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[CBQ] Re: calendars & Menk/Quinn

To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [CBQ] Re: calendars & Menk/Quinn
From: "Ed DeRouin" <Ed@pixelspublishing.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 19:29:00 -0000
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Gerald:

I did not intend to create an arguement and 'slam; you. I merely 
wanted to take a different perspective on how many fans vent 
their frustrations at certain administrations. 

Your reference to the data in the ARs is correct. 1966 was a good 
year from a revenue standpoint, but consider that two anomolies 
helped with those numbers, a nationwide airline strike and  the 
Vietnam buildup. 

I do not want to continue the arguement, I merell wanted to give 
Quinn and Menk their due.  Nothing was intended personally.

Ed




--- In CBQ@yahoogroups.com, "gaedgar66" <vje68@h...> wrote:
> Ed - I hardly think my saying the issuance of calendars ended 
as "victims of the Menk/Quinn era" is a "slam" - merely a 
statement of 
> fact just as use of steam for revenue frt hauling was victim of 
the Murphy era and a number of branch lines were victims of the 
Budd 
> era.  Stating that something ending during a CEO's era is a 
victim of that administration is hardly a "slam".  If I had said the 
cal's were 
> discontinued in a mindless vendetta by a heartless Pres, yes - 
that would be a "slam". Lots of things 'fall victim' to mgt - good, 
bad or 
> indifferent. They also "fall victim" to competitors, business 
trends, strikes, death, etc etc. Stating so is not a slam but a fact. 
(our local 
> weatherman tonight said an event dependant on snow [we 
have none] was cancelled, "a victim of the weather"). I let the 
reader decide 
> if the discontuance of cal's was a good or bad idea - in any 
case it was a victim of a mgt decision.
>   By the way, to clarify matters in general as to Menk's 
administration, I used the term Menk/Quinn as Menk was Pres. 
of the Q for 
> exactly one yr.  That one yr is memorable to Q fans though (and 
makes his presidency seem longer than it was) because 4960 & 
> 5632 were victims of Menk's tenure.  Murphy re'td. Sept 30, 
1965 - Menk held office from Oct. 1 to Sept 30, 1966; Quinn took 
over Oct 
> 1, 1966.  
>   Cal's for any business are usually ordered by late 
summer/early fall to give time for proofing, printing and 
distributing on a timely 
> basis.  Thus its reasonably safe to say "66 cal's, the last ones 
issued, were authorized by Murphy prior to his retirement.  
Conversely, 
> I assume Menk ended the practice although conceivably Quinn 
did when he took over.  Also, in "66 a new ad agency was hired 
by the 
> Q, whether at Menk's or Quinn's behest I do not know but 
suspect it was Menk's.  Also whether the ad agency 
recommended the 
> cal's discontinuance is unknown to me but its fair to say such 
decisions would ultimately cross the Pres' desk.  But lets look at 
your 
> other comments. (one major change with the new ad agency 
was more print advertising including the "Burlington Wheel" ads.  
These 
> appeared in business mags but also TRAINS magazine which 
then & now is geared to fans - NOT shippers!!!)  
>   The "66 cal featured a Q frt train with new frt cars of all kinds - 
companies issue cal's for their customers - not their fans.  The 
idea is 
> the more often would-be shippers 'see' your name, the more 
likely they are to ship with you, all things being equal.  Cal's 
ended up in 
> railfans hands, then & now, but the focus was to give to 
shippers - current & prospective.  I have spoken with re'td Q 
sales people and 
> cals and other 'handouts', then & now, are a common end-of-yr 
rite.  (for RR's, truckers, steel makers and cereal companies - 
cal's are 
> a common sales tool; popular because they 'speak' to the 
prospect day, after day for an entire yr).  My father in this time 
period was 
> VP-Materials for a division of a Fortune 500 Co in Dubuque - he 
had a lot of raw mat'ls shipped in by rail - he regularly was called 
on 
> by reps of the Milw, IC, CGW (C&NW after "68) and Q/BN not to 
mention a lot of truckers - nearly all offered cal's thruout his 
career 
> [he re'td in "84 with 35 yrs - thanks for saving them for me Dad!]
> 
>   However you say I should "put on my strategic planning hat" 
so lets also look @ the figures from the "66 AR which may or 
may not 
> have influenced the decision by Menk or Quinn to end calendar 
issuance.  Quote: "Burlington freight revenue and volume set 
all-time 
> records in 1966."  Also, "In the face of a national decline in rail 
passenger traffic, Burlington passenger revenues INCREASED 
> (emphasis mine) to $20,902,906, indicative of continued 
