The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1884-03-13
RIDING ALOCOMOTIvE.

What a News Editor Saw and Felt
on Board of Dan Preston's Engine.
Some writer has said that the perpetual
lever called wheel is the masterpiece of
mechanical skill On land and at sea,
like the feet of Proclaiming Angel it
finds fulcrum wherever it happens to
be. It is the alphabet of human ingenui-
ty. ''In fact" remarked jolly, fat Dan
Preston, an engineer of the Jacksonville,
Tampa and Key West road, as he pulled
his throttle little more open. 1T seems
to be the tendency of everything to be
wheel, and who knows, continued this
august philosopher, but what the ice
and snow is piled up to the far north and
south of us just to keep the worlds
gugeons cool"
| told Dan that | didn't know
put my foot in the stirrup of Pres
toms locomotive a day or so ago and
swung myself into a seat on his cushions.
| wanted to see the new line to Jackson
vile and | saw it. It's princely way to
/
The little bell in the roof of the cab said,
pull out Dam" and he pulled. The
steam clock registered up in the SOS, and
/ the time clock at a standard 8. | leaned
slender arms at the drivers feel slowly
into their cylindrical pockets for some
thing they never found aud that they
never tired of feeling for. Faster and
faster the search continued and my hair
began to stream like comet Dan was
working her for all she was worth, but
| the machine was full of reserved power
and hurled itself along over the new
cross-ties at twenty PAGES to the heart
beat. First | got the idea, and next the
eXhileration Of motion. It was better
than 1.-THE sillery soft and creamy of
LOngfellOw. 1t had the touch Of wings
in it, and as 1 watched the track 1 learned
something. [ had supposed the iron bars
We're laid in two parallel lines. Not SO.
They appeared a long tapering ''V, .
slender and pointed in the distance. But
the huge engine pried them apart as il
rushed on and made a roadway of them.
| shall never forget that ride with gallant
Dan Preston. He used his throttle lit
tie too literally, probably because he had
a reporter along. / shall think of him
but at a distance-in the future-the full
space from the engine to the coaches
and when he gets time I'm going to ex.
plain to him the magic of printing
press. / met Mr. Moran, the genial pas
senger agent. He took out broad MAJ
and laid down the lines of the new road
South of US, at Buffalo Bluff, bridge
will span the river and the roadway viii
trend along southwark through the
VOlusia tOwns-DeLand and Orange
City. A short prong will jut out anC
tap the Astor road at its river terminus
and another will encircle charming
Lake Monroe, further down. and after
recrOssing the river south of that PLAGUE
will enter Sanford as a sort of triumphant
solution of the distance between Thu
point and that. Just to think of it
Only five and half hours between Jack
sonville and Sanford-a full eighteen
hours ride at this time. Then on to Titus
vile. "Our road is going to the Indian
river country" said Mr.. Moran; 1--WE arr
going to make it a great highway. 1
will be the neck of the bottle, the single
artery south from the focal point of Jack
sOnville."
And what is it going to do for Palat
ka, Mr. Moran?'
at will make Palatka great city"
do you think so?"
81 do"