This is Our Railroad; The 111 Central Family Book. inois RAIXR THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL FAMILY BOOK We must have railroads in and for America— solvent railroads, strong railroads, manned by alert and respected workmen, directed by pro- gressive management, modernized to fit the needs of American enterprise, operating under sound policies of government, and commanding the confidence of the American people. — Wayne A. Johnston ^^W^i^^i^^w*— >^*'^*'^^^—^fc* 0O /Ae ntem/et^^ o£ ^/te f^/Zin^i^ ^enAct/ ^afui/^ 6c fneec/i /c //te ^if^cce^ ofcu^ THIS BOOKLET IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED x^^^ ^Telcome To THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL "THIS IS OUR RAILROAD" has been prepared primarily for the newcomers into Illinois Central service; yet, it contains the sort of information all of us like to have for handy reference, no matter whether we have been with the company half a century or half a week. This booklet may contain statements that are not entirely clear to you, or it may leave some of your questions unanswered. In either event, feel no hesitancy about asking questions; in fact, we urge you to ask them freely. Your first source of information is your immediate supervisor. Things that new members of the Illinois Central family usually want to know are: What are some of the important advantages that employes of the company enjoy? What is my opportunity for advancement with the Illinois Central? What does the Illinois Central expect of me? How is the Illinois Central organized, and what does it do? How and when did the Illinois Central get its start? The answers to these and many other questions can be found in this boo klet by referring to the table of contents. To newcomers, I express the hope that this marks the beginning of a long and pleasant business career for you in Illinois Central service. You have cast your lot with a railroad which has a long and excellent record. The Illinois Central pioneered in the development of our great Midwest and the South. It has a sound and enduring pride in almost a century of distinguished service. If our company is to hold its rightful place among competitive railroads and other forms of transportation, those of us to whom its direction is entrusted must have worthy aims. The Illinois Central's policy outlined on the next page briefly expresses principles which should guide us in the operation of our railroad. May I ask you, as your predecessors have been asked, to accept such a policy as a code of conduct for our work together. Sincerely, President ■ ~ ■ "» W ■ j_ III __ f31 THE ILLINOIS CENTRA L'S POLICY To provide adequate and dependable trans- portation, give courteous service, make con- tinued improvements; To maintain fair and reasonable rates that will stimulate the flow of commerce and cover the necessary costs of operation; To keep our railroad a good place to work, paying reasonable wages, giving employes fair treatment, providing them with tools to do good work; To meet our financial obligations in a manner that will maintain credit and attract capital for improvements; To deserve the confidence and good will of our friends and neighbors. What our railroad is doing to carry out these pledges will he disclosed to you in the pages that follow. [4] Welcome to the Illinois Central The Illinois Central's Policy . Page . 3 PART 1 EMPLOYE BENEFITS AND WELFARE ACTIVITIES An Essential Industry 9 Stability of Employment 9 Promotions 9 Payday and Deductions 10 Medical, Hospital and Surgical Care . 10 Group Insurance 11 Railroad Retirement and Unemployment Laws 12 Employes' Suggestion System .... 12 Employes' Service Clubs 13 A Place To Save and Borrow Money. 14 Everybody Kept Informed 14 Our Magazine 15 Importance of Rules 16 Safety Comes First 16 Courtesy 17 Good Housekeeping 18 Free Transportation 18 Vacations 18 Recognition of 2 5, 40 and 50 Years' Service 18 Service Bars and Stars 19 Labor Organizations 19 Change of Name, Address, Etc. ... 19 If You Resign 19 PART 2 ORGANIZATION OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL Executive Department 22 Operating Department 22 Traffic Department 23 Purchasing and Stores Department . 23 Accounting Department 24 Treasury Department 24 Secretary 24 Law Department 25 Engineering Department 25 Personnel Department 26 PART 3 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL IS AND DOES Map of Illinois Central in 1947 ... 28 The Original Illinois Central .... 28 Main Line of Mid-America 28 An East-West, North-South Railroad . 29 500 Connecting Lines 29 Climatic and Geographical Advantages 29 Few Steep Grades 30 Traffic Advantages 30 Pioneered in Traffic Solicitation ... 30 Ranks High in Tonnage and Revenue 30 Sources of Freight Revenue 30 $20,000 Invested for Each Job ... 31 Yards 31 Chicago Produce Terminal 32 Shops 32 Steam Locomotives 33 Diesel-Electric Locomotives 33 Experimenting with Gas Turbines . . 33 Passenger Trains 34 Chicago Suburban Service 35 Conclusion, by C. R. Young 36 The Guy in the Glass 37 I 51 [6] THIS IS OUR RAILROAD (^^t 1 EMPLOYE BENEFITS AND WELFARE ACTIVITIES [71 AN ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY THERE could be no progress with- out transportation; it enters in some way into everything we have or do. Every form of transportation has its part to play, but there is nothing in existence or in sight which can conceivably match the railroads in importance either in time of peace or war. In World War II railroads hauled 90 per cent of all Army and Navy freight, and 97 per cent of all troops. Railroads never close down — they run 24 hours a day, every day in the year. While the world sleeps, thou- sands of passenger, express, mail and freight trains are speeding through the night, performing their impor- tant tasks. About a million and a half men and women are employed to operate the railroads of the United States, in- cluding the Railway Express Agency and the Pullman Company. Together with their families, they make up a group of about six million persons. The 128 groups into which railway employes have been divided by the Interstate Commerce Commission represent every type of work and profession. STABILITY OF EMPLOYMENT There is a unique fascination about trains and travel — the thrilling power of the steam locomotive, the stream- lined newness of the diesel-electric. In railroad work, there also is a defi- nite satisfaction in knowing one's ef- forts are a vital part of the nation's life. Most railroad people like their work and are proud of their industry; they stick with their jobs. That is well borne out by the fact that, out of a total of 40,000 persons who now have an active employment relation- ship with the Illinois Central, 10,000 have been members of our organi- zation from 15 to 25 years, another 11,000 from 25 to 40 years, another 1,200 from 40 to 50 years, and at least 70 stalwarts can point to 50 years or more. In other words, more than 53 per cent of us have been members of the Illinois Central family for 15 years or more. Need one ask for bet- ter proof of stability? PROMOTIONS Everything in the world has a price tag. The price of success is working for better things instead of wishing for them. All the ambition in the world won't get us much unless we do something about it. The qualities that invite promotion today are the same as they have al- ways been. They are: highly devel- oped ambition, initiative, persever- ance, determination and a passion for knowledge. When these qualities are accompanied by natural talent, good training, integrity, an agreeable per- sonality and ability to work well with others, they go a long way toward determining how far any per- son is likely to progress. The path to promotion must be paved with never-ending self- im- provement. And in all your search and study, let your method always be not merely to memorize but to under- stand. To the individual who grasps these ideas and applies them, service with the Illinois Central offers a broad field of opportunity. To obtain pro- motion with the Illinois Central one must demonstrate desire and capacity for greater responsibilities. There is always a possibility for promotion for the person who is willing to fit 91 himself or herself for the next step