agressive promotion, advertising and sales effort".  As for trends, 
pass. rev. in 
> "66 was the 5th highest since 1948 & more than any of the 3 
previous years.  (and remember cal's were & are aimed for traffic 
mgrs of 
> shippers, not Mr. & Mrs. Zephyr traveler; I mention the 
passenger figures just because you brought them up, not me).
>   As for possible merger - the "66 & "67 AR's speak to the 
possible merger w/GN&NP as well as competing mergers. 
(interestingly 
> GN & NP kept issuing cals right up to BN time and Menk 
continued the practice by BN!!!!  Only the Q went without for 4 yrs - 
why??).
>   How about other trends?  Piggyback traffic was up 38% - 
certainly a good omen.  Division of rates in court had been 
settled in the 
> Q's (and other RR's that were car-rich) favor in "65.  Grain traffic 
was up (the Q had been allowed by ICC to adjust rates) and the 
> economy looked good.  NOTE: Murphy & for that matter Budd, 
usually had their little message in the AR's giving their view for 
the 
> past yr & future trends/plans.  Quinn did as well (and his in the 
"66 AR is upbeat) but Menk, in the only AR he was Pres for 
during 
> time of issue ("65) made no comments.  ;.
>    So, assuming we agree that cal's were/are primarily for 
shippers (as were the golf balls with BR logo, the knit covers for 
'woods", the 
> plastic mousetraps, etc etc etc), was the Q retrenching in "66 & 
thus 'cutting' expenses?  Well they purchased 350 acres of land 
in 
> "66 land for prospective industrial plant location. Quoting from 
the "66 AR "(capital expenditures) reached an all-time high with a 
record 
> expenditure of $61M..."  They also built 2 major frt house at a 
time of declining LCL & express traffic - were they looking at 
trends and 
> cost containment, 5 & 10 yrs down the road (as you put it Ed)?  
If so money spent on frt houses in hind sight, was not the best 
idea.  
> (for the record mail income did not take a big hit til "67 when 
the RPO's cancelled).  I'd say the Q was cautiously optimistic in 
late "66 
> & early "67 (dividends stayed @ $7.50 a share & remember 
they did not have to satisfy individual stockholders or big 
institutional 
> holders  - only GN & NP brass!).  So what would a couple 
grand for cal's add to revenue of nearly $290M in "66 (highest 
ever) and 
> advertising expenditures of $3/4M?  Cals were dropped but if 
for cost-cutting reasons, the stats are not there.  A different ad 
focus?  
> Possibly, maybe even probably but why given NP/GN and 
nearly every other major business, rail or otherwise still issuing 
calendars?
>  
>   As for comparing what Menk did with BN vis-a-vis PC was 
NOT the issue I made; my remark was on cals being 
discontinued 4 yrs 
> before.  However since you brought it up, consider:  PC was a 
desperate merger of 2 losing RR's who were life long 
competitors forced 
> to take on an even bigger loser (New Haven) as a condition of 
merger - BN was the partnership of 3 major & 1 minor RR's int 
he black 
> with the Q & SP&S being close "friends" with GN & NP and only 
the latter being competitors but never, since Jim Hill's day, bitter 
> ones as were NYC/PRR.  Finally, some financial & business 
analysts have said that Menk's success with BN was not so 
much his 
> management but the fact that he took over a bunch of winners, 
at least as RR's go at the time, with a weak sister competitor to 
the 
> coast ((Milw) and weak competitors to the Q (Milw, Rock, 
C&NW, etc) in granger country not to mention NP's vast holdings 
of timber, 
> silver mines, etc.  Compared to PC, Milw & Rock, how could 
Burlington Northern NOT look good???  Would Menk have 
succeeded @ 
> PC?  Would Saunders have done OK with BN???
>   But to make you feel better about Menk, we will assume it was 
Quinn who suddenly discontinued cals when he took over the Q 
late 
> in "66 inasmuch as Menk had BN print cals during his entire 
time there!  (does anyone know what Milw did with cals during 
Quinn's 
> presidency?).   And very lastly to my original response as to 
dates of Q calendars - what is the earliest date of a pocket 
calendar 
> anyone can document - thanks!   Gerald
> 
> And yes, model offerings are great - especially for a 34 year 
fallen flag - that's over a 1/3 of a century!!!  But then Burlington is 
still the 
> FIRST name of one of the 4 remaining mega-RR's - who would 
ever have guessed (or bet that "Chicago" would not be part of a 
> surviving mega RR's name?).  Having "Burlington" survive 
is/was very unlikely until you remember that it indeed was a very 
great RR, 
> even without calendars for its last 3+ yrs of existence.....   :-)


 

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