The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-10-10
FIFTY YEARS OF RAILROADS.

| ''The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary
OF railways began yesterday at Darlington, "
| says telegram from London. Itseems almost
| incomprehensible that the whole extraordin-
airy development of the railroad system of the
world has taken place in half century. And
yet the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
const ucted by George Stephenson and
Edward Pease, was the first steam railroad in
the world, and it was opened September 81,
1875, fifty years and txo days ago to-day
Stepenson had tried his first locomotive on
the Killingworth Railway as early as 1915,
and patent for locomotive was given to Ire
verethick q Patrick as early as 1902, but it
was not until the opening of the Stockton and
Darlington road that the steam railway be-
came practical success.
Five years later, $780, the second English
road, being the Liverpool and Manchester,
was opened, and the same year the first
American road was inaugurated in Massachu-
sets. In 1873 England had 16,O82 miles of
track, and 1924. 100 l4O invested in railroad
property, and the United States 70 65l miles
of track and So, 1884, 543, 034 invested. It is a
marvellous growth indeed, but in some re-
spects the progress has been far from remark
able. In the matter of speed We have not
advanced in this country much upon the time
made by the first roads constructed by
Stephenson. We have been expected to
view with open-mouthed establishment the
achievements of the Bangs fast mail, and yet
the average time of that train barely equals
the speed which Stephenson's engines made
within four years from the time his first rail-
road was opened.
In 1929 the Stephenson engine Rocket COM
peted for prize Of $500, offered by the
directors of the Liverpool and Manchester
RAILROAD Company, and reached speed of 35
miles an hour, and later, in 1889, the engine
North Star was TN a. the rate of 81 miles an
hour. Now, the d, or sge time made by the
fast mail over the New York Central was
little less than 81 miles an hour. So that, I'M
der the most favorable circumstances, We are
not able to show practical average of speed
above that which Stephenson showed 46 years
ago could be made by his engines. The best
average speed made in those days was IA
miles an hour, and it is we'll known that most
OF our passenger trains now do not run at an
average speed much above 25 miles an hour.
Of course we have built more powerful en-
gines and attained greater speed for short
distances, but it is none the lie notable that
American railways have made such small
progress in this particular, that an average Of
thirty-seven miles an hour should be regarded
as fast time by train making very few stops.
The English railways, it is known, make
much better time than the American, but
even in their case the progress in the matter
of speed has been less than in other
IT spects. 1t may be, perhaps, that we have
nearly reached the utmost limit of speed that
is practical, and those who expect great
future advancement in this particular will be
mistaken. Between the average limit of
speed now reached by railroads and the
known practical limit there is, however,
ample margin for progress. We have scarcely
doubled the speed made by Stephenson's en-
gines, but we may fairly hope that when the
hundredth railway anniversary comes we
shall have doubled the speed now made.-St
Louis Republican, Sept. 29h.