Semaphore - April 1959

TRAINMASTER AGENTS

Four Promotions Announced

SEVERAL important promotions in the P & N's operating department were announced on April 1 by General Manager W. L. Hogan.

Walter N. Page, formerly agent at Greenville, was named to the position of trainmaster of the South Carolina Division with headquarters in Greenville. This position has been vacant since the death of A. C. Duncan.

Mr. Page's position as Greenville agent was filled by L. C. Helms Jr., who was promoted and transferred from his former position as Gastonia agent. Mr. Helms should not be confused with L. B. Helms Jr., commercial agent in Greenville.

The vacancy in Gastonia created by the transfer of Mr. Helms was filled by C. L. Sparks, who was promoted from his former post as agent at Belmont. Mr. Sparks was, in turn, succeeded by R. J. Barnes, formerly of the Charlotte agency.

Entire career with P & N

Mr. Page, a native of Whitney, S. C., was educated in the public schools of Spartanburg County and at Robinson's Business College in Spartanburg. His first and only employment has been with the P & N, beginning as a warehouseman in Spartanburg in June, 1940. He had advanced to cashier of the agency by 1944 when he entered the Navy for two years.

Upon return from the service he began a steady advancement with the company which has given him a variety of experience. In the intervening years he has been a utility clerk in Greenville, agent at Gastonia, agent at Spartanburrg, commercial agent at Greenville, and had been agent at Greenville since November, 19554. Mr. Page was married in 1943 to the former Miss Edna Keith of Anderson. They have a 10-year-old son, are mem-

[image of Trainmaster W. N. Page]

bers of the Baptist church, and make their home at 30 Lady Marion Lane in Greenville.

Experienced railroader

Mr. Helms, the new Greenville agent, is a native of Kannapolis, N. C., and a graduate of Thomasboro High School near Charlotte. In 1946 he joined the Southern Railway and served in various capacities until accepting the position as agent for the P & N in Gastonia effective July 1, 1957.

He is a veteran of five years of service in the Army during World War II as a technical sergeant, serving overseas in Panama, France, and Belgium. He was married in 1945 to the former Miss Hazel Jane Nivens of Charlotte. they have three children, are Presbyterians, and expect to move their home to Greenville in the near future.

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16 years of service

Mr. Sparks, the new Gastonia agent, was born in Lowell, N. C. and was educated in the public schools of Belmont. After completing his education he joined Stowe Thread Company in Belmont where he remained for more than two years before joining the P & N at Mt. Holly in January, 1943. Since that date he has served in various agency capacities in both Charlotte and Gastonia. He was cashier at Gastonia in 1955 when he moved over to Belmont as agent. He has been a member of the Belmont Kiwanis Club for several years and recently served as secretary. He has also been active in the First Baptist Church of Belmont for 24 years. Mr. Sparks is married to the former Miss Jacqueline Mills of Charlotte.

From Charlotte to Belmont

Mr. Barnes, the new agent in Belmont, is a veteran of 15 years of service with the P & N, most of which has been in various positions with the Charlotte agency. He is a native of Charlotte and was educated in the Charlotte public schools.

LET'S REMOVE THIS BARRIER

[cartoon of gentleman crossing in front of a train with a barrier]

RAILROAD QUIZ

1. What did the railroads spend for fuel in 1958--$294 million, $376 million, or $423 million?

2. Approximately how many railroad tunnels are there in the United States-- 1,150, 1,400, or 1,725?

3. Which of these locomotives was the first in Kansas--the "Albany," the "Pioneer," or the "Alert"?

4. Which of these states has the greatest railroad mileage -- Georgia, Michigan, or Minnesota?

5. What is the reporting mark for the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Company--B&A, BA, or BAR?

6. What was the widest track gauge ever used on railroads in the United States--5 feet, 6 feet, or 7 feet?

7. Who is credited with designing the hook-headed spike in use on railroads today--Henry Burden, Phineas Davis, or Robert L. Stevens?

8. In what year was the first permanent Railway Post Office car for picking up, sorting, and distrubting mail en route placed in operation--1864, 1871, or 1882?

9. In what year did total investment in railroad property exceed $10 billion for the first time--1890, 1900, or 1910?

10. How many locomotive units are owned by the Class I railraods--20,000, 25,000, or 30,000?

ANSWERS

1. $376 million. 2. 1,400. 3. "Albany." 4. Minnesota. 5. BAR. 6. 6 feet. 7. Robert L. Stevens (in 1831). 8. 1864. 9. 1900. 10. 30,000.

APRIL 7

THE YMCA BOOM

[image of building]

THIS has been a good year for the Young Men's Christian Associations in Piedmont and Northern territory. Of the P & N's six largest cities, no less than four are either in the process of constructing new YMCA buildings or are raising funds for one.

