justify. The commuting public is constantly growing in numbers and the problem requires all-embracing action.

It should be understood that the New York Central, and New York, New Haven companies, have reached their capacity for terminal facilities, that is, from 138th Street to Grand Central Terminal. This is an exactly parallel condition to that which the Commission is facing in its consideration of service on the Long Island railroad beyond Jamaica. The saturation point having been reached, additional traffic during rush hours will continue to cause unsatisfactory passenger loading conditions, unavoidable delays, and general poor service. The Grand Central Terminal zone conditions indirectly affect all trains beyond the city limits in New York state.

It is therefore advised that conferences be continued with the Transit Commission for the purpose of assisting in a timely solution of these important problems.

The joint recommendations of Mr. H. N. Latey, Engineer of Equipment and Operation, Transit Commission, and Mr. R. H. Nexsen, Deputy Chief Engineer of this Commission, covering the shop conditions of the railroad, already referred to in this Opinion, are approved, and their adoption is recommended. They are as follows:

(a) That the present shop at Stamford, Connecticut, be re-located to provide for maximum length multiple unit trains and the handling and repairing of A.C.-D.C. motor equipment.

(b) Boilers on electric locomotives should be overhauled not later than October 15th of each year to be ready for the subsequent winter season.

(c) To maintain a proper inspection schedule, the twelve new A.C.-D.C. electric locomotives now on order will suffice, but three additional A.C.-D.C. multiple unit motor cars should be purchased immediately to provide for possible contingencies.

All concur.

Mr. R. H. Nexsen,

STATE OF NEW YORK

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

DEPUTY CHIEF ENGINEER'S OFFICE

Deputy Chief Engineer, Public Service Commission.

Mr. H. N. Latey,

Engineer of Equipment and Operation, Transit Commission.

March 7, 1923 New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company. Shop and electric motive power and rolling stock survey. Re-P. S. C. Case 1131. GENTLEMEN.- In accordance with your instructions an inspection of electric motive power, rolling stock and shop facilities was made in the Stamford, Conn., inspection shops and the Van Nest repair shops of The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company from February 3rd to February 10, 1923, inclusive. The inspection in the Stamford shop was made by Mr. P. J. Boylan, Inspector of Maintenance, Operation and Equipment (Railroad), for the Public Service Commission, while the inspection

in the Van Nest shops was made under the direction of Mr. W. H. Freeman, Railway Engineer for the Transit Commission. The conditions found at both of these points, together with certain conclusions are given below:

STAMFORD SHOP; LOCATION, EQUIPMENT AND EMPLOYEES The Stamford inspection shop is about six miles from the New YorkConnecticut State line, being located a short distance east of Stamford, Conn., and south of the railroad tracks, so that the shop itself is not in the territory coming under the supervision of this Commission. The fact, however, that all of the electrical equipment operating in and out of New York State is inspected and repaired there, makes the subject of shop facilities one of vital concern and must be considered as a part of this survey.

This shop is used for the inspection and repair of electric locomotives and multiple unit cars and also as a Round House for steam locomotives. The latter, however, is not considered in this report.

The electric inspection shop is a poorly lighted frame building equipped with steam heat and is in two sections, each about 120 feet long and 45 feet wide. One section is devoted to regular inspection work and has three pits, over which can be placed two electric locomotives or one multiple unit car and one small locomotive. There are two stationary raised platforms between the tracks and level with the roof of the cars for the purpose of facilitating repairs to the pantograph trolley and other equipment located on the roofs of cars and locomotives. The other section has two pits each about 30 feet long with transverse drop pit" for the renewal of wheels and motors in the 01-041 type locomotives.

These locomotives are equipped with the axle wound type of motor, 80 that on account of the motor armature being wound directly on the axle the defective armature or field in any of these 41 locomotives necessitates the removal of the wheels in order to have the motor repairs made. After the wheels and motors are removed they are immediately replaced by a good unit and the defective one sent to the Van Nest shop where repairs are made. The only machine tools in this shop are, one small lathe, one shaper, one threading machine, one small drill press and a power grindstone. This lack of machine tools is not a very serious handicap, as all machine repairs are now made in the Van Nest shop.

