Abstract :
ELECTRIC RAILROADS have made no per cent gain in total traffic during the past ten years. Trucks, Diesel locomotives, pipe lines, and canal systems are gaining in per cent of traffic. The electrical manufacturers are selling Diesel locomotives, and indirectly oil, rather than electric locomotives which use power generated by coal or water. Operating and maintenance costs are about 44 per cent greater for Diesel than electric locomotives, and the advantage of electricity increases as the price of oil increases.