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Graphic Comparison of Water and Rail Rates An interesting comparison of the cost of rail and water transportation is afforded in the specific case of two trucks delivered from Clintonville, Wis., to Harrisburg, Pa. These trucks were the first two of an order of 40 to be delivered by the Four Wheel Drive Auto Co., Clintonville, to the Pennsyl- vania state highway commission at Harrisburg. The figures given below show that the route chosen, overland- waterways, effected a considerable saving over shipment by rail. At a weight of 10,000 pounds each, these units shipped by rail would col- lect between Clintonville and Harris- purgh rail freight charges of $166.50; the cost of Great Lakes waterways transport is but $35.50 each. If to this there be added another $59.20, each, for the overland trips at either end of the water route (Clintonville to Green Bay, $8; Cleveland to Harris- burg, $51.20) the total transportation costs effect a saving over rail costs of $71.80. The detailed figures are as follows: Railroad transportation—$1.665 per cwt. 10,000 pounds C. and N. R. R., Clintonville to Harris- pe age a ceding Seco Sue tke $166.50 pounds overland Clintonville POA PCOCTE SAY, 60s isi casesegesiccacncccnnces $8.00 Waterways—Green Bay to COS Shy Sh E04 oR Ia ae IN gees eee a ea 35.50 Overland—Cleveland to Harris- WOU eee cee itn adcctusevascovetoseesce 51.20 AUGER SY Ag PRRs A REO ee a ape 94.70 Clintonville to Harrisburg Over- land—414 days MAE ies @ 29-40 =5.00 5. cccccccsccecccsscceos $25.20 Lodging—per day $2.50.............. 11.25 Meals—per day $2.50............:000 11.25 Gas—per day $9.50..........cccceessecseeeee 42.75 Oil per day: $0:25...0..825 tahoe! 1.15 Rewirneh Rectane. 6 Sc 30.00 SIGPDCT ee 9.00 IBC Sete eo vick fase ic iscessetceesaceoscave 7.00 Storage—$1 per day ........ccccesee 4.00 LACT GEEZ SO rt SO $141.60 Railroad transportation .............. $166.50 Overland—waterway5s .........ccccce 94.70 Overland—925 miles .........cceee 141.60 On the overland-waterways route the water rates are a decidedly im- portant factor. The overland costs are determined on the basis of actual costs made in driving from Clintonville to Washington. Season Slow Starting HERE will probably be no gen- eral movement of lake boats until the middle or last of May, in spite of the fact that some lines have already completed fitting out. The Pittsburgh Steamship Co. which operates the largest fleet of bulk freighters on the Great Lakes under United States, Tegistry recently ordered engineers to start work on about 55 vessels. This line has a fleet of 86 ore carriers with ® trip capacity of 732,200 tons. The fleet of the Interlake Steamship Co. is next in size with 49 boats and a trip Capacity of 417,800 tons. Hutchinson & Co. ranks third with 22 boats with a 190,500 tons trip capacity. The Cleve- land Cliffs Iron Co. ranks fourth with 21 boats and a trip capacity of 164,600. Other fleets and their trip capacities are as follows: Great Lakes Steamship Co. 19 boats, 144,300 tons; Bolland & Cornelius, 17 boats, 139,800 tons: Bethlehem Transportation Corp., 16 boats, 159,400 tons: G. A. Tomlinson, 12 boats 105,300 tons; M. A. Hanna Co., 10 boats, 93,500 tons; Columbia Steam- ship Co., 10 boats, 90,700 tons; Wilson Transit Co., 11 boats, 89,500 tons; Reiss Steamship Co., 10 boats, 76,800 tons. There are 335 boats with a trip ca- pacity of 2,807,900 tons in the ore carryin gfleet of United States regist- ry. If this entire fleet were in opera- tion, it could carry the entire estimat- ed tonnage for the year, 40,000,000 tons in 15 trips. Is Elected Chairman of Technical Committee pI B. WALKER, president of the «American Steamship Owners as- sociation has announced that J. F. Macmillan has been elected chairman of the association’s technical commit- tee to succeed the late Edwin C. Ben- nett. Mr. Macmillan is technical as- sistant to Theodore EK. Ferris, well known naval architect and marine engi- neer. He has been _ associ- ated with Mr. Werris ‘for about twelve years. Mr. Macmillan re- ceived his ma- rine training under Sir John Harvard Biles at the University of Glasgow, and has been in the services of the Fairfield ‘Shipbuilding Co., Harland and Wolff, and other concerns. He formerly was in the estimating department of the Bethlehem Ship- building Corp. at Quincy, Mass. He acted as technical adviser to H. B. Walker in the preparatory work which was done in Washington for the inter- national conference on safety of life at sea, and was chosen as one of the technical assistants to the American delegation which proceeded to London in the spring of 1929. J. EF. Macmillan The Merchant Fleet Corp.’s ap- pointment of Frank J. Denniston as director of its North Atlantic dis- trict to succeed Capt. Elmer E. Crow- ley, who was recently named presi- dent of the corporation, was approved by the United States shipping board commissioners on April 16. The North Atlantic district embraces New York, Boston and Philadelphia. MARINE REVIEW—May, 1931 Telephone Signals Regulate Barge Canal Traffic With its constant use by freight- ing companies, the telephone has be- come an indispensable factor in the operation of inland waterways, af- fording a means for supervising, reg- ulating and checking the movement of barge fleets. When the New York state barge canal system was opened early in April for the 1931 shipping season, word was flashed from lock to lock along the 525 miles of this waterway from Tonawanda on the Niagara river to Troy on the Hudson river as the first grain barges passed. In the operation of this canal sys- tem, the telephone bears the same relation as block signals in the con- trol of the railroads. Each of the 59 lock stations along the four canal systems in the state has telephone service. When a boat clears the lock, the master of that loek station im- mediately telephones to the next two locks ahead to report the name and type of boat coming through and the time the boat left his lock. This in- formation serves a two-fold purpose. It allows the operator at the next lock sufficient time to prepare his station so that there will be no de- lay to the barge in transit. It also serves as a check on the speed of the boat. The speed limit through land sections of the canal is six miles an hour and through the river sections it is ten miles an hour. Each lock master is required to re- port daily to headquarters in Albany the names of the boats that have passed through his lock during the previous 24 hours. March Lake Levels The United States Lake survey re- ports the monthly mean stages of the Great Lakes for the month of March as follows: Feet above mean Lakes sea level SUVELION .occcsssssscccsssrscesssccscssecseasnccessnsesenssccoenes Michigan-Huron St CT Bir Sci sacccce ces is iscssuceocoeeocenssonsotseeee Wye eae sh cca cosas Sancea cast ibeae su ceaauactbannoapedraumauasces QNEALIO cacccrsccccorcrsccsscscccvescccesesseccsnasenccsecendererees Lake Superior was 0.17 foot lower than in February and it was 0.36 foot lower than the March stage of a year ago. Lakes Michigan-Huron were 0.04 foot higher than in February and they were 1.62 feet lower than the March stage of a year ago. Lake Erie was 0.27 foot lower than in February and it was 2.09 feet lower than the March stage of a year ago. Lake Ontario was 0.08 foot lower than in February and it was 2.99 feet lower than the March stage of a year ago, 0.86 foot below the aver- age stage of March of the last ten years. 57