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National Geographic : 1936 Nov
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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE Photograph from Wide World "THEY HAVEN'T DONE RIGHT BY OUR COWCATCHER" This is the complaint of a veteran railroad man who laments the evolution of the standard steam locomotive (left) through the successive stages of streamlined electric, heavy-duty stream lined electric, to the rounded prow of the new steam locomotive, on the right. At maximum speed streamlining saves nearly 300 horsepower on these Pennsylvania engines. the advantage. The merchant profits by carrying smaller stocks, saves on storage, and can give quicker and more flexible service. Recently a customer entered a Boston store at 4 o'clock to buy a rug. The only one in stock that fitted the color scheme of his room was damaged. "If you like that rug, I will have a per fect one delivered to your home tomorrow morning," promised the salesman. "If there's another to be had, tell me where and I'll drive out to get it." "You will scarcely wish to do that, sir. I will wire our New York warehouse, they will put it on the night freight, and I'll have it out to you by 11 o'clock tomorrow morning." And he did! PICKUP AND DELIVERY A vast extension of faster freight serv ice has been accomplished by collection and delivery. If a peach grower of Georgia, or a hardware manufacturer of New Eng land, a butter and egg shipper of Wiscon- sin, or a sheep raiser in Utah wishes to ship even a small consignment, he has only to call a freight station. A truck will col lect his parcel, another truck will deliver it to consignee. Carload-lot shippers are known to every freight agent and their business is stable. But in the less than carload lots, the occa sional individual consignments, railroads have found a new field for freight expan sion. Railroad contracts with trucking companies for performing this service now form no mean item of the latter's business. To help handle these small shipments the container car was devised (page 565). Five or six huge steel boxes that look like magnified office safes are mounted on flat cars. If an entire consignment is for one shipper, a crane swings it from car to truck, the recipient unpacks the goods and re turns the container. Cattle from the plains, timber from the forests, coal from the mines, fruit from the orchards, fish from the sea, vegetables from gardens everywhere-how does it all get here, one wonders, as he scans the 566
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