up. Each member of our organiza- tion has a part to play. Our com- pany's success depends upon the qual- ity of the work done by all of us. Your personal success depends, in a large measure, upon the company's prosperity. With us, as the older members of our railroad family already know, management and those in non-super- visory positions are largely the same people — only at different stages of their careers. No matter what the nature of any job on the Illinois Cen- tral may be, you can feel pretty sure that our supervisors and officers once worked at similar levels, meeting the same problems. Become acquainted with these men. You will find that they are interested in your welfare and problems. They know that, in the years to come, it will fall to many of today's newcomers to take over the job of guiding the destinies of the Illinois Central and they are eager that those chosen for this responsi- bility shall be ready to meet it. PAYDAY AND DEDUCTIONS Every member of our organization receives in wages just what he gets in his paycheck, less authorized de- ductions. There are no bonuses for anyone. Naturally the higher respon- sibilities command higher pay. Your paydays will come at semi- monthly intervals. The dates vary ac- cording to locations. Your imme- diate supervisor will tell you how and when you are to be paid. There will be a stub attached to every paycheck you receive to assist you in maintaining a record of the amount of your earnings and to show the several deductions made there- from. The deductions from your earnings for Federal Income Tax and Railroad Retirement Tax are re- quired by law. Deductions covering contributions to the Hospital Depart- ment and for group insurance pre- miums ( when made ) are required by company rules. There are also cer- tain approved deductions not specifi- cally required by law or by company rules which will be made from your earnings at your request. If there is any question about your paycheck, consult your immediate supervisor. MEDICAL, HOSPITAL AND SURGICAL CARE The Illinois Central Hospital De- partment is maintained principally by contributions from members and administered by a board on which labor and management are repre- sented. With but few exceptions (physi- cal condition or age), employment with the Illinois Central automati- cally includes membership in the Hos- noi Contributors are eligible for treat- ment in the Hospital Department's three general hospitals. These are lo- cated in Chicago, 111., New Orleans, La., and Paducah, Ky. In addition, contributors may obtain treatment from designated Hospital Depart- ment local surgeons, of which there are more than 700 located in the com- munities served by our railroad. Names and locations of company sur- geons are listed in the company's Official List. If it should become necessary for you to absent yourself from our serv- ice for any cause other than illness or physical injury, and provided you are on an authorized leave of absence, or otherwise retain your employment relationship, and if during such pe- riod you do not engage in other serv- ice or business, you may continue to receive the benefits of the Hospital Department by paying your monthly contributions in advance through your employing officer. You are urged to become familiar with the rules and regulations of the Hospital Department. pital Department. Assuming that you are eligible for membership, the fol- lowing applies to you: An amount determined by the Hos- pital Department Board is deducted from your paycheck in each payroll period. This entitles you to medical, hospital and surgical care from the first day of your employment, as pro- vided for in the rules and regulations of the Hospital Department; namely, hospital accommodations, nursing service, professional services of phy- sicians and surgeons for operations, treatment, or office and residence visits. With few exceptions, all neces- sary medicines prescribed by our sur- geons are furnished by the Hospital Department. GROUP INSURANCE If you qualify as an employe and are eligible, you are required, as a con- dition of employment, to subscribe to the monthly group term life, acci- dent and health insurance under the low-cost plan in effect on the Illinois Central. The current monthly con- tribution will be deducted from your current monthly payroll earnings and does not cover any advance payments. The amount of insurance protec- tion for each qualified and eligible employe depends upon his job class- ification. The group life certificates range from S1,000 to $5,000, and the accident and health certificates from S30 to $75 a month. If, while you have an employment relationship with the Illinois Central fill and are Insured under the group in- surance plan, you do not receive any payroll earning from the Illinois Central during a period of absence of one or more calendar months for any reason whatsoever, and provided that during such period of absence you do not engage in any other business or employment of any kind, you may continue the group insurance in eflfect by paying the contributions, in cash, on or before the 25th day of the calendar month, or months, in which due. Such payments can be made at any through ticket agency on the Illinois Central and at our hospitals at Chicago, New Orleans and Pa- ducah. You are urged to read your certifi- cates carefully and become familiar with their provisions. Ask your im- mediate supervisor about any features you do not understand. Keep your certificates in a safe place. It is gen- erally desirable that the beneficiary be informed regarding the location of the insurance certificates. RAILROAD RETIREMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT LAWS Under the provisions of laws passed by Congress, known as the Railroad Retirement and Unemployment Insurance Acts, the Government of the United States levies taxes against all of a railroad employe's earnings that do not exceed $300 a month, as follows: % of Tax Levied for Old Age Pensiooi % of Tax Levied for Unemployment Insurance Total of Both Earnings in Calendar Year You Pay Our Company Pays You Pay Our Company Pays You Pay Our Company Pays 1948 5.75% 6.0 % 6.25% 5.75% 6.0 % 6.25% .5% .5% .5% 5.75% 6.0 % 6.25% 6.2 5% 6.50% 6.75% 1949-1950-1951.. . 1952 & thereafter. . . Limited to the provisions of the above-mentioned acts, payment by you and the Illinois Central of Rail- road Retirement Taxes, and by the Illinois Central of Unemployment Insurance Taxes, entitles you or your dependents to certain benefits, such as: 1. Old-age pension, disability income or unemployment in- surance for yourself. 2. Monthly annuity to depend- ents at your death. 3. A lump-sum payment at your death in lieu of monthly in- come to dependents. The provisions of the Railroad Re- tirement and Unemployment Insur- ance Acts are too numerous and com- plicated to permit covering them in this manual. If you desire informa- tion on some specific item at any time, consult your immediate super- visor. If he does not have the infor- mation immediately available he will be glad to obtain it for you from the proper department. EMPLOYES' SUGGESTION SYSTEM // pays to think and suggest on the Illinois Central! Whether you are a newcomer or [12 1 a veteran in the Illinois Central fam- ily you have a splendid opportunity to earn recognition and extra money by participating in the Employes' Suggestion System. Thousands of dol- lars in cash awards are earned by thinking employes every year. Here is how the system works : Suggestion blanks are provided at convenient locations over the rail- road. Take one of these blanks and write out your suggestion in the space provided for that purpose. Remove and keep the stub, and mail the sug- gestion in the envelope provided. Then watch the suggestion bulletins issued weekly. They show by num- bers the disposition of all suggestions. The number on the stub corresponds to the number on the suggestion blank and will identify you as the suggestor. After the suggestion is given in- itial consideration by the joint labor- management committee in whose jur- isdiction you are employed, it is then forwarded with a recommendation to the general joint labor-manage- ment committee for review. If your suggestion is adopted, or if any other action