Semaphore - August 1957

[photo of track being laid] LAYING TRACK in the shade is a rare privilege for roadway men. This siding, to serve the big A & P meat plant unter construction on Chemway Road, Charlotte, goes right into the rear of the new building.

[photo of men sitting at a table. The caption for photo on previous page]

[photo of tracks leading to warehouse being constructed] A NEW WAREHOUSE is under construction on Welborn St. in Greenville for Greenco Beverages Co. The buildin will contain 9,400 square feet. Greenco is the local Schlitz distributor.

[2 photos of new warehouse, front and back] THE FRONT of a new warehouse usually looks best to most people. But to a railroad the rail service side looks much better, especially if it is like the new B. F. Godrich building recently completed—double tracked and busy.

Goodrich Moves Into A New Home

The B. F. Goodrich Company has now formally opened its spanking new 66,000 square-foot distribution center in the P & N's Chemway Industrial District just outside of Charlotte.

Simultaneously with the opening of the new building, the company announced that the Charlotte facility would be headquarters for a newly-created zone rather than a district as it was formerly. The Charlotte zone warehouse has taken over territory previously in the Charlotte district plus most of the Washington district and parts of the Atlanta and Cincinnati districts. The new facility will serve the Carolinas, most of Virginia, and parts of Tennessee and West Virginia. More than 500 employees will report to the Charlotte zone office.

The new warehouse, of modern brick and steel construction, has room for the storage of more than 100,000 tires in addition to batteries, auto accessories, and any items of household goods sold in the Goodrich stores served by the zone.

A unique feature of the warehouse is a double-tracked rail siding on the rear which willl permit the simultaneous placement of up to ten box cars for loading or unloading. Cars placed on the outer track can be unloaded or loaded through cars on the inner track.

The Goodrich warehouse is the second major building completed in the new Chemway District. Allis-Chalmers completed a 50,000 sq. ft. distribution center for its tractor division nearly two years ago and a million-dollar-plus meat warehouse and plant for A & P is now under construction on an adjacent site. The latter facility is scheduled for completion this December.

Officials of the B. F. Goodrich zone warehouse include C. S. Milliken, zone manager; Truail Starr, supervisor of stores; Roger Patrizio, warehouse manager; and John Lemmond, Charlotte district manager.

12 SEMAPHORE

Along te Line NEWS ABOUT FOLKS WHO KEEP THE TRAINS ROLLING

GENERAL OFFICE

[photo of J. H. Wright] General Freight Agent J. H. Wright of Charlotte seemed to be in a happy mood when he posed for this picture taken at a recent picnic outing of the P & N General Office Club. Mr Wright is the P & N's top rate expert.

Mr. Chas L. Stark, daughter of General Freight Agent J. H. Wright, who has recently moved to Staunton, Va., where her husband, Major Chas. Stark, is military commandant of Augusta Military Academy, has recently been visiting her parents in Charlotte, recuperating from an operation. Mrs. Stark has now recovered and has returned to her home.

Mrs. Lola R. Berryhill of the accounting department and Homer R. Ellis also took vacations during July.

Assistant General Freight Agent D. V. Shippey and Mrs. Shippey took a trip to New York during July.

Ralph F. Goodson spent two weeks in August in traning with the N .C. National Guard at Fort Stewart, Georgia.

General Freight Agent Floyd E. Williams of Charlotte became a member of the Red Cross's exclusive Two-Gallon Club when he contributed his sixteenth pint of blood on August 2.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Womble and daughter, Deborah, enjoyed a week's vacation at Myrtle Beach during the last week in July. Mrs. Womble is secretary in the traffic department.

C. N. Sherill recently spent a few days in Washington visiting his daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Jester.

Mrs. Pat Heavner has recently joined the bookkeeping department replacing Mrs. Wilma Lemonds. Mrs. Heavner was formerly employed with the P & N at the Charlotte freight station.

Miss Alice Moody has returned to work after undergoing an operation at the York County Hospital in Rock Hill, S. C.

Nat S. Fisher enjoyed a vacation at Myrtle Beach during the month of July.

Mr. and Mrs. Carl D. Wilson spent a few days of their vacation visiting old Army friends in Kentucky.

Philip Lee was recent vacationer at Daytona Beach, Florida.

Wayne W. Thomas and family enjoyed a recent trip to the beach.

N. C. DIVISION

Mrs. D. A. Campbell, wife of Engineer Campbell was recently confined to Presbyterian Hospital, Charlotte.

Mrs. J. T. Moss, wife of Conductor Moss spent two weeks during July in Mercy Hospital, Charlotte.

Engineer W. A. Wentz and family spent the week of July 25 vacationing at Carolina Beach. Mr. Wentz doesn't claim full credit but he did assist in

AUGUST 13

landing a 65-pound fish.

Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Nesbit and son, Eddie, spent the week-end of July 27 at Parris Island, S. C., where their oldest son, Jim Jr., is in training with the U. S. Marines. They report a most interesting and enjoyable trip.

Baxter Bigham of the Charlotte Agency enjoyed his vacation the first two weeks of August when he and Mrs. Bigham spent some time at the beach and the balance in the mountains.

Retired Conductor J. C. Goodman was a recent patient at Presbyterian Hospital, Charlotte, where he was recovering from an operation.

