Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 161, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 July 1917 — MANY RAIL WRECKS [ARTICLE]

MANY RAIL WRECKS

Roads Badly Run Down Under Stress of War Service. TRACK IN POOR CONDITION V T- —r For Two Years It Has Been Impossible to Give Trackage and Rolling Stock Necessary Care—Skilled Labor Lacking. Central Europe’s food problems have during recent months been adversely influenced by the fact that slowly the railroads are losing their efficiency and are no longer able to do their share in the distribution of these necessities. The war has made heavy demands upon the lines, and it has been impossible to give trackage and rolling stock the care they require. For almost two years now the railroads have been neglected. This and the heavy traffic over many of the principal lines due to the war have made the railroad system a mere shadow of what it was formerly. Tracks in Poor Condition. Ballasting has been very indifferently done by old men, boys, women and prisoners of war, with the result that the wear- on the ties has been unusually severe, a condition which in its turn has caused a rapid deterioration of the rails and rolling stock. Lack of skilled labor has prevented the state and private railroads from keeping the rolling stock in good repair. This compelled a lessening in the speed of trains. A reduction of carrying capacity of the roads has also resulted. Locomotives especially are in poor condition. In their case neglect was added to more and heavier service. It Is very doubtful whether in all of central Europe it would be possible to find an engine capable of performing a service within 60 per cent of Its former efficiency. This Is especially noticeable in cold weather, when the steam issuing from a hundred leaking joints Illustrates what per cent of power is derived from the coal burned. Lines Tied Up by Wrecks. Hardly a week passes without some wreck. Most of these have been to freight trains, since the sweeping reductions in the speed of passenger trains were made last fall. The fact that the lines are then tied up for hours at a time increases the difficulty of the traffic situation. Last winter thousands of tons of potatoes and" other vegetables were ruined in this manner, trains having to be sidetracked for days in order to clear lines of wrecks and then permit delayed military .transports to pass. The outlook in railroad matters in central Europe is extremely gloomy. Many of the lines must be entirely relaid with ties and rails before a normal traffic can be conducted over them. While the war lasts this work cannot be done, and with each day the depreciation increases in almost geometrical proportions. The yards of most railroad centers are l clogged with rolling stock which is no longer serviceable. Should the war last another two years central Europe will be obliged .to completely re-equip most of ite lines. ..