A few snippets from 1913
Check cashing
To remove temptation as far as possible from the employees of the CB&Q, that road has issued an order prohibiting the men from cashing their pay checks in saloons. Arrangements have been made with the local banks to
keep open the evenings of pay days to accommodate the men. One saloonkeeper in Aurora is said to have cashed over $15,000 worth of checks in a single night. (Railway Age Gazette)
Nursery cars
Special cars, with nurseries for babies, were suggested as desirable new equipment for overland and limited trains on the
Burlington system at a recent meeting of passenger agents. (Popular Mechanics)
Safety instruction car
The safety department of the CB&Q of which E M Switzer is the superintendent has had a car fitted up especially for use in the “safety first” campaign. It is arranged similar to a small theater, having seats for 70 persons,
and a platform with a large screen on which moving pictures will be shown during lectures to be given by Mr Switzer. Lectures will be given form this car at prominent places on all parts of the Burlington system, the purpose being to have the car go to the
men instead of requiring the men to go to a hall to attend the lectures. (Railway Age Gazette)
Track elevation & electrification
This company, it is reported, is planning the elevation of its trackage between Chicago and Aurora, Ill., a distance of about 40 miles. If the plans are finally ratified, work will begin next spring. The elevated portion
will be four-tracked and electrified. The cost is estimated at about $25,000,000, the expenditure of which will be distributed over several years. W. L. Breckenridge, Chicago, Ill., is Engr. M. W. (Engineering News)
Rupert Gamlen
Auckland NZ