Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-07-27

anu hnd nouns 70 New YORK.
That was the old wsy. BY the new way
everything a changed. The station that
tbe passenger had TO go TO has come to hun
right IN the city's heart. The station Il
renlly a noble building, the cars clean.
comfortable, and luxurious, and the jour.
ney Is made In less than two hours. But
nas ,he top Of possible locomotive or rail-
road speed been reached by either the
irsins OF the Pennsylvania or the new
Bound Brook route? We do not mean
| experimental or extraordinary speed.
pul that which Is 10 be the rule
on what are called fast trains. Mr..
! ". Barnet Leyan, In paper read
| neIore The Franklin Institute In MAY
Ias', demonstrated that the distance be-
tween New York and Chicago. nine hun
area and eight miles, can be run In seven
teen hours ria the Pennsylvania railroad.
MT. LeNan saws that 10 do this Il only n
question OF additional safety-gates 80 az TO
Keep the track clear through the large
to"ns and cities scattered along the route;
or 10 state II more clearly and directly. It
Is Only question OF salty. Besides the
streets To be traysiSed, there are tse muir
derous grnde-crossings and the dangerous
curves which forbid the highest rate Of
speed; and again, there are the weak places
IN American railroads, in all OF them.
and there are the bridges. not always
Duiit 10 accommodate the lightning express.
MT LcNan says that to accomplish the
nine hundred and eight mites to Chicago In
seventeen hours, the average miles per
hour must be fifty-fve. and adds that at IA
sn everyday occurrence at intervals on the
Penbsy lyania and Bound Brook route to
average for short distances seventy miles
Per hour; in fact, often q mile in forty
seconds, or nj the rate OF eighty miles an
hour." III that be true then, with our pre-
sent engines, without any further improve
ment whatever, the rate OF speed should
De eighty miles per hour, and the run be-
tween Philadelphia aud New York should
he made in about sixty-six minutes: in
stead II II made in about one hundred and
fifteen. The question OF railroad speed is
not one at all Of the power OF engines;
IL Il. rs Mr.. Pugh, the general manager
OF The Pennsylvania railroad says, Zone
which largely depends upon circum-
stances, such as grades, curyatures,
draw. bridges. running through cities,
conditions OF the weather, etc." Fur
Their, The same authority says: "The diff
ference In construction and weight OF roll
ing-stock also have m important bearing
upon the subject" The Pennsylvania
Company has on several occasions run a
light train between New York and Phila-
delpbia-ninety miles-in one hundred and
two minutes, including material reduction
OF speed through four large cities, crossing
two railroads at grade, and passing various
junction points.
That Is the story OF fast time in this
country; the London Morning Advertiser
Of July Sth tells what IL IS in England, and
the first proposition 1t makes Is that the
most important thing essential to high
speed and safety Is "the provision OF sepa-
rate lines for passenger and goods trai-
ne" That one line which we have quoted
Is rs expressive AZ anything could we'll be,
which was not so intended, OF the different
conditions OF railroads In England and
the United States. The first thing es-
is safety and the chief, almost only
danger there is from collislon-the
slow freight train getting in the
way OF the fast passenger The reason
OF that Is that in England, to begin with,
as rule, one part OF the roadway is as
strong Us another, there are no weak links
In the chain 10 render II all weak alike; the
bridge Is OF stone or STEEL and IL as strong
a. the approaches to IL, curvattIres are
avoided, curve, especially q sharp one,
being hated by an English engineer. There
are few curves in English railroads which
money or time or labor can make straight;
there are no grade crossings, Just as there
should be none here; again, trains in run
ing through cities either run between
fenced ways or enclosures or overhead or
underground; again. the English law abb
hors mangled dead man, and il keeps
the rails clear Of all intruders by fining
any one CO who crosses them except over
or underlined; it also prevents him killing
himself, aud stopping the train TO pick him
up by getting on OF of moving train. 1t
will thus be seen that the elements Of dan
ger which walt upon high speed here so
numerously are reduced to the minimum
there, and all by authority OF law, except
curyatures. Another advantage which the
English have over Americans is that their
trains are lighter, their carriages weighing
scateely more than one half, il as muca, ~
our great coaches or cars. All they need
for high speed Is consequently clear
track, and having that this Is what they
do:
at Is privately reported that the North
western Company brought the Prince OF
Wales to London from Liverpool, where he
heard OF the death OF his youngest brother,
in hours and 45 minutes, and Liverpool
ia - miles further away than Manchester.
II we take the time alleged as accurate. 1t
would seem that the speed OF the train was
from the start to finish at the rate OF 50 As
miles Fer hour. By the Great Northern it
Is 20st miles TO Manchester and that
distance is covered in ~ hours, so
that the speed Is 4S miles an hour
from end to end, and from Gran
than to London the speed Is 53t miles an
hour. The Northwestern runs between
London and Manchester at AZ miles per
hour; also from London to Holyhead at
- 2-5 miles an hour. OF course at portions
Of the journey the speed is far greater.
The Midland runs 1S9 miles to Manchester
in four hours and quarter. only stopping |
once, at Leicester, In the whole distance, |
which Is done at the through rate OF 44t |
miles an hour. The Zulu. however. as the |
Great Western midday express to Exeter |
is called, Is still at the head Of
the list for speed, as It's completes |
its journey at the rate OF 45 3-5 miles |
In the hour. the distance from London |
TO SwindOn being, however, a fraction uu-
der that OF the Great Northern time from |
London to Grantham, or 53l as against $50
miles in the hour. Now II will be seen that |
the utmost speed OF the Zulu and the flying |
train between Kings Cross and Manchester |
Is practically equal to that alleged TO have |
been maintained by the Royal special from
Lime street to Euston. And so we come
to SO or "a miles an hour as the greatest
speed for a run on any line. But for parts
OF run there is no doubt over go miles an
hour has been frequently attained"
That is just about what we are doing |
here, with less safety; but they make fewer
dead men than we, rs the number OF their
killed is only one in 62.000,0 900 passengers,
although there are over one hundred trains
run daily in England at al average speed
Of fifty miles per hour. Let us make our
roads like theirs, let the law guard them
here as it does there, and we shall soon
.sScel them in speed while decreasing our
:. accident" list OF killed and wounded.
Late Weather Report.
Especial telegram 10 the Dtspatchl
VI. n I,,I, I.DA a