The rate of return on investment in 1972 was only 2.95 percent. about half of the six percent the Interstate Commerce Commission has determined is necessary if our country's railroads are to provide reeded services.

I believe it was former Department of Transportation Secretary Volpe who predicted that by the mid-1980's the total level of transportation required by the Nation will double from what it is now. Is it any wonder that the railroads are looking for faster, less costly means of weighing freight cars, but without any sacrifice in the accuracy of weights to move cars and trains out of classification yards and to interchange points and into and out of industrial plants where the cars have to be weighed.

Fortunately for the railroads and certain shippers, something over 80 percent of the freight cars handled move under weight agreements where the car's either are not weighed at all or weighed light and then loaded on industry owned scales. The usual weighing process on a hump is to release one car at a time over a scale long enough to contain all the wheels of the car at one time. The ticket-printing mechanism, either mechanical or electrical, is attached to the scale house weighbeam to give a printed record of the gross weight of each car as it rolls down the hump. However, there is at least one short electronic scale that weighs coupled cars as they move up the hump.

A great many railroads have been using the single draft method of weighing with a mechanical scale as a basic scale platform. The mechanical scale has been essentially either a straight-knife edge lever system with many lever points connected together to give a single scale house weighbeam reading, or instead of levers a plate fulcrum scale.

In the past fifteen years these systems for dynamic weighing have been revolutionized by placing electronic load cells at the four ends of the weighbridge. The cells make an input to a computer and an automatic printer or teletypewriter. Such fully electronic systems have replaced practically every hump scale in service, or are installed in new hump scales and in other locations, such as flat switching yards in industrial tracks and in other railroad trackage. The load cells provide fast response time which permits cars to cross a scale at higher speeds and gives a rapid printout. Car line scales are 80 to 125 feet long and have four weighbridge spans, each span having load cells at each end. However, there are now available four to five-foot scales for weighing individual car axles, and twelve to twenty-five-foot scales for weighing single trucks. The separate weights are then electronically added together to give the weight of the car. The key to this addition is provided by limit switches or sensors located in the track to detect and send to the computer the spacing of the wheels of the car being weighed.

Most of the weighing systems just discussed require a concrete scale pit, the load cells to be on a very stable foundation and almost perfectly maintained approach tracks. Instead of using a weighbridge, one weighing system utilizes a single heavy steel boxed beam under each rail, with a load cell under the ends of each beam. Thus, in effect, each beam is a separate weighing mechanism. This scale requires a minimum pit and is claimed to hold its calibration on firm ballasted track.

Experience has shown that good approaches to certain motion scales o play a vital role in achieving accurate weights. This includes con

stant grade, tangent alignment and uniform cross level. In addition,

the engineer at the throttle is a most important factor in the weighing - procedure. The train speed must be kept constant to keep the coupler

action uniform. To assist the engineer, signal lights are used to indicate correct speed, usually by a steady white light. Over-speed is indicated when the light starts to blink. Other signal systems utilize the familiar green, yellow, and red lights.

I understand that one railroad uses a beep in the engine cab radio when over-speed occurs, and this beep also may be heard in the general vardmaster's office, the division superintendent's office, and even at the railroad's headquarters. This is legal and within FCC regulations.

Using the sophisticated electronic scale system now available and in service, a train of 240 cars can be weighed in 35 to 50 minutes, with the weights being within specification tolerance.

Although they are still important, advances in electronics have reduced the affect on weighing results of coupler action, long and straight approaches and load cell fluctuations. You may be sure that the state of the art of dynamic weighing of railroad freight cars will continue to be improved by railroads and the manufacturers of weighing systems, working both individually and collectively.

So far as I know, there are five manufacturers of motion weighing systems. In alphabetical order, they are: Fairbanks Morse, Inc., Colt Industries, St. Johnsbury, Vermont; Railweight Incorporated, Northfield, Illinois; Sands Measurement Corporation, Dallas, Texas; Streeter Amet, Division of Mangood Corporation, Grayslake, Illinois; Toledo Scales and Systems, Reliance Electric Company, Toledo, Ohio.

In closing, I want to thank Fred Day of the Penn Central, who is Chairman of AREA Scales Committee, Vance Freygang of the Chessie System, also a member of the Scales Committee, and the scale manufacturers for their assistance in preparing this talk.