AGFA E. E. Culbreath and Mrs. Culbreath enjoyed a week's vacation in July visiting Indianapolis, Ind.

John Henry Stikeleather, 86, of Charlotte, father of Engineer R. L. Stikeleather, died on July 22. Funeral services were held July 24 at the chapel of Douglas and Sing Funeral Home.

Cashier Gene McKnight of the Charlotte agency spent the last weeks in August vacationing at the beach.

Agent L. C. Helms and family report an enjoyable time at Myrtle Beach during a week-end in July.

J. P. Johnson, son of DFA and Mrs. J. B. Johnson of Gastonia, has been elected assistant vice president of the Wachovia Bank and Trust Company. The promotion was made on July 16 by the bank's board of director's meeting in Winston-Salem, N. C. Mr. Johnson was formerly assistant manager of the time payment department in Charlotte.

J. L. Lail, cashier in Gastonia agency, and family enjoyed a tour of Florida during July.

George T. Terrell, Gastonia's yard clerk, and Mrs. Terrell spent two weeks of their vacation during July visiting their daughter and her family in Erie, Pa., and also took a trip to Niagara Falls.

Engineer and Mrs. G. E. Wyatt and family spent the week of July 28 at Myrtle Beach.

[photo of bride and groom] Pictured above is the daughter and new son-in-law of E. T. White, cashier in the Greenville agency. The young couple, Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Ware Huff, were married at Welcome Baptist Church in Greenville on June 14. Mrs. Huff, a graduate of Welcome High School and Anderson College, was the former Miss Joan Anne White, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin T. White of White Horse Road, Greenville. Mr. Huff, a salesman for a Greenville company, is also a graduate of Welcome High School.

Agent and Mrs. W. N. Page and son Jerry spent a few days vacationing at Myrtle Beach, S. C. this month.

Mr. and Mrs. John Howard and family spent their vacation at Winston-Salem and Lexington, N. C. Mrs. Howard is a clerk in the Greenville agency.

Mr. and Mrs. G. C. Wilson and family spent part of their vacation at St. Petersburg, Fla. Mr. Wilson is the rate clerk in the Greenville agency.

Mr. and Mrs. H. G. Brown and family spent a few days of their vacation with Mr. Brown's parents in Charlotte, and then took a trip through the Great Smoky Mountains.

Cashier and Mrs. Malcolm Jones and

14 SEMAPHORE

young daughter, Yvonne, of Anderson vacationed at Cherry Grove, S. C. during July. This was Yvonne's first visit to the beach.

General Agent M. C. Watt of Anderson vacationed in the North Carolina mountains in late July; however, he had to cut his trip short when he came down with the flu. The remaining days were spent in bed at home recuperating.

RAILROAD QUIZ

1. Is a spot board used by a draftsman, a sigalman or a trackman?

2. For what railway office do the initials FFA stand?

3. When a wharf projects out from the shore line, is it called a quay or a pier?

4. What is the official name of the "Frisco" Railroad?

5. Who is credited with being the author of the ballad "Casey Jones"— Wallace Saunders, Sim Webb or Burl Ives?

6. When a rail spike is in track, does the part of the head which projects out the farthest point away from the rail or toward the rail.

7. Do bolts which fasten rail joints all point to the inside or to the outside of the track or do half of them point. oone way and half another?

8. What are the glass wire holders in a telegraph line called—roundels, insulators or spools.

9. Who many spike holes in a standard tie plate—4, 6, 8 or 10?

10. Is iron pipe designated by its inside diameter or its outside diameter.

ANSWERS [upside down] 1. By a trackman. 2. Foreign Freight Agent. 3. A pier. 4. St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company. 5. Wallace Saunders. 6. Toward the rail. 7. Half one way; half another. 8. Insulators (petticoat). 9. Four to eight, depending upon the use of anchor spikes. 10. Inside diameter.

Efficient Transportation.

A railroad train, manned by a crew of five men, can carry 5,000 tons of freight with ease and economy and at no cost to the taxpayers and no danger to highway users. On the other hand, the same load moving by highway would require 500 ten-ton motor trucks pounding highways into tax liabilities and endangering countless highway users. Such a movement would require 500 to 1000 men.

Railroads are among the largest employers of labor in America. By far the most important item in their operating budget is payroll. In 1956, out of every dollar of operating revenue taken in by Class I railroads (roads with annual revenues of more than $3,000,000 each) 47.9 cents were paid out in wages and 3.2 cents were paid out in payroll taxes for the support of railroad retirement and unemployment compensation systems for the benefit of emloyees—a total of 51.1 cents for both purposes.

Rail oddities

[drawing of train box cars next to flood waters] When flood waters of the Alabama River drove many families from their homes in North Little Rock, early this summer, a railroad quickly provided box cars as temporary living quarters.

[drawing of model train delivering food] A New York restaurant operates a miniature freight train that delivers hamburgers on flat cars to youngsters ranged along the counter.

[drawing of telegraph operator] Throughout their headquarters in St. Louis, officers of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers communicate with one another by telegraph . . . each happily tapping out his messages in Morse Code . . . with pride and joy that ony a confirmed "brass-pounder" understands.

Association of American Railroads 757

AUGUST 15