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National Geographic : 1936 Nov
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TRAINS OF TODAY-AND TOMORROW Photograph by J. Baylor Roberts SWING HIGH, SWING LOW, BUT DON'T JAR THE CONTENTS! In the busy Enola Yards, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (page 575), are seven tracks over which moves a bridge that carries traveling cranes for transfer of containers. On one busy day this apparatus swung 673 of these huge metal boxes from car to car. The containers effect a major economy in handling shipments of less than carload lots. Segregated also is another freight yard "spotless town"-that for handling milk. Bulk milk for dairies, chain restaurants, and ice cream makers now may be shipped, like petroleum, in tankers. One type has a 2,100-gallon truck tank, its hind wheels locked to a flat-bottom car, its front rest ing on supports in transit. When the car arrives, this trailer is swung sidewise on a swivel, a tractor is attached under the front end, and it is hauled away. Other types have siphons which drain the fluid from their stainless containers. Tracks are cleared, as for a passenger express, when the Merchandiser trains, Twentieth Centuries of the New York Central's 300 scheduled freighters, come or go on their overnight runs between New York and Buffalo. To make the 460 miles in 102 hours they have to speed 65 miles an hour on some stretches. Freight cars on such runs now are mounted on passenger-car trucks. Their engines scoop water on the fly from track pans. Among railroad men you will hear much more about the Merchandisers, the Banana Specials, the Frisco Flash, the Potato Spe cial, or the Blue Streak than you will about the famous passenger trains. The Speed Witch of the Pennsylvania and New Haven roads plies between Balti more and Boston in 16 hours. The B. and O. runs its banana train from Baltimore to Cleveland in 142 hours. The Illinois Central schedules its Panama Dispatch, laden with tropical imports at New Or leans, to Chicago in 41 hours. The Katy Rocket lands Texas grapefruit and persim mons (now a commercial crop) in St. Louis in 34 hours. Speeding up perishables is only part of 565
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