Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1878-10-02
Over a Mile a Minute.

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The train leaving at z .35 in the morn
ng for New York, over the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad, is among the fastest in
the world. Indeed portion of the dis
tance is made at rate scarcely attained
by any road in Europe or America. The
distance between West Philadelphia and
Jersey City is eighty mine miles, accom-
plished in one hour and fifty four min
utes, with single stop, while the re-
turn is six minutes less, including two
stops. This gives rate. in going, OF
slightly more than fifty miles an hour,
SURPRISING that of the celebrated Queen s
mail between London and HOlyhead.
where the run of 264 miles occupies
Friday morning, when Times man. by
permission, boarded the engine at West
Phila'lelphia depot, the steam guage
marked l20 pounds and "still rising.'
clinked over the engineers head, and
almost simultaneously he gave slight
clutch of the lever and the train of four
cars was of. 1t stopped at Germantown
soon as the engineer got clear of the
suburbs she shriebed and bounded away
at greater speed. About twenty min
utes after, it wound its way through
RristoI and in still lass tima tho iron
bridge over the Delaware was sighted
and Trenton was bisected at the same
moderate speed, which had been ad-
hered TO through Philadelphia. But 1t
was necessary to do better better in or
der to reach Jersey City, nearly sixty
miles away, at the appointed minute.
Trenton was scarcely passed when the
engineer touched up his steed. Between
the first two mile posts noted the dis
tance was passed in sixty three seconds ;
the next a little less and the third pre-
cisely sixty. Hurrah! The train was
spinning along at the rate of a mile
minute. And yeteverything proceeded
with SO much smoothness that it was
impossible to appreciate the amazing
swiftness. There was no unusual jolt
ing and in the cars the passengers were
smoking, doing or reading, just as
though It was an ordinary tram i'll
which they were riding. Just beyond
Princeton the speed rose to a rate of n
mile in fifty-eight seconds and contin-
ued it without diminution, except a
slight "slowing up" at Monmouth
Junction, until New Brunswick was in
view. In this neighborhoOd, Conduc-
tor Silance, with watch in hand, care
fully timed the train for three miles.
The first was passed in fifty. four Sec
onds, the second in fifty-two and the
third in fifty. The last was seventy-two
miles an hour. The putfs from the en-
gine had become continuous shudder-
ing roar; the driving wheels were spin
ming around four hundred times a min
ute-a half dozen times a second-with
a centrifugal force that, it would seem,
ought TO shatter their whizzing peri
pheries to atoms. The day was hot
one and the air was at dead calm, but
it rushed through the narrow door In
front of the engine like a tornado.
Small bridges were thundered over so
quickly that they gave single rumble
as they whisked out of sight behind; the
express train coming from the opposite
direction flashed like meteor in a sim
gle hot puff of air; you might yell to
the engineer two feet distant, and yet
he would only see your lips move, with
out hearing anything above the deafen-
ing roar of the engine, which browns
everything, excepting the shrek of the
whistle. All the time the fireman stead |
lily shOvels in coal or climbs around the
engine with oil can in hand, his cloth |
ing fiuttering so fiercely in the wind
that it seems in danger of being blown |
of. The engineer with his hand upon
the lever, watches with a cat-like vigi-
lance, the rails sweeping under his
wheels. The whole train is constantly |
under his eye, and he never allows his
attention to be diverted for an instant.