Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-10-05
The Fastest Time on Record.
Detroit Free Press.

| There was one stop in the Ill miles
that separates St. Thomas from Am
herstburg, ON the Canada Southern Rail
road. The engineer, Macomber, was sur
rounded by an admiring throng, and the
passengers and railroaders commented
on the handsome appearance of his iron
steed. The steam gauge just before
starting showed a pressure of eighty
five pounds, a moderate figure for To-
comotive
Conductor Crawford sang out ''All
aboard" and the special train, with
Bishop Borgess. on board, pulled out for
st. Thomas at 5:27 p NJ A grand hur-
rah from the platform signaled the de-
parture
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 a
small table. No one noticed any partic-
ular 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 and the rushing against the win
dows sounded like the sweeping of rain
storm Otherwise there was no indica-
tion of unusual speed to person in the
car.
Presently watches were taken out and
observations made. The reverend cler-
gy, as well as the most worldly laity, be-
came interested.
a mile in sixty seconds. " calculated
one.
Shortly, after "A mile in fifty-eight
seconds!"
Again-"A mile in fifty-seven sec
onds! " and the enthusiastic Frank Mo
ran, with a cheer that intensified the
excitement, announced that his stop
watch marked fifty-fve seconds to the
mile.
Before one could point out an object
it had vanished. Before question
could be asked and answered mile had
sped; five miles were traversed 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 Heetness, were soon left behind
and lost to view.
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 if swept by hur-
rieane, and the tall and gaudy yellow
coXcombs that grew beside the fences
bent to the ground in a seeming over
powering desire to get loose from the
earth and follow the rushing train The
dust from the 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 inter-
minably in the distance The impetus
of the train increased; the vehemence
with which it rushed forward created a
vacuum that apparently took nature
some seconds to overcome, and the splr-
it's of the passengers were eXhilarated
by the unprecedented speed at which
they moved through space.
A sidetrack 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 Train dis
patcher Noble reported that six miles
between Highwood and Ridgeton were
made in five minutes; the tifty-seven
miles between st. Thomas and Charing
Cross were made in fifty-six and half
minutes. A halt at Charing Cross of
four minutes for water, and then on
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 furn-
ace a volume of sparks shot out, and the
trailing fire came down upon the track
like the pyrotechnics 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 the Am
hurstburg station was reached.
Hurrah! One hundred and eleven
miles in one hundred and nine minutes!
The fastest time in America beating
by three minutes the run of Vanderbilt's
special train.