Morning journal and courier., 1880-07-08
EAST TRAINS.

It is little strange that the people of the United States, with all their tendency to hurry, have not yet got ahead of the slower English in the matter of fast railroad trains They have some very fast trains in England. One of them, claimed to be the fastest in the world, goes from Leeds to London in three hours and three-quarters, including stop pages, at the rate of forty-nine miles an hour. part of the distance is traversed more rap- idly than the rest the stretch from Grantham to Kings Cross, 1O5 miles, being made in two hours and five minutes, and the run from Wakefield to Grantham, 8, distance of seven ty-one miles, is made in one hour and twenty one minutes The next quickest train in the world is the four hours train from Leeds to London on the same road, the Great North ern. The Plying Dutchman" flies from London to Exeter-194 miles-in four hours and a quarter, and the ''Wild Irishman" howls along from Huston to Holyhead in six hours and thirty-fve minutes, the distance being 264 miles.
 But though England has the fastest trains at present she may not long retain her su- premacy in this respect, for railroad mana gers in this country already run some trains that fast, if they not lightning" :" and the speed is likely to be increased. The fastest regular trains in the United States are probably the expresses between New York aud Philadelphia. The distance is made in one hour and fifty five minutes, the rate of speed being over forty-fve miles an hour. From Jersey City to Philadel- phia still better time is made. The superintendent of the Pennsylvania rail road says: 1.-The train which leaves Jer- sey City at 11:05 a. m. stops at ffty-four sta tions, and.yet reaches West Philadelphia at 1:55p. m., going forty five miles an hour. That is the slowest train during the day. We have one train which starts regularly from Jersey City at 3:35 and reaches West Phila- delphia at 5:25-oyer forty-eight miles an hour-and another train which starts at 4:O5 gets there at 5:55. That is over forty-eight miles an hour also. The mail train at S:25 p. m. always reaches Philadelphia at 1O:5O, though stopping at all the stations. The newspaper train at 4:35 a.. m stops at Eliza beth, New Brunswick and Morrisville to take passengers for Trenton and Philadelphia, and at North Penn Junction to let off passengers. At all the other stations, except Newark and Trenton, where newspapers are delivered, there are no stops. The train reaches Phila- delphia at 7:O5."
 What can be done in the way of fast tray cling by rail in this country was illustrated month so ago, when a train was run from Jersey City to West Philadelphia, distance of ninety miles, in ninety-three minutes, which included four stops and slack-up of the train at two different points. In view of this fact the prediction ventured in a paper read recently before the Franklin Institute, that within the next five years trains would be run from New York to Philadelphia in an hour, does not seem wholly absurd. By that time the Hudson river tunnel will be fin ished, and there will not be the delay between New York and Jersey City, which must now be sub- mitted to. If, however, the time between New York and Philadelphia is reduced to ninety minutes within the next five years the change will be sufficiently marvellous.
 The demand for fast trains in this country sfincreasing, and within the next ten years they will probably grow much more numer- ous and much faster. Travel by rail will thus be made more agreeable, and, notwith- standing the increase in the rate of speed, probably not more dangerous. Great care is and will be taken to insure the safety of the fast trains, and in consequence they are and will be quite exempt from accidents Per haps in 1s9o even if the attempt to go from New York to Philadelphia in an hour is not made or proves a failure, New Haveners can go to New York on the fast expresses in that time.