Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1913 — KEEPING TRACK OF THE CARS [ARTICLE]

KEEPING TRACK OF THE CARS

How the Car Accountant Records -the Movements -of Each Car In Service. When a car passes the road owning it, the conductor handling the car on the last division of the home road reports to the car accountant that the car was delivered to such a foreign road at such a place. This road then becomes responsible for the car until it has been hauled to the end of its line and turned over to another roodT when what is known as an “interchange card” is forwarded to the owner of the car informing him that the car has passed off his road and has been delivered to the connecting line, which then' becomes responsible for vious road, until the owner of the car can be notified that it has been delivered to some other company. ■The car accountant, on receiving the conductor’s train sheetß, first checks them against the reports which are sent him by the checkers at the different division points. The car numbers are then entered in a record book, against the proper stations at which the cars are reported. The stations along the road, instead of being known by their .•• correct names, are designated by numbers, and these numbers represent not only the stations, but the number of mileß these stations are from the terminal. Thus, thq number "125” would represent a station of a certain name which is 125 miles from the terminal of the road. At the end of the month, when tlyef mileage is figured, these numbers facilitate the work greatly, as when an item occurs of ten ears moved from the terminal of the road to station 126, the mileage is readily seen to be 125 miles.