Show america gets new thrill from streamlined and modernized flyers lines enjoy higher passenger revenue by WILLIAM S PERKINS released by western newspaper union NEW YORK speeding across nevada the other night a glistening streamlined train struck the rail which a demented saboteur had purposely noved out of position twenty died and three score we were re injured in the ensuing wreck b but ut this tragedy nevertheless focused a national spotlight on the strides american railroading has made these past few years blazing a pioneers path across the continent modernism and speed in rail transportation have caused the public to respond with cash out of its pocket this encouraging state of affairs is indicated by the reception given the lightweight streamlined unit railroad train and its more frequent encountered stepbrother step brother the modernized erni zed standard train as these mile a minute innovations of american progress near the their fifth year of accomplished i fact fa five iv e years ago there was not a single streamlined train of either the unit or amod modernized erni zed variety in service on all the quarter million miles of american railia railway y which make up one third of the worlds total it appears from statistics issued by the association of american railroads today their rise to popularity has been so meteoric that we accept themas a common fact and by the time two all alum anum streamlined units now being built for missouri pacific are delivered there will be nearly just to prove that it pays to give the american people what they want every streamlined train operating in the united states has in its short lifetime produced additional passenger traffic and substantial e earnings for the road placing it in service operating records of these trains show that on virtually every railroad on which they have been introduced their net earnings have been from half to three quarters of the gross with the gross earnings rising steadily speed startles a nation yet it was not until february 12 1934 that americans got their first glimpse of a rear real streamliner that was when union pacifica all aluminum city of salina began its mile nationwide nation wide tour it seems incredible that citizens of the U S better accustomed to speedy train trav travel el than any other inhabitants of the earth would make up parties t to 0 drive down to the tracks and witte watch it the trains go by but this was the common thing with the advent of the earliest streamliners stream liners the Burling tons first stainless steel zephyr was completed and went on tour in may of the same year both these streamlined trains were of the unit classification w which hl C h engendered the real revolution in present day railroad travel that is to say engineering principles involving new standards of lightness speed and safety and thus blazing new trails for the roads to follow required require I 1 that the new trains be operated as self contained units which could not b be a broken up and interspersed s w with ith the old existing equipment idea spread quickly previews ot of the two pioneer trains at the century of progress exposition in chicago scored an immediate hit that was not to be minimized or denied and when their success had been demonstrated in actual service by V U P and burlington in the winter of ther other 0 railroads were quick to take advantage of the obvious appeal to the public taste and the race was on with the western roads leading the pack more streamlined trains were rushed to completion trains train s of both the unit type and the type attained by modernizing standard equipment with some streamlined features of design and more attractive and up to date decoration but still built to permit interchange with the older cars on the roads within a year a total of 13 more streamlined trains in both classifications had been placed in service to be followed by another 13 in 1936 20 in 1937 and 39 last year now nearing the century mark americas streamlined fleet has rapidly left the other railroads of the world biting the c cinder i rider dust thirty one trains oi of the unit type have been introduced in this country and 60 of the modernized type have made their bow U S leads in speed for many years the U S set the worlds pace in railroad safety now it can claim definite speed supremacy pre macy there are only eight trains in the world which maintain a 60 mile an hour average for a run of miles or more and they are all in this country their speed records are soon to be augmented by the new missouri pacific streamlined twins under construction by the american car foundry company these newcomers claimed by the builders to be the last word in streamlined unit construction from both engineering arid and artistic points of view will also run on virtually a mlle mile a minute schedule although over a shorter route from st it louis to kansas city and omaha streamlined trains have clipped hours almost days in some cases from trips that have known schedules virtually stationary tor for years they now speed from chicago to los angeles in 39 hours 45 minutes 17 hours faster than their fleetest predecessors from chicago to kansas city in 7 hours and from chicago to new york in hi 16 it might be noted here that trains of the unit type are prevalent P re valent in the west while the eastern roads depend more upon the modernized version although this Is not always true demonstrate value of research streamlined trains are visible proof railroad officials say of the ability of industry and research to create new improvements with an appeal to practicability as well as imagination especially is this true in the metal industries which have produced the lightweight aluminum alloys and stainless steel which make the trains ot of today possible aluminum has come into its own on the railroads since they have taken advantage of its lightness combined with strength durability and economy of maintenance and employed it to meet demands for high speed and increased safety approximately one third of all the virgin aluminum produced now goes into the transportation field and the competition between this metal and others such as stainless steel is a first line skirmish in the bloody battle of the metals union pa civics huge streamlined fleet is an all aluminum while Burling tons new trains are built ot of stainless steel which likewise has found a ready market in streamlined train development probably in the end all trains will be built neither of aluminum nor of steel but of both even now every stainless steel train cotita contains ins some aluminum and every ever aluminum train uses at least a little steel tomorrow all trains will use each metal in the places where that metals characteristics acte are most advantageous |