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Re: For the Interurban Fan: Freight Handling

Posted by Olog-hai on Mon May 20 14:24:30 2013, in response to For the Interurban Fan, posted by Avid Reader on Wed May 8 11:56:05 2013.

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Does Freight Handling Pay?

January, 1921

Louisville & Interurban Railroad Furnishes Good Example of Freight Possibilities on Short Interurban. Farm Gate Service Proves Popular

Quite a number of short interurbans have in the past regarded the handling of freight as questionable from a revenue standpoint. Many of these lines have keen competition either from steam railroads or from motor trucks, and consequently have hesitated to spend the money necessary to properly equip the electric line so that freight traffic could be intensely solicited and properly handled. This hesitancy, and in some cases the inability to finance the proposition even in a small way, has no doubt resulted in retarding the progress of the freight handling movement on interurban lines. That it does pay, however, if modern business methods are used and traffic handled properly, has been clearly demonstrated on a number of the larger electric lines, as has been shown by descriptions in the columns of this publication during recent months.

As a general proposition, the smaller roads have not profited by the opportunity presented by this class of business, and for the most part they have taken only what business has come to them and have handled this business thus offered in the best possible manner without additional investment. Experience of a number of the shorter interurbans indicates that a wonderful opportunity has been overlooked. It is not necessary that an interurban connect two or more large communities or that the line be a long road taping an immense territory.

Short Lines Profitable

As an example of what may be accomplished in the matter of freight handling on short interurban lines, there is probably no better case which can be cited than that of the Louisville & Interurban Railroad. As shown on the map, this system, which is known locally as the Beargrass Lines, operates seven separate branches or divisions. The longest of these branches is the line to Shelbyville, 31 miles from Louisville. The next longest branch is the line to LaGrange, 27.2 miles in length. The remaining five branches are less than 12.5 miles long. From this data and a glance at the map, it will be seen that the lines are nothing unusual for interurban lines radiating from a large city; but in spite of these facts, sufficient freight business has been developed to tax the capacity of a 33 ft. by 275 ft. freight house, an average of 14 to 18 cars of l.c.l. shipments being handled daily.

Development of the Business

The Jeffersontown division, the first interurban line, was opened for traffic in the spring of 1904. In the Fall of the same year, the short branches to Prospect and Orell were put into operation and the company started in a very limited way to handle package or express business. During the following year, 1905, the Okolona division was opened up, and in 1907 the Fern Creek division was put into operation. None of these lines was over 12.5 miles in length and as they paralleled very good roads, there did not seem to be a very good argument for the establishing of a freight or express business.

In the Fall of 1909, the company acquired the L. & E. road to LaGrange, 27.2 miles, and also partially constructed the road to Shelbyville, 31 miles in length. The LaGrange division had been doing a small freight business, but as the Shelbyville line was new, the business had to be developed.

Difficulties Encountered

By Spring 1910, the company had succeeded in getting together an organization which was deemed sufficient to enter the field and get a fair share of the freight and express traffic. Efforts in this direction met with many obstacles as there existed a parallel steam road to Shelbyville, in addition to the splendid highways in this district. The highways, together with the development of motor trucks, were a more serious competitor than the steam roads. In the face of these difficulties, the revenue from freight and express increased steadily, and the year 1918 showed an increase of 88 percent over 1910.

Traffic Handled

The traffic consists largely of ordinary shipments and no unusual conditions exist to greatly increase the amount of business in any one commodity. The major parts of shipments consist of feed of various kinds, building materials, lumber, cement, sand, gravel, fertilizer, farming implements and general merchandise. During the road building season in 1920, over 7,200,000 pounds of cement, or about 120 cars, were handled from Louisville to points on the Fern Creek division, moving to Louisville via a standard gauge road and there reloaded into interurban cars. A cement plant is located about 3 miles from Orell on the Orell division, and 5 to 6 carloads of cement originating at this plant are handled daily from Orell to Louisville and reshipped over steam roads to different parts of the country. The cement is delivered to cars via motor trucks, the business being constant during the season of good roads and amounting to something like 29,000 tons annually. During July 1920, the company arranged with a road contractor to handle from a quarry on the Fern Creek division to Orell, on the Salt River division, about 75,000 tons of road construction rock. This rock is being moved in bottom-dump gondola cars, and is unloaded by moving upon an elevated side track about 1,500 feet in length constructed for this particular job.

Emergency packages only are handled on passenger trains and when this is done, arrangements are made through the office of the general freight and passenger agent. The passenger traffic is conducted along ordinary interurban methods and for the most part, all freight and express business is separate.