is taken as a result of the con- sideration given to your suggestion, you will receive a cash award. The minimum award for a sug- gestion is $5. There is no maximum award! One suggestor earned $2,605 with a single idea! Another was paid $1,830! Still others have earned awards of $1,000, and so on down the line. The possibilities are unlim- ited. Where a suggestion has a meas- urable value to the railroad, the award is approximately 10 per cent of its value over a period of one year. The way to form the habit of thinking constructively is simply to LOOK AT EVERYTHING WITH AN EYE TO IMPROVEMENT. Study your own job and the jobs of those around you. Watch the Thought Stimulators that appear on the sug- gestion bulletin boards for leads on some of the railroad's problems. Start now and share in the progress of the Illinois Central. Start each day with the thought: "Am I doing this the best way.' Could it be done easier, safer, better.''" The suggestion system was estab- lished for YOU to use. It is yours. Through it you can earn extra money and recognition as a thinker and doer. Make the most of it! EMPLOYES' SERVICE CLUBS 'He who has a thousand friends has never one to spare . . . " Through participation in the social, education- al and recreational activities of our employes service clubs, Illinois Cen- tral workers, members of their fam- ilies and friends outside the railroad develop better understanding and ap- preciation of one another and of the possibilities of their jobs. There are more than forty of these clubs on our railroad. Regular attendance at serv- [131 ice club meetings and other affairs can pay you rich dividends in enjoy- ment and lasting friendships. Our employes service clubs are not fettered with a lot of rviles and regu- lations. You may feel free at all times to express yourself on matters which you feel are to your club's interest or which you believe will make the Illi- nois Central a better place to work. While the railroad assists these clubs in many ways, it does not un- dertake to direct their activities. The members make their own rules and administer the affairs of the clubs in every particular. A PLACE TO SAVE AND BORROW MONEY For the purpose of encouraging thrift through convenient and systematic saving at an attractive rate of interest, as well as to establish a source of low- cost credit where members may bor- row money for provident purposes without embarrassment or delay, Illi- nois Central workers have organized credit unions in a number of cities along our railroad. Why not take full advantage of this invitation by your credit union to save systematically.'* Should an emergency arise making if necessary to borrow money, you will do well to take advantage of the lower rate of interest your credit union charges. Employe credit unions are located at Centralia, 111., Champaign, 111., Chicago, 111., Clinton, 111., East St. Louis, 111., Jackson, Miss., McComb, Miss., Memphis, Tenn., New Orleans, La., Paducah, Ky., Vicksburg, Miss., and Waterloo, la. The Seminole Credit Union is available to our people at Birmingham. All Illinois Central credit unions are chartered under either federal or state laws. The railroad exercises no voice in their management and as- sumes no responsibility for their op- erations. Members elect their own di- rectors and officers. EVERYBODY KEPT INFORMED The first concern of the men who have successively managed the aflFairs of the Illinois Central for nearly a century have been to provide the es- sentials of railroad service such as: cars, locomotives, tracks, yards, build- ings and bridges, and to use these tools efficiently and safely to serve our patrons. There were the founda- tion stones of material industrial achievement; in the very nature of things, they came first. For more than a quarter century, each succeeding management has been consciously and insistently shap- ing a new concept — the concept of management as a trusteeship, having three beneficiaries: the people who own the Illinois Central, the people who work for the Illinois Central and the public. While this was con- sidered radical years ago, today it is [14 commonplace that industry takes for granted its tools of service and the things it produces, and reserves its most critical attention for human components. The Illinois Central takes pride in its early recognition of this concept, as well as in the fruits of that recognition. Ours was one of the first major railroads in the country to take the public into its confidence through paid advertisements in hundreds of newspapers to tell the people what the Illinois Central was doing and how and why. The things that were done and the ways they were done by the Illinois Central from that be- ginning are today recognized and ac- cepted as the very soul and center of sound public relations. The Illinois Central also pioneered in giving to its own people things for them to think about and to talk about with their friends and neigh- bors, thus stimulating and inspiring the entire organization to make and hold friends for our company and the railroad industry generally. The future of the railroads and, consequently, of railroad jobs, is a matter of creating and holding pub- lic preference in a highly competitive field. The successful railroad of the future will be manned by alert and respected workmen — people who are proud of being railroaders, who know that theirs is a public service fundamental to national well-being, essential, reward-worthy, truly a life worth living. These alert men and women will be so interested in the progress of the railroad industry that they will speak up for it at every op- portunity and share with manage- ment and the public alike the thoughts and ideas and observations they develop with respect to better railroading. OUR MAGAZINE When the members of a large family "grow up" and go their respective ways it is not uncommon for them to become separated by many miles. Yet, each retains his or her interest in what the other members are doing. So they write to each other occasion- ally giving the latest news about themselves and their children. In much the same fashion, we members of the Illinois Central family, al- though frequently separated by hun- dreds of miles, keep in touch with one another through the pages of the Illinois Central Magazine. Our magazine aims at making Illinois Central folks better acquaint- ed and better friends, and to bind us into closer co-operation for our com- mon good. It does more than just bring us news about other members of our railroad family and their fam- ilies. Through its column "What's Going On.'" as well as reprints of the company's institutional advertising and talks and articles on railroad subjects, it equips us to discuss the things about which our friends may be asking. [15] In addition to being available each month (without charge) to every member of the Illinois Central fam- ily, copies of our magazine go to former employes and outsiders who are likely to be especially interested. Universities and colleges have ob- tained permission to use its articles on general railroad subjects in their textbooks. Other railroad magazines and general publications use material from it. In these ways, the Illinois Central Magazine plays a major role in creating and holding public good will, as its pages regularly reflect our conduct, performance and opinions to our customers and other friends. Every member of our railroad fam- ily is invited to submit material which he or she believes will be of general interest. Your contributions may be made to your division editor, department correspondent or directly to the Magazine Department at Chi- cago. IMPORTANCE OF RULES There is an old saying to the effect that "The book of rules is the rail- road man's Bible." More than any other business, a railroad must be run according to definite rules. Every rule in the book is important and has a good reason for its existence. These needs and purposes should become plainly evident, especially to those who are entering train, engine or yard service. All of our rules have been carefully worked out from the experience of nearly a hundred years of railroad- ing. If the company has printed rules covering your particular job, your immediate supervisor will