Under construction at the moment are three handsome new buildings which will be major assets to their communities. In Charlotte, a much-expanded new building costing over $2 million is well under construction. Twenty miles west in Gastonia a handsome $600,000 YMCA is beginning to rise above the ground. In South Carolina, Greenville has just broken ground for a building that will approach $1 million in cost and Spartanburg is conducting a fund raising campaign for a similar facility. All together that represents about $4.5 million in new YMCA construction -- undoubtedly the greatest

[image of YMCA building]

THE $2 MILLION CHARLOTTE YMCA IS ALREADY TAKING

8 SEMAPHORE

[image of a building]

SKETCH OF GASTONIA'S $600,000 "Y" NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION

building boom the organization has ever experienced in this area.

Charlotte, largest of the four cities, logically has the largest project underway. The new Charlotte "Y" is rising at the corner of East Morehead St. and Independence Boulevard on the site of the old Alexander Graham Junior High School. Its main section will be six stories high and will contain 120 dormitory rooms on the top four floors. The re-

[image of building]

NG SHAPE

mainder of the building will provide space and facilities for a greatly-expanded YMCA program. Included in the new building will be an auditorium, dining facilities, a fine indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, and a variety of health and physical education facilities. Ample offstreet parking areas and a central location will undoubtedly stimulate a vastly increased usage of the Charlotte "Y". All of this was made possible by the success of a capital funds drive conducted about two years ago.

Franklin Avenue site

The attractive new Gastonia YMCA is under construction on a site on West Franklin Avenue adjacent to a building which houses the Gastonica Chamber of Commerce. The site was formerly a park, and until a few years ago the last street car to operate in the city, "Old Ironsides No. 2," occupied a corner of the property. The old P & N car was enshrined on the site after the tracks were removed from Franklin Avenue a decade ago.

The Gastonia project, scheduled for completion during the first quarter of 1960, includes a combination indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a fine gymnasium, club rooms, lounges, a chapel, and many other attractive features. Its large general purpose room can accommodate sizeable gatherings and serve meals to

APRIL 9

as many as 200 persons. Tired business men will be able to enjoy the well- equipped health club facilities included in the project. The Gastonia Y facilities will be available to both men and women and boys and girls.

Greenville project starts In Greenville, groundbreaking ceremonies for the new YMCA building were held on April 23. Athletic fields, an outdoor-indoor swimming pool and numer- ous health and recreational facilities are included in the near-million dollar build ing project which will be constructed on a 28.5 acre site on Cleveland Stree Extension. Grading of the huge site is being done at not cost to the "Y" through arrangements with the Euclid Division of General Motors Corp. The firm will grade the site in order to demonstrate new equipment.

The Spartanburg project is still several months from the construction stage but rapid progess is being made on a capital funds drive which has a million- dollar goal. Spartanburg expects to build a family-type YMCA building which will be a great asset in the community life of the city.

Anderson, S. C., another important P & N community built a new YMCA building several years ago and therefore qualifies as a pace-setter among P & N cities.

When the money has been raised and the buildings are up the vital YMCA program will have a firmer foundation on which to build for the bright future ahead in Piedmont Carolina.

Rolling stock of the Class I railroads includes 30,000 locomotive units 33,500 passenger train cars, including 3,970 Pullman sleeping cars, and more than 2,000,000 freight cars, including about 275,000 privately owned cars—enough to form five solid trains reaching complete- ly across the continent from Maine to California.

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Senator Olin D.

The railroad industry was warmly praised in the Congressional Record of March 5 as an essential transportation service which has contributed mightily to the growth and development of the United States. The author of this glowing tribute to the rail industry was South Carolina's Senior Senator, Olin D. Johnston.

In the belief that this statement will be of interest to Piedmont and Northern employees and friends, SEMAPHORE is pleased to reprint the following digest of Senator Johnston's remarks:

In my opinion, one of the most vital of our industries today is our railroads. To neglect this segment of our economic system would indeed have dire and farreaching consequences . . .

"For the past few years, I have become increasingly concerned about the physical and financial condition of our great American railroad industry . . . I was much encouraged when the Congress enacted the Transportation Act of 1958, and removed the onerous 3 per cent excise tax on freight shipments.

More legislative relief

"These two pieces of legislation were, of course, very helpful, and, in my opinion, constituted a good beginning. We must, however, continue to look for a complete solution to the still present problems of discriminatory regulation, subsidization, and excessive taxation—all of which still plague this great industry. The ultimate solution of these problems can be accomplished only when the Congress acts to take into account the railroads' essentiality and importance to the economy of this country . . .

"More than $1 billion is paid by the industry in a normal year in the form of

SEMAPHORE