The Morning herald., 1877-10-17
MORE THAN A MILE A MINUTE.

There was only one stop in the Ill miles
that separates St. Thomas from Amherst.
burg on the Canada Southern Railroad.
The engineer, Macomber, was surrounded
| by an admiring throng, and passengers and
railroaders commented on the handsome ap-
pearance Of his iron steed. The steam
guage just before starting showed a pres !
sure of eighty-ave pounds, a moderate fig
ure for a locomotive. Conductor Crawford
sang out "An aboard" and the special
train with Bishop Borgess. on board pulled
out from St. Thomas at 5:27 P. NJ. A grand
hurrah from the platform signaled the d.
parture. .u nG 'r
Once the bridge was cleared, Macomber
'let her out" Bishop Borgess., in the
palace car, after receiving the salutations
Of the gentlemen of the party, sat down,
and dinner was served to him and his travel
ing companions upon small table. No
one noticed any particular motion in the
car. There was no .disarrangement in the
dishes, crowded and small as was the table.
The hum of the train was somewhat sharper.
than usual, andthe rushing air against the
| windows sounded like the sweeping Of a
rain storm, Otherwise there was no indi-
cation Of an unusual speed to person in
the3car. 7lia ''' F'p'".", .'.'
10 Presently watches were taken out and
observations made. The reverend clergy,
AZ well as the more worldly laity, became
interested. M -" o. -1,r
2,'A mile in sixty secondsi"' ejaculated
one. "a ,.o,s,a -. ""0s
Shortly - 2,after-"A mile in ffty-eight
seconds!n 'uT a5u' 4o'' 81 4.
Again-'.A mile in ffty-seven seconds!"
and the enthusiastic Frank Moran, with q
cheer that intensified the excitement, an
nounced that his stop-watch marked fifty
five seconds to the mile. rt...- nm
Before one could point out an object it
had vanished. Before question could be
asked and answered a mile, had sped; five
miles were traversed in the interval while
cigars were handed around and lighted by as
many men. q A flock of blackbirds flying
toward the west, with all their feetness in
cleaving the air, were seon loft behind snd
lost 10 visw. r. ~, oneE =
The wires on the telegraph poles swung
up and down from the movement Of the
train. The bushes on the side of the
bitches shook as il swept by a hurricane,
and the tall and igaudy yellow coxcombs,
that grew beside the fences, bent to the
ground in a,seeningly overpowering desire
to get loose from the earth and follow the
lrushing train. rain The dust from newly bal
lasted portions of the track and the chips
and leaves rose up fiercely against the force
of gr1avitation and whirled and gyrated like
vapory clouds in a tempest. "A thin line of
smoke stretched .mterminable in the dis
tance.2 The impetus Of the train increased;
the vehemence with which. IL rushed for
ward created vacuum that apparently took
nature some seconds to oyerc ONE, and the
spirits of the passengers were exhilarated
by the unprecedented speed at which they
moved through space. : y u. 2o
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 hand
kerchiefs. Train Dispatcher Noble re-
ported that six miles between Highwood
and Ridgeton was made in five minutes;
the hfty-seven miles between St. Thomas
and Charing Cross were made in ffty-six
and a half minutes. A halt at Charing
Cross for four minutes for water, and then
Oh, again with the same overpowering We
locity. But go 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 fire.
man, Every time he opened the furnace a
volume Of sparks shot out and the trailing
fire came down upon the track like the
pyYotechnics Of an aerial mine.
Finally sharp twist that sent the stand
ing passengers over to the right, and then
another that sent them in the other direc-
ton, and the yard Of Amherstburg Station
was reached. rI"a'ro ' o.,'l
n Hurrah! One hundred and eleven miles
in one hund red and nine minutes The