I hope you now have a good picture in your mind of what railroad weighing in-motion is, and the systems used to accomplish the work.

(Mr. Hodgkins' remarks were liberally illustrated with slides. The unique features of each of the five in-motion scale manufacturer's equipment were pointed out.)

53

TUESDAY EVENING-JULY 24, 1973

ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP RECEPTION

Conference delegates enjoyed a delightful reception on Tuesday evening, which was sponsored by contributors of the associate membership

MORNING SESSION-WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 1973

(GARY L. DELANO, Vice Chairman, Presiding)

GASOLINE MEASUREMENT AND MARKETING

Changing Systems and Designs

by WALTER F. GERDOM, Manager, Customer Service,

Tokheim Corporation, Fort Wayne, Indiana

As far back in history as the Old Testament some thousands of years B.C., the Prophet Ezekiel recorded a vision in which he saw "the spirit of the living creature” within four wheels which were cutting up such capers that, were it in 1973 A.D., we would think one had blown out a tire at 70 miles per hour.

Ezekiel's vision was not very clear. There was nothing in it about crankshafts, power steering, or service stations. If there were any high com

pression or internal combustion, it must have been within Ezekiel. But there was a mention of “rings," and a suggestion of steering, or maybe it was the first recorded skid—"and they turned not when they went."

That may have been the first vision of an automobile, but if so it lacked numerous specifications. Absolutely nothing was done about it. Those Israelites who could raise what served the purpose of the modern down payment continued to ride in chariots, at times fiery in their dreams but extremely bumpy in service. That aristocratic form of conveyance, occasionally supplemented by a slave borne sedan, continued in vogue through many centuries. So perhaps any impression of Ezekiel as the man who thought up the automobile should be written off.

Charles E. Duryea made the first gas motored automobile in America to run on the road in 1892.

Thus came the need for equipment to service these monsters of the road.

The first “fueling” stations appeared at the curb side. Curb side equipment was very popular as it provided for easy servicing of the automobiles.

As the production of cars increased, the demand for more modern and up-to-date equipment also increased. This brought about the elimination of curb side fueling equipment and replacement by "filling stations.” Generally the architecture consisted of a small building with a roof structure extending over the "pump island.” Popular equipment in those days was the “visible pump"—the one with a five-gallon fish bowl mounted atop a massive cylindrical structure. No doubt many present here today can remember those pumps quite vividly, as well as remembering the problems encountered with testing and sealing them.

As the styling of cars or automobiles changed, the styling of the filling station equipment also changed. Also during this period, the term "filling” station passed out of the picture and the term “serviastation” took its place. Because of customer demand, twin pumps and twin dispensers were introduced into the pump manufacturers line of equipment. When first introduced, the twin units were literally and figuratively two pumps bolted or welded together under a single housing. They were in many cases large and bulky; however, as time progressed the overall size of twins was reduced and today they occups the same island space as a single unit.

This history, however brief, shows where we have been; now let us take a look at where we are today.

A growing trend in America today is "Do it yourself." Take a look around and you will find many such products available. Precut homes for the person who wants to erect or build his own home. Supermarkets are another form of “Do it yourself.” Years ago you would present your list of needed items to your friendly grocer, he would fill the list-not today. You now go to your favorite supermarket, take a cart and walk the aisles comparing and picking the items you want.

This same trend has carried over to the service station where today we have basically three types of service available.

1. The full-service station—this is where the attendant greets you, takes your order, puts in the fuel, cleans your windshield, and checks your oil, etc.

2. The mini-service station--here the attendant greets you and places the product in your car. No extra services, such as washing your windshield or checking your oil, are offered.

3. Self-service station-where you as the motorist perform the tasks of putting the product in your tank, cleaning your own windshield, etc., then drive to a cashier's booth to pay.

These types of stations are the ones which we will review for you today. First, let us take a look at the equipment which is in use today in the United States and then we will look at some equipment which is in use overseas.

There is a Tokheim AFC (Post Pay) system at San Leandro, California with six Twin Dispensers. Intercom speakers are mounted atop each dispenser with a master intercom located in the cashier's booth permitting an instant two-way communication between pump island and cashier booth-between customer and cashier. The 12 Automatic Fill Control consoles (AFC) are mounted conveniently in two rows in the cashier booth with the master intercom at the right of the control consoles. The dispensers are standard service