January 1953 Ties

Table of Contents

"The High Cost of Carelessness"

Working on the Southern Along the Knoxville Division

Changes in Operating and Traffic Departments

Charley Uptain's "Magic Carpet"

Board of Directors-Alabama Great Southern

Confident living

Before the Camera lens

ON THE COVER

Signing in for work on New Year's Eve Alexandria division conductor D. P. "Dave" Rutz could be said to symbolize the whole of the American railroading industry. He is shown signing the crew register at Union Station, Washington, just a few minutes before midnight on December 31,1952. At 12:30 a.m., January 1, 1953, Train No.141, a mail and express train, left the terminal.

Three hundred and sixty-six days of railroad service in 1952 were behind, there were 365 to come in 1953 - the Southern and its sister railroads would operate 24 hours a day on all of them, would carry everything offered for transport, would remain America's greatest transportation industry, vital in its importance to our country's prosperity and welfare.