Sharp County record., 1877-10-12
Fastest Railway Time Oh RecOrd..-lll
Miles in 100 Minutes.

There was only one stop in the Ill
miles that separate St. Thomas from
AmherStburg on the Canada Southern
Railroad. The engineer, MacOmber,
was surrounded by an admiring throng,
and passengers and railroaders COM
mented on the handsome appearance of
his iron steed. The steam gauge Just
before starting showed a pressure of
So pounds, a moderate figure for loco
motive. Conductor Crawford sang out
"All aboard!n and the special train
with Bishop Borgess. on board pulled
out from st. Thomas at . :27 p. N. A
grand hurrah from the platform sig
nailed the departure.
Once the bridge was cleared, MacOm-
Der "let her out" Bishop Borgess., in
the palace car, after receiving the salu-
tatiOnS of the gentlemen of the party,
sat down, and dinner was served to him
and his travelling companions upon
small table. No one noticed any par
ticular motion in the car. There was
no disarrangement in the dishes, crowd
ed and small as was the table. The
hum of the train was somewhat sharper
than usual, and the rushing air against
the windows sounded like the sweeping
of rain storm. Otherwise there was
no indication of unusual speed to per-
son in the car.
Presently watches were taken out and
observations made. The reverend cler-
gy, as well as the more worldly laity,
became interested.
"a mile in 60 seconds!" calculated
one.
Shortly after-"A mile in 5S sec
ondS!"
Again-"A mile in 81 secondSt" and
the enthusiastic Frank Moran, with
cheer that intensified the excitement,
announced that his stop-watch marked
50 seconds to the mile.
Before one could point out an object
it had vanished. Before question
could be asked and answered a mile had
sped; five miles were trayersed in the
interval while cigars were handed
around and lighted by as many men. A
flock of blackbirds flying toward the
west with all their feetnesS in cleaving
the air were soon left behind and lost to
view.
The wires on the telegraph poles
swung up and down from the move
ment of the train. The bushes on the
side of the bitches shook as if swept by
hurricane, and the tall and gaudy yel
low coxcombs that grew beside the
fences bent to the ground in a seeming
ly overpOwering desire to get loose from
the earth and follow the rushing train.
The dust from newly ballasted portions
of the track and the chips and leaves
rose up fiercely against the force of
gravitation and whirled and gyrated
like vapory clouds in tempest. A thin
line of smoke stretched interminably in
the distance. The impetus of the train
increased; the vehemence with which it
rushed forward created vacuum that
apparently took nature some seconds to
overcome, and the spirits of the pas
sengers were exhilarated by the unpre-
cedented speed at which they moved
through space.
A side-track passenger train saluted
us with cheers and locomotive whistles.
Neither was heard before the sound
could reach the ears of the passengers
in the special it was beyond hearing.
One could see the rushing steam and
the waving handkerchiefs. Then Dis
patcher Noble reported that six miles
between Highwood and Ridgeton were
made in five minutes; the 81 miles be-
tween St. Thomas and Charing Cross
were made in 5Ga minutes. A halt at
Charing Cross of four minutes for wa
ter, and then on again with the same
overpowering velocity. But 90 as fast
as it might, the Canada Southern train
could not overtake the sun; it sank, and
nightfall came on. Then could be seen
the work of the fireman. Every time he
opened the furnace a volume of sparks
shot out, and the trailing fire came
down upon the track like the pyrOtech-
MICS Of an aerial mine.
Finally sharp twist that sent the
standing passengers over to the right,
and then another that sent them in the
other direction, and the yard of Am
herstburg Station was reached.
Hurrah! One hundred and eleven
miles in one hundred and nine min.
utes The fastest time in America
beating by three minutes the run of
Vanderbil5's special train.-DetrO1 Free