Transportation In The United States (1948)

[Music] and developed the vast land areas which stretch almost 3,000 miles across the country were opened up for settlement and development through Transportation as railroads were put through from one end of the land to the other great cities sprang up along the 4,900 through such ports flowed the goods which the US needed to grow and become great in exchange for the products of America's own farms and factories and out of this thriving trade grew the US Merchant Marine today us Merchant vessels carry 75% of the nation's exports and some 25% of its domestic rate playing not only the Seas but the Great Lakes as well they are a vital Link in the commercial life of the country while far less important than they were when the US was expanding River Steamers particularly on the broad Mississippi still carry a sizable share of freight and passenger traffic [Music] among the new passenger carrying businesses in the US today are the nation's bus lines because they charge less than their competitors and are able to reach not only the larger cities but also those areas not served by other means of transportation the boss's share of Passenger traffic in the past two decades has more than doubled for many of the same reasons that bus transportation is flourishing the trucking industry in the past 20 years has become increasingly important trucks are able to carry Freight caros everywhere and today some 5 million of them are rolling along the highways and byways of the us though the percentage of freight carried by truck is still small compared to that carried by rail it is constantly growing for trucks are fast around short halls and in many cases can handle shipments at lower rates newcomers in the freight carrying industry are the cargo airlines most of which have been established only since the war but with their capacity strictly limited their Chief sales point is speed a vital consideration to many shippers particularly those dealing Imp perishables in the field of Passenger service the airlines offer competition to both the bus lines and the railroads with their personnel equipment and service already above pre-war standards with air travel cheaper in many cases than pulman travel air lines are cutting more and more heavily into the railroad's luxury passenger tra to keep the public flying to ensure its comfort and safety the airlines are introducing new and better types of planes in addition they are constantly experimenting with new devices which will add to the convenience of air travel for theirs as a young business still in the process of growing and establishing itself and it is operated largely by men still too young to be ridden by conservatives or [Music] complacency in the few years in which they have been operating the airlines have discovered that their efforts to improve Comforts and services have attracted a steadily increasing number of passengers for though speed is probably the chief consideration of the flying public another inducement is the Lu fous appointments of the newer [Music] ples to the many millions of Americans who travel every year railroads are a simple necessity they still remain the backbone of the nation's transportation system the principal means of getting from place to place in the centuy since the first American railroad was built the transportation of passengers and Freight has become one of the nation's great Industries an industry which serves every citizen and reaches into every part of the country with almost half a million miles of track all aboard [Music] today though us railroads are doing more business than ever before in peacetime though they have behind them years of profitable wartime operations they are in precarious Financial conditions largely the result of rising costs which have increased more rapidly than income despite this despite the fact that the railroads are still suffering from the physical deterioration which set in during the War years they are moving 24,000 freight trains and ,500 passenger trains every day to keep these rolling in safety the railroads must work continually to perfect traffic control devices no longer do they rely solely on automatic signals adding to the safety and efficiency of Transportation by rail are such Innovations as radio and the induction Telephone by which the engineman and his cab can keep in constant communication with signal Towers along the way with trains on other tracks and with crewmen in the car at the end of his own train the operation of American railroads directly affects the daily life of every American to keep a single US citizen supplied with the basic necessities an average of a ton of fre must be transported more than 4,000 miles each year the hauling of freight accounts for 77% of the railroad's gross income but though the freight load today is the heaviest in peacetime history there has existed an acute and constantly growing shortage of freight cars with worn out cars being retired faster than new ones could be made available of the 1 and 3/4 million in operation well over a million are more than 20 years old and of these nearly a third are more than 30 years old the entire us industrial establishment depends in great degree upon rail transportation and any serious breakdown would have a catastrophic effect upon the national [Music] economy to keep trains moving the railroads work ceaselessly at the Monumental job of Maintenance at regular intervals every locomotive must go to the shop for checking and repairs after every 100,000 miles of operation most locomotives are completely stripped down and rebuilt inside and out the steel tires are sweated off and renewed when locomotives are remodeled they may receive the same series of speed and efficiency tests given to new types like Rolling Stock Road beds suffered from inadequate maintenance during the war and today the railroads are still working hard to make up for the years of enforced neglect on First Rate roads every foot of Mainline track is inspected at least once a day and sections which show flaws are promptly repaired or replaced to elect the problems today confronting the railroad industry is a matter of serious concern to most of its Executives among them a wealthy ex-member of the New York Stock Exchange Robert R young a relative newcomer to railroading Young has taken upon himself the role of critic and profit to the whole industry in the 10 years since he took over control of the Chesapeake and Ohio and several Associated railroads young in company with his advisers has spent much time out on the line observing the operations of his railroads at fir hand the Chesapeake and Ohio had long been in an enviable position because of its lucrative business hauling coal from the rich mining regions of West Virginia and Kentucky Young found that with this highly profitable Freight business as its main stay the road was paying only secondary attention to its passenger operations which brought in little or no profit a condition paralleled on most other railroads out of his observations young has become convinced that passenger travel can be made highly profitable despite the competition of planes buses and private automobiles urging a change of policy upon the rest of the industry young contends that railroads have progressed scarcely at all since the first decade of the century when passengers put up with discomforts and bad service because there was no alternative the cars in common use today are little better than those of 40 years ago young maintains so far as the convenience of passengers is concerned as an example of what can be done young has introduced on the cndo two luxuriously appointed streamliners between Grand Rapids and Detroit which have brought passenger travel on this route up to 76% above normal although as other railroad men were quick to point out young streamliners already had their counterparts on many other roads some of his changes were true Innovations instead of discouraging the buying of tickets on trains young encouraged it on all his lines thus relieving passengers of the irksome necessity of standing in Long cues at the ticket window in addition he issued credit cards entitling the holders to charge their fairs convinced that he understands the Public's likes and dislikes young has introduced many other improvements in service designed to make the trip more palatable to the customer on the chesap and Ohio's crack train between Washington and Cincinnati young has installed a movie theater on Wheel today America's railroads are awake to the need for Progressive action Passenger cars and Equipment are being redesigned new types of coaches going into service on the Pennsylvania and other major roads are more comfortable and attractive than the general run of parlor cars attention is being paid to any device which will help make coach travel more agreeable at the same time new Sleeping cars are being designed and built which will eventually replace all the oldtime rows of curtain BS with private State rooms handsomely appointed and decorated but it is in the field of Motive Power that the most revolutionary changes in railroading are on the way seeking to make the most efficient use of the cheapest fuel nine railroads and four coal companies have organize the locomotive development committee which is working on a Coal Fired gas turbine engine results so far indicate that this new type of engine will be more than three times as efficient as the old steam locomotive and because of its expected lower operating costs is likely in time to replace all other types in the meantime the cold burning steam locomotive is being superseded by the oil burning diesel electric which though tries cost you to build is far more efficient and less expensive to maintain more than nine out of 10 of the locomotives currently on order by the nation's railroads are diesels thus today America's railroads are hope of solving their problems and in the process it is the passenger so long neglected who stands to benefit most in the higher speed and greater comfort with which he may soon be able to travel on any road anywhere at the broad expense of his country [Music]