No-Delay Service

One of the features of the handling of freight on this road is that facilities are provided to take immediate care of all shipments offered. While there is no strictly night freight movements, shipments received as late as 5 p.m. leave Louisville at 4 a.m. the following morning and are ready for delivery at the most distant points on the lines by 6 or 6:30 a.m., thus providing a service which has proven very popular and satisfactory to patrons.

The early trains out of Louisville handle ice and perishable shipments and on the return trip are milk trains arriving at Louisville at 9 to 9:30 a.m. Cars on these runs handle 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of ice on the outbound trip, and consequently are in excellent condition for handling milk shipments on the return trip. However, in extremely hot weather, ice is provided for the benefit of milk shippers on the return trip.

Rates as a rule are about the same as competitive steam lines, but are lower in most instances than competitive motor truck rates. However, since truck operators are not under the supervision of the public service commission, they enjoy a wide latitude in rate making and bidding for the transportation of shipments. This fact has made the motor truck the most serious competitor of the interurban lines entering Louisville. Truck operators are not required to comply with classifications or tariffs, and for this reason they have resorted to unbusiness-like methods in many instances. So keen has this competition become that some traction officials predict that the electric railways will be forced to pull along-side of the truck and bid for business using the same methods as used by the present truck competition.

Freight Facilities

The present schedule on the Louisville & Interurban provides for one to four freight cars daily in each direction over the various divisions. The equipment used to give this service consists of 12 motor cars of 60,000 lbs. capacity, 5 box cars, 2 gondolas, and 2 flat cars; the short lines and the consequent short runs making it possible for all freight cars to make several trips each during 24 hours in case of emergency.

The Louisville freight house, shown in the illustrations, is a modern brick building 33 ft. by 275 ft. having tracks on each side. The tracks on one side are paved and for the most part all l.c.l. shipments are handled from this side of the house, while the track on the opposite side is used as a team track for carload shipments. Other facilities located at the freight terminal are two conveniently-located freight house scales, a wagon or platform scale and a stationary stock chute. A portable stock chute is also provided for handling livestock shipments out on the road to and from non agency points. Livestock shipments in less-than-carload movements are handled in routine manner in the freight department. Carloads are handled direct to and from the Bourbon Yards where the Louisville & Interurban has its own tracks. Sixty to seventy livestock carloads per month are handled during the stock shipping season.

Shipping Records

All shipments on the Louisville & Interurban Railroad are covered by a bill of lading. This is checked by the receiving clerks on the freight house platform and is then passed to the rail clerk and thence to the bill clerk. All billing is done on a billing machine in quadruplicate. The original bill is retained by the forwarding agent. Copies two and three move with the freight, number two being retained by the delivering agent as his receipt from the consignee, and number three, the expense bill, goes to the consignee with the shipment, while number four is the auditor's copy.

O. S. & D. cases are first investigated by the local freight office or the O. S. & D. clerk, and reports are then sent to the office of the general freight and passenger agent, who then either authorizes payment or prepares the case for rejectment (sic) in case of claim against the company.

Soliciting Methods

Frequent service and accommodation are named as the features having the strongest appeal in the solicitation of freight business on this road, and it is considered that it is worth the time and money for the general passenger and freight agent or his assistant to occasionally rub shoulder-to-shoulder with patrons. In fact, the remarkable growth of freight traffic on this road is attributed to personal contact with patrons coupled with adequate service.

It is pointed out in some instances that successful handling of freight on short interurbans is due to lack of active competition or to the absolute lack of other means of transportation. In this case it cannot be said that the success is in any measure due to these causes, for there is steam road competition on the most important branches, and in addition there are excellent highways paralleling each division thus providing a free route for motor truck competition.

Farm Gate Service

One of the outstanding features contributing to the success of this road is the farm gate service provided to rural districts. In all instances, the company endeavors to deliver shipments to farmers along the line at the point most convenient to the patron, the limiting condition in this case being that such delivery shall not interfere with the movement of passenger cars. This service has proven to be one of the most effective means of securing and holding business.

R.H. Wyatt, general freight and passenger agent of the Louisville & Interurban Railroad, in answer as to special methods of securing business and the key to the success in the handling of freight, says: “As to methods of getting business, I know of no better way than a conveniently-arranged schedule, one which suits the convenience of the consignee, as it is the consignee who usually controls the movement. An absolute essential is an organization which is trained from the truckers to the highest man in the service, that it is everyone’s job to please the other fellow, and to do it.”

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