, 1878-08-10
RACING ON the RAIL.
Hor- Pcnnsy!ra,. az Train Redts ats De!'
trape and Ldrisdrdnnd E'rdt

railroad. which starts from Jersey City a
!:37 in the evening, leaped out of tht
station on Monday like charger that hac
been spurred. An old gentleman IN tn.
smoking car said 9 Bless me p with whal
little breath remained III his body, and re
| covering his equilibrium and his cigar
/, held tightly on to the back of the seat IL
front of him. The telegraph poles flew
I by like spectres the contiguous shoI
/ fronts seemed solid streak Of light, anC
| a mad sort of snoriing rolled down iron
the locomotive upon the rushing .glnd
In an instant the train was flying through
the limits OF jersey City. Here pas
senger observed with something of glet
| in his quaint tones, Now therell be
fun" and waved his hand in a stately way
to the northward.
| Another tram was coming along IN the
same direction upon the track of The
! Delaware aud Lackawanna. II also was
bounding under a mad impulsion, and
| the smoke e-stack upon It's locomotive was
emitting shower Of sparks Passengers
then SAW that there was = race.
| The track cf the Delaware and Lacka-
wanna road makes a sweep southwark
iuSt bayond Jersey City, and Tor the resi-
Of the distance to Newark runs parallel
with and only few feet separated from
the Pennsylvania track. When the pas
stngers caught sight of the rival tram it
| laundering down the curve, seemingly
| bent on striking their own at right angles.
! But in minnie it turned, and the two
| locomotives were dashing towards Newark
neck and neck.
For IA moment neither drew q jot ahead
OF the other 1t vas an unpleasant and
vet a facinating sanation. The coaches
flew straight us die, swerving not a
hairs breadth either To the right or to the
left. striking the roadway only at inter
walls, tagellating the iron rails with fierce,
sharp blows, and seeming bent on strlk-
ing them IN twain. Passengers looked at
one another out of their respective win
dows i'll an alarmed way, Us if wondering
which would lie annihilated first. The
Delaware and Lackawanna fireman threw
open the door Of his furnace and gorSed
it with coal In responce Il million
SEaTks few from the funnel and danced
backward, min9ling brilliantly with an
other million out of the funnel of the
sounding Pennsylvania Both lDcomo-
tives blazed and reared, and the wheels of
the cars flying after them ground terrible
music out of the iron track and struck
fiery blows at ever bound. So near to-
= Z l, h,tf h
senrers aould almost have shaken hands
across. Put they were rival passengers
n"w, and gl0weriag at one another under
the fiery veil which the locomotives threw
. backward.
! When the Delaware and Lac!,awanna
fireman had fed the beast, loUder roar
came down from the PENNSYLVANIA iron
horse, and it Was known that the other
fireman had 6one likewise. The change
for 4 moment was hardly perceptibie. 1t
seemed rs though, after the manner Of
rac;n" boats, first one locomotive and
then the other WAS making mortal spurts,
drawing for the instant \ jot ahead and
then failing jot behind. Like the boats,
too, 20 the passengers IN the Pennsylvania
train, their flying rival seemed at inter
, v;ils 20 lift into the ;ir under its terrible
: impulses, and to fly unsupported sheer
: and clear above the track. The whole
! locomotive shook and 9uivered as if 4
/ Iower had been let loose IL it which was
, Oh the point Of barsting it aSunder, and
! the flannel ratified and roared with the
mortal gasps which drew upward through
/ il from the tortured inferior. But then
rs the swirl Of sparks grew thicker and
made n marvellous canopy over both
! trains, passengers saw that the massive
/ PENNSYLVANIA was steadily drawing ahead.
\ window of the last Delaware and Lacka-
! wanna cardroppedout of sight, and another
and another, until the whole car was gone
/ This performance was gradually continued
until the rear car nf the Pennsylvania was
! on line with the Delaware and Lacka-
wanna's locomotive.
Then the driver OF the latter waved his
| hand after the manner of a defeated man,
! and let the steam whistle from his vexed
boiler through all the scapes, while the
I fireman again threw open the door of his
! furnace, and the Delaware and Laci,awan-
Ia tram dropped instantly out Of sight.
/ The heavy Pennsylvania folloyed suit
The trail of sparks from her funnel sud
denly ceased, her passengers let got the
seats in front of them, and she entered
Newark, in another minute, after the
staid manner that Is usual to her kind
During the race the Pennsylvania loco
motive ran at rate of more than a mile
minute. It had eight ears to draw,
while the Delaware and Lackawanna en-
CINE had four. 4 brakeman on the Penn
syivania train said that those Delaware
and Lackawanna fellows we're awfully
conceited, and had 70 have it taken out
of EN-. lie added that what had just
happened was the q pre;tiest sight in the
world.
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