January 1953 page 15

What Do You Know?

Test your knowledge of railroad and rail-
roading. The answers are below. If you
answer 5 of the following questions correctly,
you are good; if you answer 6 of 7, you are
very good; if you answer 8 or 9, you are way
above average; if you answer all 10, you are
a whiz.

1. Where is the world's largest rail-
way library -- in Chicago, Washing-
ton, D. C., New York City, or Lon-
don, England?

2. What is the distinction between a
pannsenger car and a passenger train
car?

3. How far does the average freight
shipment travel by rail -- about 200,
300 or 400 miles?

4. Is the folding structure atop an
electric locomotive used for trans-
mitting electric current from an
overhead wire to the locomotive
known as a pantograph, a catenary,
or a trolley?

5. Guess within 100,000 the average
number of persons employed by the
Class I railroads in 1951.

6. In what standard time zone is
Ohio--Eastern or Central?

7. About how many carloads of
revenue freight originated daily on
the Class I railroads in 1951 -- 66,-
000; 111,000; or 155,000.

8. What department of the railroads
is primarily responsible for making
and adjusting freight rates -- Ac-
counting, Engineering, Operating,
or Traffic?

9. How much do railroads receive on
the average, for carrying a passen-
ger one mile -- about 2 1/2 cents, 3 1/2
cents, or 4 1/2 centes?

10. What is a receiving track -- a track
used for arriving trains in a freight
yard; a track used for unloading
cars at a freight station; or a track
where cars are transferred from one
railroad to another?

Answers

1. Washington, D. C. 2. A passenger car
carries passengers, while a passenger train
car is any car commonly used in passenger
train operations. 3. About 400 miles. The
average haul in 1951 was 420 miles. 4. Pan-
tograph. 5. 1,276,000. 6. Eastern. 7. About 111,-
000 on the average. 8. Traffic Department.
9. About 2 1/2 cents -- 2.6 cents, to be exact.
10. A track yard used for arriving trains in a
freight yard.

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Class I railway taxes in the first ten
months of 1952 amounted to $1,052,000,-
000, compared with $984,000,000 in the
corresponding period of 1951, an in-
crease of $68,000,000 or 6.9 per cent.

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In the twelve-month period ended
September 30, 1952, Class I railroads
earned an average return of 4.25 per
cent on property investment -- 1.75 per
cent short of the 6 per cent return
which business leaders regard as neces-
sary for the maintenance of sound
health and credit standing in the in-
dustry.

[image: comic regarding railroad history]

January IN RAILROAD HISTORY

FIRST FARE-PAYING
PASSENGERS ON AN
AMERICAN RAILROAD
CARRIED AT BALTIMORE
JANUARY 7, 1830.

FIRST THROUGH TRAIN
COMPLETED RUN FROM
CHICAGO TO OHIO RIVER
AT CAIRO, JANUARY 8, 1855

GROUND BROKEN AT
CHARLESTON, SOUTH
CAROLINA, JANUARY 9,
1830, FOR FIRST RAIL-
ROAD IN THE UNITED
STATES TO EMPLOY
STEAM POWER REGULARLY

16 SEMAPHORE