Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1882-10-25

minute" is phrase often used to denote
great speed, but there are few persons
who realize the strnegth of the expression.
Such spee1 is only attained by the fist ex
press trains of a we'll regulated road, while
the ordinary trains average about thirty
miles an hour. But, unusual is that speed,
it mas been exceeded by the Shore Line
express on the Boston an Providence
railroad, which, one day recently, made
one of the most remarkable runs on record,
a portion of the distance between Boston
and Providence at the actual rate of eighty
miles an hour. This high rate of speed
was maintained for a stretch Of ten miles,
and to person seated In the locomotive
the experience was both novel and exhil-
arating Comfortably ensc1nced in the
reclining chairs Of the eplrlor cars or seated
in the ordinary coaches, the passenger is
only conscious Of the rapid speed through
the rocking of the car and the rapdity
with which objects along the route disar-
pear. but, to a person in the forward part
of the train, the sensation is of different
nature, The engine seems to fly through
the air, and for the moment one shares tue
feeling of the renowned I'D rius Green"
with his "hying machine" The engine
scarcely touches the rails and, in imiginl.
ton glides through the air, Il con. panion
Of its feathery denizens, who frightened at
its approach, fly upward and are quickly
left behind, unable to keep pace with the
astonishing speed. Bat these fances are
rudelv shaken bY the sud I'm j,ling Of the
engine us it crosse, Il switch o. rrlni5 4
curve, and with \ realizilE seasa " his
continued solourn npp1 lla elrth IIe
iustnCtveiy grasp, lhe railng tor slpport
Through the kinina.s of Sup' FJls1n
and Engineer Bulnnam, Il Journal report.
CT WIS permitted to ride upol he engine
of this, the flsteSt train on he road aud
a brief description Of tn. experience will
not come amiss. Fna train On this special
occasion consisted of eight cars heavily
loaded. The first contained baggage, and
then followed thrc1 plr!or cars, and four
regular coaches At l o'clock the last
bell sounded and the reporter, after pro-
ducing his credentials, clambered into the
clb The steam gauge indicated 100
p,unls, inh hal there been thermome.
ter tho heat would doubtless have
registered an equal number of de.
g ees. The reporter Was on the point of
removing his outer garment, but desisted
when informed by the engineer that it
would be needed. His suggestion was
we'll timed. The train rolled and then the
throttle valve was thrown half open. The
increase of speed was soon noticeable, and
in rapid succession Roxbury, Boylston,
Jomacia Plain, Forest Hills and Mount
Hope were left behind. Along this p0r
ton of the route there Is successiou o
curves which render quick time an impos
sibility, but after passing the last mentioned
place there is straight stretch of roaC
over mile in length, and here the speed
was increased. Hyde Park, seven and d
half miles from the start, was passed in
twelve inmates, and then, with no curves
for over five miles, the engine settled
down to ga mile minute" From Dedhan
Roads to Sharon Heights is a grade seven
and.one half miles long. rising forty. .one
feet to the mile, nd as the train toied ul
this inclined plane of nearly three hun
dred feet there was an appreciable slack.
ening of the speed. "You'll see some
fast time now," remarked the engineer, as
he opened the throttle valve still farther
and, as if in response to the word, the
engine leaped forward for its wild race
against time. 1t seemed gigantic
monster endowed with life. AT every
pulsation of its mighty heart it made
renewed effort to escape. We were or
the down grade. Objects flew backward
with lightning rapidly. We were plung
ing into space. To see an object aheat
was to be upon it. Behind was the long
line of cars; beyond-nothng. Occasion
ally the engine would give lurch as i
gathering its force for still greater speed
But this could not last long. Eight mile
behind US was the top Of the grade. Tue
distance had been traversed in six minu
tes! East Foxboro, Mansfield and Attic
boro were left in the distance. We haC
run thiry.three miles in forty minutes
Providence was eleven miles beyond and
in twelve minutes we hal reached tht
round house. Fifty-threo and half min
utes had He'd and Boston was forty-four
miles away. A delay of minute wa
caused by the required stop ut the round
house, and the train steamed slowly int
! the Providence station, having made tht
quickest run on record.
That's pretty good gOing,' remarked
+ The engineer as he pushed The throttle
valve and applied the brakes; "did i
shake you up much?" The reporter coult
scarcely hear the question so intense wa
the buzzing in his ears, but after recov
ering he fonnd himself none the worse 70
his memorable ride.
: Is there no danger in maintaining
such great speed?' he asked of tn
engine er, who was coolly polishing tn,
brasswork upon the valves.
Not less something gives way,
, M Burnham replied, "for the road is s.
f well managed that the possibility of al
accident is reduced to u minimum
t The locomotive that draws the cars [
J New London came up at this moment
! preventing further conversation and, wit
; a parting nod, Engineer Burnham backe,
4 his engine into the yard to prepare for th
f return trip.-BoSton Journal.