be glad to see that you receive a copy. You are urged to familiarize yourself with company rules and to follow them literally at all times. There are a number of rules and regulations which have been created for the guidance of Illinois Central employes engaged in specific types of work others have more general ap- plication. The titles of our more im- portant guide-books are listed below: SAFETY RULES. RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT. RULES FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF WAY AND STRUCTURES. OFFICE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT. GENERAL RULES AND INFORMATION FOR THE GUIDANCE OF EMPLOYES IN THE CHIEF SPECIAL AGENT'S DEPARTMENT. GENERAL RULES FOR THE GUIDANCE OF ALL EMPLOYES OF THE DINING SERVICE DEPARTMENT. RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS GOVERNING FIRE PREVENTION AND FIRE PROTECTION. RULES AND SPECIFICATIONS GOVERNING THE UNIFORMING OF EMPLOYES. HOSPITAL DEPARTMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS. MAKING AND HOLDING FRIENDS THROUGH COURTESY. // is important that supplements to rules be pasted in the proper book as soon as you receive them. SAFETY COMES FIRST The best safety device known is a careful man. The most important rules that govern the operation of a railroad are those which pertain to safety. In the operation of a good railroad, safety ranks at the top along with courtesy. We believe that safety and courtesy rightfully belong to- gether because they express our thoughtfulness for others as well as for ourselves. The constant aim is to make our railroad a safer place to work. Be- cause of its continued improvement in this direction the Illinois Central has repeatedly won high awards from the National Safety Council. Our goal is to continue to make 16 the Illinois Central the safest railroad in the world, and we are counting on you to help us win and hold that rat- ing. To this end, it is important that you avoid forming unsafe work-hab- its. Bad habits of any kind are so dif- ficult to unlearn that once we have formed them we are in danger of keeping them. Therefore, so that your work in the railroad business will be easier and much more pleas- ant, and out of concern for the safety of others as well as of yourself, we urge you to strive to form safe work- habits at the very outset. On the Illinois Central, "Safety Is Of The First Importance In The Dis- charge Of Duty." You are urged to THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING WHEN YOU DO IT. COURTESY Wise leaders have been saying for a long time that the object of business is not to make sales but to make cus- tomers. Customers, as you know, is another name for business friends. If every member of the Illinois Central family, and especially those of us who have on-the-job contacts with the public, makes just one new friend for the company every day in ad- dition to conducting himself or her- self properly toward our present friends, our railroad will never suf- fer from lack of customers. Our Traffic Department employs a large group of specialists who de- vote their efforts to selling Illinois Central service and promoting cus- tomer good will. But regardless of their number or how well skilled they may be in their jobs, these traffic men need the co-operation of every man and woman in our organization. It is only natural that some people should form their opinions of Illinois Central service from the nature of their contacts with our first-line rep- resentatives such as conductors, flag- men, ticket sellers, information clerks, telephone operators, gatemen, dining car stewards, waiters, waitress- es, agents, freight cashiers, receiving and delivery clerks, yardmasters, switchmen, section foremen and ush- ers in our passenger stations. For these and all the rest of us, our man- ual "Making and Holding Friends Through Courtesy" should serve as a guide for molding our daily conduct toward the public and one another. Lasting benefits are seldom ob- tained from reading any guide book of this sort only once and then cast- ing it aside. It should be read and re- read until one forms the habit of ap- plying the ideas and suggestions it contains as a natural course. 17 GOOD HOUSEKEEPING Good housekeeping on the Illinois Central means it must be said of us: WE KEEP A HOUSE OUR FRIENDS WILL LIKE TO VISIT • 1 • WE MUST BE GOOD HOSTS-Good hosts are invariably courteous and friendly. In all dealings with our guests— the shipping and traveling public — let every member of our fam- ily be vv^orking toward the creation of good will. WE MUST BE CLEAN, NEAT, ORDERLY —with everything— personal appear- ance, passenger and freight equip- ment, station facilities, shops, stores, yards, and offices— keeping all devot- ed to SERVICE with safety and dis- patch. WE MUST GOVERN OUR EVERY ACT BY THOUGHT-BY THOUGHT OF WHAT THAT ACT WILL MEAN IN THE ESTIMATION OF OUR PATRONS. FREE TRANSPORTATION Free or reduced-rate transportation is a gratuity which may be limited or withdrawn by any railroad at any time. Each railroad prescribes its own rules governing the issuance of passes on its own lines. Most railroads, in- cluding the Illinois Central, have certain passenger trains on which the use of passes is limited, or prohibited. This is necessary in order that our patrons may be properly accommo- dated. Your immediate supervisor will be glad to furnish or obtain spe- cific information for you regarding pass rules. To justify its operation, a passen- ger train must be well patronized by people who pay fares. Those of us who ride on passes should not occupy seats to the exclusion of such passen- gers. Failure to show revenue passen- gers this consideration may resvilt in suspension of an employe's pass cour- tesies. VACATIONS Employes with necessary service re- quirements are granted vacations with pay. Your immediate supervisor will give you the details in yovir par- ticular case. RECOGNITION OF 25, 40 AND 50 YEARS' SERVICE You will observe many of our people wearing a beautiful gold pin with the Illinois Central's familiar Green Diamond emblem superimposed up- on a streamline train, the whole bear- ing the inscription "Quarter Century Club." To be eligible to wear this pin one must have been in active service with the Illinois Central for 25 years or more. Thus far, our Quar- ter Century Club has roundly 13,500 members. Since 1930, your company has hon- ored more than 7,500 of its 40-year members by presenting each of them a lifetime pass good over the entire railroad. If the 40-year member is a man and married, his wife is in- cluded. Forty years may seem like a long [18] time to work for one company, yet there are some who reach the half- century mark in our service. In ad- dition to being the honored gviests at a special ceremony, they are present- ed with beautiful individual passes made of gold. Since 1936 more than 350 of these half -century passes have been issued to members of the Illi- nois Central family. SERVICE BARS AND STARS A glance at the left sleeve of certain of our uniformed workers (conduc- tors, collectors, brakemen, flagmen, gatemen, station masters, traffic di- rectors and train porters) will tell you approximately how long most of them have been in our service. Each bar you see represents five years' serv- ice with the company. After five bars, representing 25 years, have been ac- quired, stars are added, each of the latter representing an additional five years of service. LABOR ORGANIZATIONS The principal function of a labor organization is to represent its mem- bers in matters concerning rates of pay, rules and working conditions. The Illinois Central has some sixty labor agreements and many hundreds of local and svipplemental agreements with more than twenty such organ- izations. Many of these are known by the distinctive railway term of "brotherhoods" and rank among the oldest of any kind of labor organiza- tion in the covintry. The Illinois Cen- tral has had continued collective bar- gaining relationships with these or- ganizations over a long period of years, some dating from as far back as 1876. Railroads do not operate under either closed shop or vmion shop agreements. CHANGE OF NAME, ADDRESS, ETC. Any change in your name, marriage status, address, telephone