The equipment that must be maintained by regular inspection in this shop is of the most complicated nature, due to the fact that two separate and complete sets of control apparatus must be maintained on each passenger electric locomotive and multiple unit motor car in order to have their motors responsive to either alternating or direct current. This dual control is necessary as the company operates over the Harlem division tracks of The New York Central Railroad Company between Grand Central Terminal and Woodlawn, N. Y., on third rail, direct current at 600 volts, and from Woodlawn, N. Y., to New Haven, Conn., on overhead trolley, alternating current at 11,000 volts. The change-over from A.C. power to D.C. power and vice-versa at Woodlawn must be made automatically from the engineers cab and must be positive in its change-over, in order to avoid having the train come to a stop and causing a delay to service. The mechanism to affect this change-over is of the electro-pneumatic type requiring the most careful adjustment to insure its reliability in service.

The equipment referred to above is known as the A.C.-D.C. type and is used exclusively in passenger service. The greater portion of its mileage is made between Grand Central Terminal and Port Chester, New York, with none of it operating beyond Stamford, Conn. The following table shows the principal characteristics of the A.C.-D.C. equipment:

The above 6 motor cars and about 11 of the 54 electric locomotives receive their inspection in Stamford shop, so that about 150 units must be looked after at this point.

The inspection of electric locomotives is made on a basis of 2500 miles, but present operating conditions frequently run the mileage up to a much higher figure. As shown on the attached table (P. S C. 3) there were 115 intervals when electric locomotives made over 3000 miles between inspections and 27 intervals when their mileage exceeded 4000 miles. The multiple unit motor cars are inspected on a basis of 2500 miles also and frequently make close to 3000 miles before they get to the shop. The record of inspection of both electric locomotives and multiple unit motor cars between April 1, 1922, and February 9, 1923, is shown on the table attached, blueprint (P. S. C. 3). This table This table shows the locomotive and car number, the week during which it was inspected in each month, the total miles made during the period shown, the number of times inspected and the average miles operated between inspections.

The following table shows the number of men employed prior to the shopmen's strike on July 1, 1922, and the number of men employed there at the time of this investigation. These figures make no allowance for absences on

account of illness or other causes, which at the time of this investigation was about 20 per cent of the force.

The rates of wages paid to employees in this shop are the rates established by the United States Labor Board and are the same as paid in the Van Nest shop for similar classifications. These rates are shown later in this report.

You will note from the above comparison of employees that the number of men employed in the Stamford shop at the present time is substantially the same as prior to the strike. The only question, therefore, is one of relative efficiency of the forces, and while this quantity is largely one of opinion, as a number of important factors must be considered, the writer feels that his estimate of 80 per cent on the present forces will not be disputed by the company. In arriving at this figure the length of time in the company's service was given special consideration as well as the quality of the work done by the individual workman as noted during this investigation, so that the 80 per cent referred to might be considered as an average. The volume of work done, however, has not been reduced, and this can be understood when it is realized that under present working conditions the men may be assigned to any task at the will of the foreman, while under pre-strike conditions no man could be assigned to work outside of his payroll classification. From the point of view of labor flexibility the conditions are much better at the present time than they were prior to the strike.

In considering the matter of efficiency and estimating a percentage of 80 on the present forces, it does not necessarily follow that there is a 20 per cent reduction in the company's standard of maintenance as compared with last June nor that it is reflected in the service rendered to the public. On the contrary a careful analysis of the passenger service between Grand Central Terminal, New York, and Stamford, Conn., from February 2nd to February 8th, inclusive, between the hours of 7 a. m. and 10 a. m. west bound and 4 p. m. and 7 p. m. east bound (reference P. S. C. 1 and 2 attached) shows 3 per cent of the delays to service west bound were due to defective equipment, and only 14 per cent of the delays east bound were due to the same cause. The latter figure would be greatly reduced if the equipment failures in New York state only were considered, while the total delays would be reduced 682 per cent if delays occurring east of Port Chester were not taken into consideration.

