American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1876-06-17

[From the New Orleans Tires]
When the Union Pacific was first
opened for bust ness it was con.
sidered great feat to cross the
Continent in n week. Then it Was
thought that the greatest possible
triumph in rapid transportation had
been reached.
At 1 o'clock, on the morning O"
June LIST, train left New York
which made the great trip of the
age, 5000 miles in less than 81
hours. When we remember that
this was not a level road, but that
the journey WAS over the AIIpghan-
les, across the Mississippi, the
great chain of the Rocky Mountains
and the Sierra Nevada, it is GER
tainly the most extraordinary feat
of railway travel ever accom- plished.
The Alleghanies were crossed at
a speed of 80 miles per hour. The
slowest time made was % miles,
and the fastest So per hour. The
perfect equipment and modern i'm
prOvements OF the great Pennsylva-
mia Railroad made the speed of the
locomotive, with a heavily loaded
train attached, not only possible
but comparative safe and ea.y.
The distance from Sew York to
Chicago, which IS $40 miles, was
made in a little less than % hours
time-the average speed being
about Al mile per hour. All trains
were kept out OF the way, and eve.
ry pIecaution taken TO il sure per-
feet safety. The trip from Chicago
TO Omaha. 500 miles, was accom-,
plished in twelve hours, the tastes.
time made in this stage of the jour
Hey being 6S mics an hour.
The great prairirs of Nebraska,
| which stretched westward to the
Rocky mountains, were entered in
less than 81 hours hours time from
| The Atlantic. Tlere were five cars
attached to the demonstrating
gage, commisssry, smoking. hotel
and sleeping cars. The hotel Car
was i. novelty. 1t was fitted with
an abundance of ice, stores OF fish
meat, poultry and game, AMI per-
fectIy equipped table for the pas
sengerS. Tne experiment shows the
possibilities of the future When
the Texas and Pacific is completed,
which will shorten the distance be-
tween New York and San Francisco
about 76S miles, the trip can be
made in nearly the same lime that
IL now required to go from New
Orleans to New YORK. If the rates
of speed be adopted between the
great through routes brtwe II this
and eastern cities, we may yet 70 Il,
schedule of forty hours from this
city to New York. The tastes. time
ever made OH any SOuthtrl road,
was when train ran from Mobile
to New Orleans, a distance of 14O
miles in two hours and IL half, in
1871.
Much has been said and written
about increased speed of English
railway trains compare. with those
in this country. The Engineer, the
highest authority in England on
this subject, gives the following as
he highest Rates of speed ever made
OH English railroads.
Brunei, with the Courier class of
locomotive, ran Ii miles in 10 min
utes, equal to rs miles an hour. Mr..
Patrick Stirling. of the Great Nor
them, took, two years back, 16 car
riages Is miles in IL minutes, equal
to Is miles an hour. The Great
Britain, Lord of the Isle, and Iron
Duke, broad gauge engines on the
Great Western Il ,ilway, have eagl,
run four or five carriages from Pad,
dington to Didcot, in Az minutes
equal to GO miles an hour, or an ex
treme running speed of 72 miles an
hour; the new Midlapd coupled ex-
press engines running III the usual
cOnrse have been timed 6S, 20 and
72 miles an hour. The 10 a. IN. ex-
press on the Great Northern, from
Leeds, we have ourselves timed,
and found to be running mile after
mile at the rate of a mile in SO sec
Onds, or at COZ miles an hour. The
engines used are Mr.. 8 irling's out
side cylinder bogie express engines,
the load being 10 carriages.
For h long run, however, we
doubt if any locomotive ever built
abroad could make better time than
that of the grand transcontinental
train. A new era has begun in rapil
transit and the possibility of tho flu
ture cannot even he imagined.