number, etc., should be reported promptly to your employing officer. IF YOU RESIGN In order that the railroad company may avoid making notations on serv- ice records such as "dropped because of failvire to report for work" or "dropped for unauthorized absence," etc., which may later prove awkward to the individual, anyone leaving our service of his or her own volition ( this includes not returning to ovir service from layoff or leave of absence when notified to do so) should submit a written resignation without undue delay. Such a notice is also a matter of business courtesy and will be appre- ciated by the company. [191 Loading freight from the Illinois Central at Neti' Or- leans for shi[)nient overseas. Centralized Traffic Control speeds up train movements where density of traffic is greatest. I 20 THIS IS OUR RAILROAD ^^t ^ ORGANIZATION OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL I 21 I ORGANIZATION OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL In order to understand how a railroad is operated, a new worker needs a brief outline of its organization. There are more than 730 railway companies in oper- ation in the United States. These range in size from roads only a few miles in length, run by a few men, operating a few locomotives and cars, up to huge properties such as the Illinois Central manned by great numbers of workers, operating thousands of miles of track and thousands of locomotives and cars. The organizations required to operate these properties differ according to the size of each railroad and the nature of its traffic. The organization of the Illinois Central Railroad is headed by a board of directors consisting of fifteen members, of whom fourteen are elected by the stockholders and one (as provided in the charter) is the Governor of Illinois. An executive committee acts for the board of directors when the board is not in session. The board of directors elects the chairman of the executive com- mittee, president, vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer and general counsel. All other general officers are appointed by the president, or are appointed subject to his approval. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT The president and his staff constitute the Executive Department. Members of his staff are the vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer, assistant to the president, director of stores and pur- chases, director of personnel, execu- tive assistants, and the office managei and personnel of the executive office. The president is the chief adminis- trative and operating officer in direct charge of the entire affairs of the com- pany. He directs the work of the en- tire organization to provide satisfac- tory service and meet all obligations to the public, to the owners and to the employes. Included in the Executive Department under the assistant to the president is the direction of all ac- tivities bearing upon public relations, including advertising, public infor- mation and the Illinois Central Maga- zine. The Employes' Suggestion Sys- tem also is in the Executive Depart- ment. OPERATING DEPARTMENT This department, which employs 24,000 persons, is headed by a vice- president who is responsible for all activities connected with the direct operation of the Illinois Central, in- cluding operation of trains, yards and freight and passenger stations. Mem- bers of the vice-president's staff are the general manager, assistant to vice- president and general manager, chief surgeon, general superintendent of transporation, general superintendent of equipment, general superintendent of dining service, superintendent of communication and electrical engi- neer, chief special agent, superintend- ent of stations, terminal manager and twelve division superintendents. All of the aforementioned officers, with the exception of the chief sur- geon, report to the general manager. Each terminal manager and divi- sion superintendent is in direct charge of a part of the railroad. Assisting 22 these men are the trainmasters, chief dispatchers, master mechanics, travel- ing engineers, special agents, and other division officers. Train and sta- tion employes, such as station agents locomotive engineers and firemen, conductors, brakemen, flagmen, and trainmen, are assigned to a division and report to division officers. TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT The Traffic Department is the "sales department" of the railroad, having charge of the pricing of our trans- portation ( rates and fares ) , the solici- tation of freight and passenger busi- ness, and the development of indus- try and agriculture in our territory. There are tv^'o main sections, one deal- ing with freight matters and the other with passenger matters. This department is in charge of a vice-president who has, for his first line of contact with some 750 Traffic Department personnel, an assistant vice-president, a general traffic man- ager, four general freight traffic man- agers, a passenger traffic manager, two general industrial agents and one general agricultural agent. There are a number of other Traffic Depart- ment officers and representatives lo- cated at Chicago. In addition, there are Traffic Department officers and other personnel in almost every im- portant city on the Illinois Central, as well as in approximately forty large off-line cities in the United States; also in Havana, Cuba; Mexico City and Toronto, Canada. In addition to solicitation, the de- velopment of coal traffic and foreign trade, the location of new industries and expansion of existing ones, and the promotion and development of a prosperous agricultural territory, other important functions of the Traf- [231 fie Department are the planning, in conjunction with operating officers, of freight and passenger train sched- ules, the preparation and publication of timetables, advertising literature, etc., the initiation of trade rate changes necessary to secure business, or to provide adequate revenue sub- ject to the approval of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the sev- eral State Commissions, the presenta- tion of testimony on rates before rate regulating bodies, and the publica- tion and distribution of tariffs or rate schedules. PURCHASING AND STORES DEPARTMENT This department, which is made up of approximately 1,100 employes, is headed by a director of stores and pur- chases and is under the direct super- vision of a general purchasing agent, manager of stores and manager. For- est Products Bureau. It is responsible for keeping the railroad supplied with materials of all kinds. This in- volves the most economical purchase. proper storage and distribution of many thousands of different items, the handling of contracts for new equipment, the writing of vouchers, making adjustments, and other relat- ed matters. At major shops, the Stores Department delivers materials direct to the point of use and collects scrap material which is graded and shipped on sales contracts made by the general purchasing agent. ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT The Accounting Department, which employs approximately 1,400 persons, is headed by a vice-president with a comptroller as his principal assistant. Other staff officers are the assistant to the vice-president and the general accountant. This department accounts for and audits all revenues and ex- penditures of the company, includ- ing station accounts and joint facili- ties, prepares payrolls and paychecks, and issues bills for collection. It per- forms the accounting of the company in accordance with the requirements of the Interstate Commerce Commis- sion, adjudicates freight claims, ex- amines and approves all written con- tracts and agreements involving the payment of money to which the Illi- nois Central becomes a party, prepares statistical and financial reports to meet the requirements of the various departments of the railroad and of governmental bodies, and has many other similar responsibilities. The activities of the Accounting Department extend over the entire railroad and the various parts of the work are handled in separate offices headed by the officers whose titles designate the part of the accounting work performed under their jurisdic- tion; namely, auditor of