Referring again to the above table showing the age, etc., of the electrical equipment of this company, your attention is called to the fact that there have been no extensions to this shop since the original 35 electric locomotives were received. Consequently, the facilities at the Stamford shop at the present time are entirely inadequate All repairs to truck work outside of regular inspection must be done in the yard whenever possible on account of the lack of pit room in the shop. The work on multiple unit cars, especially its control equipment, all of which is located under the car body, must be done in the yard in mud and slush and under the most unnatural and undesirable conditions. One wonders that men having the qualifications necessary to handle this very complicated equipment could be induced to do

their work under such a handicap. During the period of this investigation, and due to the amount of snow on the ground the men suffered considerably from exposure, and this no doubt accounted for a 20 per cent reduction of the force on account of illness.

The present yard facilities will not permit the handling of a ten car train as only seven cars can be accommodated on the longest track in the yard. This means that every eight or ten car train must be split up when it arrives in the yard, a practice that is conducive to failure in service on account of possible jumper trouble, etc. When a motor car in the train is due for inspection, it must be taken out of the train, necessitating several switching movements to get it over a pit and back again to service. This could be avoided if proper facilities were provided to get that car over a pit without splitting up the train. The doors and door mechanism of this multiple unit equipment, however, can be well taken care of in the yard and were found in satisfactory condition at the time of this inspection.

The company expects to place 12 new electric locomotives of the 0300 type in service during 1923, the first delivery to be made about June. The introduction of these locomotives to the service will greatly improve electric operation on the New York division and probably eliminate the need of a Round House at Stamford for steam locomotives. Consequently, there should be more available space at that point, but the utilization of that space will involve a large outlay of money without improving the condition of the multiple unit cars or simplifying the handling of complete trains for inspection and repair purposes.

In view of the limited space at this shop and the natural restricted boundaries of the property, that is, the adjoining city streets, it would be to the company's advantage to locate the inspection shop at a more advantageous point where all locomotives, as well as the 041 type, could have their motors replaced instead of sending the entire locomotive to Van Nest shop as is done at the present time. In other words all locomotives, except the 041 type, must now be taken to the Van Nest shop whenever it is necessary to renew armatures, field or wheels and this could be avoided if there were proper facilities at Stamford. As an indication of the loss accruing to this company through dead mileage and loss of equipment from service, I have obtained from the records in Van Nest shop, figures showing that during the year 1922 there were 67 electric locomotives and 73 multiple unit motor cars taken to Van Nest shop (apart from the 01-041 type) to have wheels and motors changed. With adequate facilities at Stamford shop this would not be necessary.

There are no facilities at New Haven for making heavy repairs and only a few men are employed there for making such small running repairs and adjustments as may develop in service, such as trolley repairs, control adjustments, etc.

Between February 3rd and 10th, the observer at Stamford devoted all of his time to conditions in that shop making a record of work done to the equipment, the cars and locomotives in the shop for repairs; the defects reported by engineers and other data affecting the service. This data is shown in chart form and attached hereto (reference P. S. C. Nos. 4 and 5). In connection with this work, and as a check on the service a table has been prepared showing the service between Stamford, Conn., and Grand Central Terminal west bound between 7:00 a. m. and 10:00 a. m. and between Grand Central Terminal and Stamford east bound between 4:00 p. m. and 7:00 p. m. each day from February 2nd to 8th, inclusive. This table is based on the dispatchers reports (reference P. S. C. No. 1 attached).

The investigation showed that there were a number of loose and broken tires on multiple unit motor cars. The company have taken cognizance of this condition and have arranged to replace the present steel tired wheels with solid steel wheels, and the first shipment is expected to be delivered before March 7th. These new wheels will entirely eliminate trouble of this kind in the future. The shop records show that all defective tires have been operated over 70,000 miles before their discovery and that they had been