jim_mischke wrote:


Mostly it is shipper schmoozing and recipriocity. The B&O traffic
salesmen don't want an icy reception from Morton when they call, or
come away empty handed thereupon, just because B&O has been buying
all Ajax running boards lately.

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Having been a railroad traffic representative, I can say that such a thought would likely result in the termination or at least the reprimand of the Traffic Manager of Morton, and the Sales Representative of the B&O.

At one time, the PRR included a Postal Reply Card in a mailing to shippers that asked "What can the PRR do to handle more of your shipments?" An assistant at a tire company replied "Buy more of our tires for your piggyback trailers." That Postal Reply Card reverberated all over both companies and reached the presidential suites. It was destroyed and all who were aware of it were sworn to silence.

The ICC took a very dim view of such "reciprocity."

Gregg Mahlkov
Florida's Forgotten Coast