disburse- ments, with a district accountant at Chicago and one at Memphis, auditor of freight receipts, auditor of pas- senger and station accounts, freight claim agent, car accountant, and special auditor ( mechanized account- ing). TREASURY DEPARTMENT The treasurer, with two assistant treasurers, has immediate jurisdiction over all the company's bank accounts and is custodian of the company's in- vestments. He directs agents and others as to the manner in which they are to handle and remit funds collect- ed by them. He forwards paychecks to authorized paycheck distributors and all checks, vouchers and drafts for payment or the collection of money due, or payable, by the company are cleared through his office. It is his re- sponsibility to accumulate funds for the payrolls, taxes and the company's other financial requirements. The treasurer is the credit officer of the company. SECRETARY The secretary, with an assistant sec- retary, has custody of the corporate [241 records (archives) of the company and its subsidiaries, minute books, payroll records and historical papers and the corporate seal. The Pension Bureau is a division of the secretary's office. LAW DEPARTMENT The Law Department, in which there are approximately 125 regular em- ployes and 480 district and local at- torneys, has the responsibility of han- dling all legal matters affecting the railroad where special knowledge of the law is required such as the draft- ing of briefs, contracts, deeds and other legal documents, and represent- ing the railroad before courts, state railway commissions, and the Inter- state Commerce Commission and leg- islative committees of the Congress and various states. It is headed by a vice-president and general counsel. The vice-president and general counsel is the chief consulting officer of the company in all legal matters and, subject to the president and board of directors, exercises general supervision and control over all liti- gation and law matters of the com- pany, which includes authority over the Land and Tax Department, the Claim Department and the executive general agents. The Land and Tax Department has charge of (a) all land matters, includ- ing titles, purchases, sales and leases, and (b) all matters concerning gen- eral property taxes and certain other kinds of state and local taxes. The General Claim Department is charged with the investigation and adjustment of all claims for personal injuries and practically all other claims against the company with the exception of those involving damage to freight or baggage and claims aris- ing under tariffs. Executive general agents handle special assignments. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT This department, which employs ap- proximately 11,000 people, is headed by a vice-president who is also chief engineer. He is responsible for the de- sign, construction and maintenance of all fixed property, which includes such items as roadway, tracks, yards, bridges, depots, shops and other buildings, coaling and water stations, signals, communication lines, scales and other associated facilities. Reporting to the vice-president and chief engineer, in addition to his im- mediate staff, are several engineering officers who with their assistants are in charge of special activities. The engineer maintenance of way has di- rect charge of maintenance. Other officers are engineer of bridges, engi- neer of buildings, signal engineer, superintendent of communication and electrical engineer, valuation engi- neer, superintendent of water service, superintendent of scales, superinten- dent of work equipment and superin- tendent of fire prevention. Division superintendents and terminal man- ager report to the chief engineer and engineer maintenance of way on en- gineering and maintenance matters within their jurisdiction. Under the division superintendents and termi- nal manager and as a part of the division organization are division en- gineers who have charge of engineer- ing, construction and maintenance work not handled directly by the sys- tem office. Each division engineer is assisted by an engineering organiza- tion headed by an assistant to division engineer and is further assisted by supervisors of track, bridges and buildings, signals and water service. 125] PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT The Personnel Department is headed by a director of personnel, with the manager of personnel as his principal assistant. One of the principal func- tions of this department is to handle with labor organizations all matters that affect conditions of employment, rates of pay and working conditions. The promotion of safety, which in- cludes educating supervisory person- nel and employes generally to under- stand the importance of and to work toward the prevention of employe work injuries, is an important func- tion of the Personnel Department. It provides instructions in human rela- tions to officers and supervisors, thus developing individual personalities and improving job relations. Through its employment office in the Chicago area, this department undertakes to screen applicants for employment and to direct to assign- ments those best fitted to the work contemplated; it conducts aptitude tests and develops employment stand- ards for those departments which de- sire it; it counsels employes who seek guidance. The Personnel Department is active in the promotion of courtesy within our organization and toward the pub- lic; it assists in creating and main- taining public understanding and good will by having special repre- sentatives present appropriate pro- grams at meetings of civic clubs and similar groups. This department aids in various ways the officers of our employes serv- ice clubs in their good-will-building efforts, but without any attempt to dictate the policies of those clubs. It provides employes generally with in- teresting and helpful information about the Illinois Central and en- courages them in self-improvement, which efforts includes the creation and distribution of motion pictures dealing with personnel matters. THIS IS OUR RAILROAD (yLt 3 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL IS AND DOES r I ■ -> < _ -> _ [271 50° ^f^Zii'it^'C } IOWA ■5ik:"".<'- V'' J^ # KAN5 sf'^J TENN. rri^^'y M ISSOURI „«^ ILLINOIS ^voo" CENTRAL v^,, R Al L R0AD'---5a^;;tf*^ THE ORIGINAL ILLINOIS CENTRAL The story of the origin and growth of the Illinois Central is an interest- ing and romantic one. To do justice to its telling would necessitate start- ing back more than a century to the time when transportation in the United States was mostly by water; when there were few highways, fewer canals and no railroads. It is a story of heroic pioneering, great as- pirations, persistent struggle against tremendous physical odds, dishearten- ing financial difficulties, disasters and triumphs. It is inspiring for all of us to realize that the Illinois Central can point to nearly a century of service to its on- line communities and to our nation as a whole; however, space permits the inclusion in this manual of only the briefest account of our company's history. The Illinois Central's original or "charter" line was constructed through central Illinois; it extended 705.5 miles from Cairo to the Missis- sippi River at East Dubuque and to Chicago. Our charter line was organ- ized in 1850 and incorporated the fol- lowing year. Construction was begun on December 23, 1851, and completed in September, 1856. MAIN LINE OF MID-AMERICA Today, with its nearly 6,600 miles of line, the Illinois Central is truly the Main Line of Mid-America. Only twelve other railroads in the United States have a greater mileage than the Illinois Central. If additional main tracks and sidings are included, then our total track miles exceed 11,000. The Illinois Central is an organiza- tion of 40,000 men and women de- voted to providing safe, courteous and efficient railway service to mil- lions of people. Geographically, the Illinois Cen- tral is located almost in the heart of the North American continent. On a map of the United States it appears something like the backbone of the country. If one considers the map as being a great leaf, then the Illinois Central fits in as the main artery from the stem carrying the life-giving sap