent increase in freight rates last year to help them meet increased costs. The Interstate Commerce Commission granted 8 percent. The railroads then filed a request for immediate addition of the remaining 7 percent. The I.C.C. has denied this request, but opened the matter for oral argument last month.

Bad year for railroads-A slowdown in the nation's business, plus higher operating expenses and long-standing problems, made 1970 the worst financial year for railroads since the Depression of the 1930's, reports the Association of American Railroads.

Three railroads went into reorganization under the Federal Bankruptcy Act: Penn Central Transportation Company, Lehigh Valley Railroad, and the Boston & Maine. A fourth, Central Railroad of New Jersey, has been in reorganization since 1967.

Complete figures for the first nine months of 1970 showed that net income dropped 67 percent below the similar period of 1969. And 22 of America's 71 major railroads operated at a loss.

Paradoxically, railroad revenue went up 6.6 percent to a new high; but operating expenses went up even more —8.5 percent.

"These results provide further evidence of the crisis confronting the railroad industry," said Thomas M. Good-fellow, AAR president. "It was because of this that the AAR created America's Sound Transportation Review Organization (ASTRO)."

A program developed by ASTRO calls for "creative in­volvement" by the Federal government in solving rail­road problems. Included are recommendations for up­dating laws and regulations to free the railroads from the restraints of the past; financial help for right-of-way and equipment, comparable to the kind of help the rail­roads' competitors have received; and expanded Federal research in transportation improvements. Another rec­ommendation, for a unified approach to intercity rail transportation, is now embodied in the new National Railroad Passenger Corporation.

FROM T H E

"I recently read a copy of the Penn Central Post for the first time and really liked it. I am a railroad fan and found many articles of in­terest to me. Is it possible for non-employees to receive this paper?"— Dennis Eckstein, Mansfield, Ohio.

Non-employes can subscribe at a charge of $2 for two years, receiving six issues per year: Jan., Mar., May, July, Sept., Nov.—J.S.

"Here is a little Safety slogan you may like to use in your Post: 'Accidents aren't caused by fate, it's common sense used too late. '"— Charlotte E. Lindsay, co-ordinator and file clerk, Personnel Office, In-dianapolis, Ind.

"Thank you for sending me the Penn Central Post for November, 1970. I found the articles very in­formative and enjoyable; and I am sure the public appreciates being made aware of railroad advances.

"Because the shipping and prompt moving of coal is so very important to Burlington Light, I especially like the article, 'Keep Hoppers Moving.' You made many sound points. I feel secure knowing that we do business with such a fine railroad."—Emil T. Baccei, purchasing agent, Burling­ton Electric Light Department, Burl­ington, Vt.

"As a long time fan of the Pennsy and the Penn Central, with a deep understanding of safety (I know most of PC's rules by heart) , I was shocked to note this picture in the July-August issue. It shows three men disobeying the safety rule about not standing in the center of a track. They could have stood in front of the track or behind it. I call this to your attention in hopes that maybe someone will be a little more care­ful."—Jeffery W. Damerst, Empor­ium, Pa., "a sincere believer in rules."

"Please mail my Penn Central Post to my new address. I am in a nursing home. I read each copy two or three times. I am retired after 54 years with Penna."—H. L. Dilts, King Manor Home, Warsaw, N.Y.

Penn Central Transportation Com­pany publishes this tabloid magazine for its employes. Address any com­munications to Penn Central Post, Six Penn Center, Phila., Pa. 19104 MANAGER—EMPLOYE PUBLICATIONS

Joseph Shallit STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Nelson M. Stickler

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

William E. Baird, Pittsburgh Joseph R. Ewing, Washington

Robert S. McKernan, New Haven Cecil G. Muldoon, New York Joseph K. Harvey, Chicago

Farwell C. Rhodes, Indianapolis

6

The Case of the

Short-Hauled Shipment

Richard Hebel was worried about liquor. It was listed in a shipping

order, and he had a feeling some­thing was wrong.

Not with the liquor—with the route it was taking.

Mr. Hebel is a 27-year-old billing clerk in the freight agency at Law-renceburg, Indiana. A big part of his job is making waybills from shipping orders sent by the customer.

On this shipping order, he noticed that Penn Central was being short-hauled.

"The liquor was going to Fort Worth, Texas," explains Mr. Hebel. "We were only to take it as far as Louisville before giving it to a for­eign line.

"I thought: Why not take it on the PC by way of St. Louis before giving it to a foreign line? It would take no longer and cost the shipper no more

W h i l e m a k i n g u p w a y b i l l f r o m i n f o r m a t i o n o n s h i p p i n g o r d e r , R i c h a r d H e b e l n o t e s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a l o n g e r h a u l f o r P C .

—but we'd get a bigger share of the haul and a bigger share of the freight revenue."

Mr. Hebel checked with his boss, Agent Don Dawson. Then he called Robert P. Good, district sales man­ager in nearby Cincinnati, to verify the facts. Sure enough, PC was get-ing only $173.68 per car, when by asking the shipper to change the routing, the Railroad would obtain $347.36 per car—twice as much.

"The shipper was happy to correct what had been merely an oversight on his part," said Mr. Good.

"If every billing clerk did the same kind of thing, and if we picked up only 1000 cases involving the same amount, PC would gain $173,680 ad­ditional revenue.

