ENPages
January 1953 Front Cover
Semaphore SERVICE WITH COURTESY JANUARY 1953 The Magazine of the Piedmont & Northern and Durham & Southern Railways
[photo of woman checking out railway magazines]
IN THIS ISSUE . . . Banquet Photos
January 1953 page 1
THIS GRUMBLING BUSINESS
A wise man once pointed out that there is nothing easier than finding fault . . . it takes no brains whatsoever to set yourself up in the grumbling business.
From the beginning of time man has encountered this temptation, and in all too many instances has fallen easily (and perhaps unknowingly) into the habit of being continuously unhappy about the way he is treated, the way things are done, or the way other people act. This unhappiness brings on grumpiness and grumpiness is the handmaiden of rudeness. Every day friendships are broken and customers are lost because of discourtesy or tactlessness.
Railroaders who are dealing with the public frequently encounter things which can be annoying - a request for an unusual service, a seemingly unjustified complaint, conflicting instructions. The first reaction of the grumblers is to "tell 'em where to get off." Their trademark is the old self-righteous, "they can't pull that stuff on me" attitude.
Our motto is "Service with Courtesy." Where our service has been no better than that of our competitors, the courtesy has made the difference. Through the years we have been fortunate to have employees who understand the importance of being courteous above all things. We feel very strongly that this outlook has contributed materially to our success.
Making a habit of being polite is one of the finest qualities of human nature and it is one of the first rules of success. It goes without saying that when the time comes for promotions and raises it pays to have a reputation for being courteous and cooperative.
If you're in the grumbling business, you would do well to liquidate today. You would be much better off in the courtesy business.
January 1953 page 2
Semaphore JANUARY 1953 VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1 Magazine of the Piedmont & Northern and Durham & Soutern Railways
EDITOR THOMAS G. LYNCH Director of Industrial Development and Public Relations
CORRESPONDENTS
| Elizabeth N. Watt | Anderson | Delia H. Brown | Greenville |
| Lennie Featherstone | Belmont | Evelyn Williams | Greenville |
| Elsie K. Walker | Charlotte | Sarah Y. Stroud | Greenwood |
| Dora A. Whitaker | Durham | Lucille M. Dameron | Mt. Holly |
| Gladys M. Bottoms | Durham | H. W. Kay | Spartanburg |
| Jean Greene | Gastonia | Katherine Brown | Varina |
IN THIS ISSUE . . . Keeping Track ..................................... 4 Annual Banquets ................................. 5 Charlotte Banquet ............................... 6 Greenville Banquet ..............................8 New D & S Directors ...........................10 Shippers News....................................11 Staff Conference.................................12 Semaphore Trims Down.....................14 Along the Line...................................17
THIS MONTH'S COVER . . .
With this issue SEMAPHORE makes its debut as a pocketsized magazine. As pretty Miss Peggie Dick of the accounting department discovered, there are many well-known railroad magazines which have already trimmed their measurements. Many of then made the change long ago. Others, like SEMAPHORE, are newcomers to the field. But, new or old, each is convinced that the smaller size offers numerous advantages and if properly edited and made up can be just as attractive as a large size. If you're more interested in "Miss" than the magazine, forget it. She's already spoken for.
January 1953 page 3
Keeping Track . . .
On February 8 the New York TIMES will publish a special rotogravure section featuring industrial opportunities in South Carolina. The section, a part of the regular Sunday paper, will broadcast a few pounds of facts designed to attract new industries and people to South Carolina. The supplement is a special project of Governor Byrnes and the S. C. Research, Planning & Development Board. They figured the TIMES carried more weight than any other yankee newspaper. . . and if you are skeptical, try to lift a Sunday edition.
The P & N's Thrift Road industrial development got a nice plug at the annual meeting of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce this month. a special film shown at the meeting included scenes at the development and the area was described as an important asset to Charlotte.
Progress editions of newspapers will be popping out all over the Piedmont late this month. With so much progress to report and no dearth of advertisers most of the larger papers in the section have no trouble getting the editions together. There's no doubt that they serve as an excellent record of the dramatic changes which the area is experiencing. The problem is how to find time to read and absorb all the information they contain.
The P & N is getting a new set of togs. The new mileposts, whistle posts, and yard limit signs which are now being installed will make the railroad look its Sunday best all week long.
One of the largest railroad shipments ever to be attempted will be handled soon on the N. C. Division. A 485,000 pound gross weight load of Allis-Chalmers electrical equipment for the Duke Power Company's River Bend plant is expected to be delivered to the P & N within the near future.
Tweetsie, the famous little narrow-gauge train, has been sold and carted off to Virginia where it will operate "for fun" on a one mile stretch of track installed on a farm near Harrisonburg, Va. Tweetsie, famous for her years of service between Boone, N. C., and Johnson City, Tenn., was formerly owned and operated by the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad.
It looks like 1952 wills how in the records as one of the safest years for railroad passenger travel. In the first eleven months of 1952 there was only one fatality for each 2,200,000,000 (that's billion, not million) miles of passenger travel, a rate of .645 per 100,000,000 miles. Here's an idea of how safe it was to ride the railroads last year. If you traveled continuously night and daay at an average speed of 60 miles an hour you could keep it up for 4,734 years without expecting your number to come up. How safe can you get?
4 SEMAPHORE
January 1953 page 4
[photo of large banquet, spans top half of page both columns 1 & 2] SOUTH CAROLINIANS GOT TOGETHER FOR A FINE DINNER AT THE POINSETT HOTEL
Banquets Give The Year A Good Start
[column 1]
ANNUAL banquets held in Charlotte and Greenville early this month feted more than 600 P & N employees and guests and helped to get the New Year off to a good start.
The North Carolina Division was the first with its banquet at the Hotel Charlotte on January 3. This gala occasion under the chairmanship of John F. Manley, attracted 325 persons. It began with a banquet and ended in a lively dance.
South Carolina followed close behind the Tarheels with an enjoyable banquet and dance held at the Poinsett Hotel in Greenville on January 10. Harry T. Campbell was chairman of the arrangements committee for this successful event. Approximately 275 em-
[column 2]
ployees and guests were on hand for the festivities.
The only serious business conducted at either banquet was the awarding of service pins and a brief message from President Rankin. But even so, the banquets reflected the strong spirit of friendliness and teamwork which has contributed so materially to the success of the P & N through the years.
The unavailability of suitable banquet facilities in Durham necessitated cancellation of this year's annual Durham & Southern banquet. However, it is expected that the event will be resumed next year.
On the pages to follow SEMAPHORE, through the medium of the camera, has attempted to recapture the festive spirit of the two banquets.
JANUARY, 1953 5