upon which the leaf depends for nourishment. The Illinois Central directly serves some 2,200 communities in 14 Mid- west and Southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mis- sissippi, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin). In this vast territory, which is popu- lated by approximately half the people of the United States, there are many thousands of the finest farms in the world, millions of acres of timber, and rich fields of coal, oil, ore and minerals. [281 AN EAST-WEST, NORTH-SOUTH RAILROAD The Illinois Central was the first great railroad to be constructed west of the Allegheny Mountains. The original tide of settlement in the United States was from the Eastern Seaboard toward the West; conse- quently, most of the great railroads of the country run primarily east and west. Our railroad is a notable ex- ception in that, from its early days, it has been both an important east- west and north-south railroad. The Illinois Central has more than 1,000 miles of line extending west- ward from Chicago which we identi- fy as our "Western Lines." Over this important portion of our railroad we transport vast quantities of highly es- sential commodities such as fruits, vegetables, livestock, packing-house products, grain, coal, iron, steel, and merchandise. Our line extends as far eastward as the important gateways of Indianapolis and Louisville. The Illinois Central has been the principal north-south railroad in North America since the early 1850s. Since shortly following the war be- tween the states, it has been the main transportation link between southern ports of the United States and the heart of our nation. 500 CONNECTING LINES While our railroad serves fourteen states directly, it normally reaches into every part of the United States, Canada and Mexico through its more than 500 connections with 150 other railroads. Owing to its location with respect to the great markets and ports of the Mississippi Valley, the Illinois Cen- tral draws a vast tonnage from con- necting lines. Through Omaha, Coun- cil Bluffs, Sioux City, Sioux Falls, Albert Lea, St. Louis, Peoria and other gateways, our railroad re- ceives fruits and vegetables from the Pacific Coast, livestock from Wyo- ming, Colorado and Nebraska, and grain from regions of the Northwest. Manufactured products of the great industrial cities of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the East, destined to western, southwestern and lower Mississippi Valley points, are receiv- ed by our railroad at Chicago, Indian- apolis, Louisville and other points. CLIMATIC AND GEOGRAPHICAL ADVANTAGES The wide range of climate traversed by our railroad has an important bear- ing on the traffic which flows over its lines. Unlike many railroads which y---y II iiimy rHi must depend on single crops or indus- tries for most of their tonnage, the Illinois Central traverses a region that has highly diversified agricultvire, mineral, lumbering and manufactur- ing production. Consequently, it is affected but little by the failure of any one harvest or the slowing down of any one industry. FEW STEEP GRADES From the standpoint of fuel consump- tion and ability to haul maximum tonnage, the Illinois Central is fortu- nate that its line traverses the com- paratively level covintry of the Missis- sippi Valley. Of course, there are numerous points at which it has been necessary for our railroad to make "cuts" through hills and "fills" across valleys, but the long and steep grades that have to be overcome on nearly all the Eastern and Western railroads are not so great a factor on our rail- road. TRAFFIC ADVANTAGES Being a pioneer railroad has given the Illinois Central a distinct advan- tage in the development of industrial traffic. It reached most of what now are the populous centers of its terri- tory when they were scarcely more than settlements. The Illinois Central was the forerunner of hundreds of towns and cities along its lines; as a result, it acquired favorable locations in many of these centers which would be difficvilt, if not impossible, to ac- quire today. PIONEERED IN TRAFFIC SOLICITATION The Illinois Central was one of the first railroads in the United States to adopt the practice of soliciting freight trafhc. In the fall of 1855, a year be- fore construction of our original 705- mile line was completed, an Illinois Central representative was appoint- ed at Chicago "to travel up and down the line to encourage business." RANKS HIGH IN TONNAGE AND REVENUE A common yardstick for measuring a railroad's freight service is the num- ber of tons of freight it hauls one mile. While there are twelve other railroads in the country with greater mileage than the Illinois Central, our railroad ranks eighth in the number of tons of freight hauled one mile. It also ranks eighth in total freight rev- enue and in total operating revenue. SOURCES OF FREIGHT REVENUE The Illinois Central's revenue freight tonnage is normally distributed ap- proximately as follows: Percent of Total Products of agriculture 16 Animals and products 3 Coal 33 Products of mines other than coal 11 Products of forests 9 Manufactures and miscl. 26 Less than carload freight 2 Too In normal times, the Illinois Central handles approximately 25,000 car- loads of bananas a year — more than any other railroad in the country. As a coal carrier, our railroad ranks seventh among the railroads of the nation, and handles more coal than any other railroad west of the Appa- lachian Mountains. In a representa- tive year, the Illinois Central hauls nearly 500,000 carloads of revenue coal from which it derives roundly 17 1301 per cent of its total freight revenue. Only West Virginia and Pennsylva- nia produce more bituminous (soft) coal than Illinois. Kentucky ranks fourth. The four Illinois Central coal- producing states ( Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana and Alabama) mine approxi- mately one-third of the nation's year- ly output of soft coal. The fourteen Illinois Central states produce enormous quantities of corn, cotton, w^heat, flax, eggs, wool, live- stock and hides. Illinois, Indiana and Iowa are the principal producing states for soybeans. Pine and hardwood forests along our lines in the South supply a substantial part of our country's demands; pines for building and hardwood for furniture, flooring, coopering and agricultural imple- ments. Mississippi is credited with having the third largest forest acreage in the United States, estimated at 16,500,000 acres, aggregating more than half of Mississippi's total land area. $20,000 INVESTMENT FOR EACH JOB Railway service represents the joint product of men and materials. On the Illinois Central each job requires the investment of roundly $20,000. Our railroad represents a total investment of approximately $700,000,000, in- cluding many items such as: tracks, shops, locomotives, cars, buildings, bridges and supplies. You are urged to study your com- pany's annual report each year for in- teresting information about its opera- tions and statistics on its investments. YARDS We have several types of those group- ings of parallel tracks called "yards": 131 I freight station and team-track yards used for loading and unloading freight; freight-classification yards used for breaking up and making up trains; storage yards for storing freight- and passenger-train cars and locomotives not in use or awaiting repairs; service yards for cleaning, provisioning and preparing passen- ger-train cars for the next run; sup- ply yards adjacent to storehouses for storing heavy materials which can- not conveniently be kept indoors; yards adjacent to locomotive and car repair shops for outdoor repair work. Freight-classification yards are lo- cated at Chicago, Freeport, Waterloo, Fort Dodge, Council Bluffs, Clinton, Centralia, Bluford, East St. Louis, Pa- ducah, Memphis, Jackson, Miss., and New Orleans. The Illinois Central's Markham Yard in the Chicago area is one of the world's finest freight-classification yards. It has more than 100 miles of tracks with a total capacity of almost 9,000 freight cars. It is a "hump" yard; that is, it has certain tracks con- structed at steep grades to enable a car to be released and shunted by gravity into various branch tracks for reclassification. The