"We can sure use the money." Billing Clerk—it's a busy job, says

Richard Hebel. When a customer has a shipment

for the Railroad, he makes out a shipping order, and sends it to the PC agent, Mr. Hebel explains. The PC billing clerk checks the freight rate and the routing. Then he uses an electronic machine to type the infor­mation on a waybill form.

"Without the waybill, the Railroad wouldn't be paid for hauling the shipment, and the people along the way wouldn't know where to send it," says Mr. Hebel.

"As I type the waybill, the ma­chine makes a tape. At the end of the day, I use the tapes to send the waybill information to the central computer, where it is processed to develop reports for the entire Rail­road.

"Also, if the car ever gets sepa-

F r e i g h t A g e n t D o n D a w s o n a n d Distr ict S a l e s M a n a g e r R. P. G o o d c o n f i r m C l e r k H e b e l ' s o b s e r v a t i o n . L a t e r , s h i p p e r w a s c o n t a c t e d a n d a p p r o v e d a r o u t e m o r e f a v o r a b l e t o P C .

rated from the waybill, you can ask the computer for the information.

"In addition, the waybills are used to prepare the wheel report—a list of all the cars in a train and what they have in them."

The billing clerk gives the way­bills and wheel report to the con­ductor of the outbound train, who turns them over to the office at the next yard. Each waybill travels with its car until it reaches its final destination.

Richard Hebel, a slender, dark-haired man whose hobby is sports cars, spent four years in the Air Force. He served as a freight traffic specialist, doing just about what he does as a billing clerk for the Rail­road.

He joined the Railroad in 1965. He has earned a Certificate in Traffic Management at the University of Cincinnati by taking night courses, and he hopes to go on to an Associate of Science degree in Traffic Manage­ment.

"Billing work sounds like some­thing impersonal and repetitious," says Richard Hebel. "But it's always interesting to see what goods are being shipped and how much rev­enue they bring the Railroad.

"I guess I enjoy seeing money coming in."

At the District Sales Office, Robert Good pointed to some monthly reve­nue totals. "See? Lawrenceburg is a

Distr ict S a l e s M a n a g e r G o o d s h o w s C l e r k H e b e l h o w h e c h e c k s i n t e r c h a n g e r e p o r t s f o r possibi l i t ies o f l o n g e r h a u l s f o r P C .

rather small agency, but last month Richard Hebel was responsible for processing waybills that brought $557,984.15 in freight revenue to Penn Central. And billing clerks at bigger stations handle a lot more revenue than that.

"Anybody whose job involves that kind of money is pretty important to the whole Railroad Family."

His father told him something Charles W. Benney is a car repair­

man at PC's 59th Street Shop, Chicago.

One day recently, he received his high school diploma—at the age of 42.

And he was the valedictorian. Here's how this all came about.

C h a r l e s B e n n e y r e c e i v e s h i g h s c h o o l d i ­p l o m a f r o m t h e s u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f s c h o o l s .

Mr. Benney had dropped out of school when he was 15 and in the 10th grade. He was always sorry about that.

"I always felt the need for that diploma," he says.

His opportunity came last year. Penn Central Transportation Com­

pany and six other railroads in the Chicago area joined in sponsoring classes in elementary and high school courses for employes. The Board for Fundamental Education, a non-profit organization, provided teachers and books. Funds came from the U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

The railroaders who enrolled in­cluded 54 PC employes.

Charles Benney was the first to make it all the way. After seven months of study, attending night classes three days a week on his own time, he passed the tough test that qualified him for a high school di­ploma.

He was handed this personally by Robert P. Hanrahan, Cook County superintendent of schools. He also received a congratulatory note from PC President William H. Moore.

At a commencement ceremony honoring railroaders enrolled in the education program, Mr. Benney made a speech. Here is part of it:

"One afternoon many years ago, I was walking home through the woods with my father. Leg-weary, I asked, 'Dad, how much farther do we have to go?'

"He said, very comforting, 'Just a little farther.'

"I began to look for landmarks or anything to show we were near-ing home. Somewhat disgustedly, I asked, 'Dad, how far is a little far­ther? '

"Then came his words that have followed me so many years:

" ' A little farther is farther than you can see, but not as far as you can go.'

"The words are suggested for all of us.

"The road keeps running ahead of us . . . a little farther. But it is not as far as we can go if we believe deeply that the destination is worth the effort"

In the audience were 19 other PC employes who later received certifi­cates for successful completion of

grammar-school courses. They were: Raymond K. Boyd, Thomas

Bridges, Cornelius W. Burnette, Charles Campbell, Ulus C. Crow-der, Harold Davis, George Dixon, Marvin H. Ellzey, Tycobb Hamilton, Frank Hill, Cain Hinton, Allen W. Lee, Anthony Overstreet, Clifton Snelgro, Joe Stefanelli, Ray A. Wat­son, Mrs. Jennie M. Kulp, Joseph Martin and Rufus Wallace.

Charles Benney's efforts have al­ready moved him a little farther.

"We were so impressed with his dedication," says William Pugh, gen­eral car foreman, "that he is now getting on-the-job training with the aim of qualifying for gang foreman."

G a n g F o r e m a n W . B. M o o r e t r a i n s M r . B e n n e y o n t h e j o b f o r p o s s i b l e p r o m o t i o n .

PEnn C E N T R A L

POST 6 P E N N C E N T E R P L A Z A PHILADELPHIA, PA. 1 9 1 0 4

"To build a Railroad

You can be proud of... Do a job

You can be proud of." -William H. Moore