cars are pushed to the highest point of the elevated ( hump ) tracks and then released one at a time, or in groups, and sent roll- ing down the incline. By manipulating electrically-oper- ated car retarders, an employe, sitting in a tower which overlooks the yard, controls the speed of the cars as they roll down the incline. All switches which join the branch tracks with the elevated tracks are electrically con- trolled by towermen. Markham Yard is also equipped with automatic recording scales, electric floodlights for night opera- tion, teletypes for transmitting switching lists from the general yard office to outlying yard offices and hump towers, a loud-speaker com- munication system, pneumatic tubes for handling waybills to and from the general yard office, and a modern me- chanical terminal. CHICAGO PRODUCE TERMINAL Built at a cost of $8,000,000, the Chi- cago Produce Terminal, owned joint- ly by the Illinois Central and Sante Fe railroads, is capable of handling 2,000 cars of perishable products at one time. It is the only location in metro- politan Chicago where, when requir- ed, cars can be diverted to other cities without losing a day in icing. Since more than 40,000 cars are so diverted annually, the time-saving element is all important. The terminal was put into full op- eration in August, 1947. It covers ap- proximately 110 acres and is situated between Western and Ashland ave- nues in the vicinity of Twenty-Sev- enth Street. This is approximately the geographic center of Chicago. The terminal came into being when the merchants of old South Water Street were forced by changes in city streets to move to what is now called South Water Market, a 6-block area bounded by Racine Avenue, Morgan Street, Fourteenth Street and Fif- teenth Place. This location is less than two miles from the terminal and trucks can travel the intervening dis- tance in a few minutes. The facilities of the terminal in- clude switching tracks, delivery tracks, storage tracks, icing equip- ment, an auction house, sales rooms and a joint freight agency office. There are also special yards each for watermelons, potatoes, and grape juice. The terminal is open to all lines entering Chicago and can be reached with their own power. SHOPS Steam Locomotives The principal shops for rebuilding and repairing steam locomotives are located at: Paducah, Ky., Markham (Chicago), 111., Waterloo, Iowa, Memphis, Tenn., McComb, Miss., Vicksburg, Miss., Centralia, 111. Our enormous Paducah plant, spread over an area of 110 acres, is one of the major and finest locomotive shops in the United States. It is equipped with all of the latest designs of tools and machinery; its powerful 250-ton over- head cranes can carry a complete loco- motive from place to place in the shop. In addition to building new loco- motives and performing extensive re- building and repair work on locomo- tives, approximately one-third of the large force employed at Paducah Shop is engaged in manufacturing tools and locomotive parts for the entire railroad. The parts include such heavy items as main and side rods, springs, fireboxes and frames. The precision tools and gauges made at Paducah [321 Shop require a high degree of me- chanical skill. Diesel-Electric Locomotives Chicago (Burnside Shop) and Memphis are the principal points at which diesel-electric locomotives are repaired. Freight Cars Extensive work in the rebuilding and repairing of freight cars is done in our shops at Centralia, Memphis (Nonconnah), McComb and Vicks- burg. Centralia Shop also builds large numbers of new freight cars. Passenger-Train Cars Burnside Shop (Chicago) is the principal shop for rebuilding and re- pairing passenger-train cars. STEAM LOCOMOTIVES Probably no other part of the railroad plant has undergone a greater change than the locomotive.The Illinois Cen- tral's early locomotives burned wood. Later, the Illinois Central pioneered in the use of coal as locomotive fuel. Early Illinois Central locomotives weighed approximately 50,000 pounds and developed about 300 horsepower. Today we own steam passenger locomotives that weigh ap- proximately 385,000 pounds and can develop 3,700 horsepower, as well as steam freight locomotives that weigh 424,000 pounds which can handle from 75 to 80 freight cars over grades that could not have been negotiated with more than 40 cars by the most powerful locomotives of 30 years ago. DIESEL-ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES While the Illinois Central is primar- ily a coal-transporting and coal-burn- ing railroad, we use diesel-electric switch engines in some cities as a smoke-prevention measure and to comply with the wishes of certain in- dustries having extreme fire hazards. Furthermore, since steam locomotives generally require more servicing en- route over long distances, we use diesel power on those passenger trains where the saving in servicing time enroute can be applied to advantage in shortening the schedule. The horsepower of our diesel- electric locomotives varies according to the demands of the service in which these locomotives are used. For in- stance, to move cars to and from in- dustrial plants and for other ordinary switching, we use 600-horsepower and 1,000-horsepower diesels, but for transferring heavy trains from one yard to another at Chicago we use 2,000-horsepower and 2,700-horse- power diesels. Our diesel-electric passenger locomotives develop 2,000 horsepower. EXPERIMENTING WITH GAS TURBINES The Illinois Central is collaborating with several other coal-carrying rail- roads, certain coal companies and a 33 coal research organization in the de- velopment of a coal burning loco- motive designed to turn coal more ef- fectively into railway power. This project calls for the use of a gas tur- bine, which is a method of operating a generator by means of whirling blades operating at a very high rate of speed, through the use of air heat- ed by burning pulverized coal. The generator produces the electric cur- rent for operating motors in the trucks, similarly to the propulsion of diesel-electric locomotives. Regular locomotive coal is dried, crushed and pulverized to the fine- ness of talcum powder on the loco- motive and then carried by air to a burner. A large volume of air is passed around this burner, supplied by an air compressor on the same shaft as the turbine. It is this heated air which passes through and operates the gas turbine geared to the generator. Fly ash is removed before the hot air and burned coal pass through the turbine blades by means of separators; other- wise the coal or fly ash would cut the blades. No steam boiler is required other than for passenger car heating. PASSENGER TRAINS The Illinois Central was among the first to offer railroad travelers the thrilling speed and smooth comfort of streamline transportation with the original Green Diamond between Chicago and St. Louis. Then came our streamliner City of Miami between Chicago and Miami, and Panama Limited between Chicago and New ^ — w ^^K'a^'^':\)P^y> i / ::*i^ This booklet represents the combined efforts of many members of the Illinois Central family. It is typical of the team work of our organization. We hope it will be helpful to all whose work contributes to our only pro- duct— 5^ERF/CE. C. R. YOUNG, Director of Personnel. when you get what you want in your struggle for pelf, And the world makes you King for a day, Then go to the mirror and look at yourself, And see what that guy has to say. For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife, Who judgment upon you must pass. The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life, Is the guy staring back from the glass. He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest. For he's with you clear up to the end. And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test, If the guy in the glass is your friend. You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum And think you're a wonderful guy, But the man in the glass says you're only a bum, If you don't look him straight in the eye. You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years. And get pats on the back as you pass. But your final reward will be heartaches and tears, If you've cheated the guy in the glass. Main Line of Mid-America Printed in U.S.A.