The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1885-11-19
A LlGHTNING.LTKE JOURNEY.
How Vanderbilt was Hauled from Erie tn
Cleveland In Elghty-cIght Minutes.

n MOUNTAINEERING JVONNEIs
How Vanderbilt was Hauled from Erie to
Cleveland I'm Eighty-cight Minutes.
at was pretty fast run," said en-
gineer John Gull, I'm fac, title the
liveliest i ever made over tie Erie di-
vision, and that is saying quite good
deal. Ii was on the 3d o. Nav, 1874,
the date OF the annual meeting Of the
stockholders OF the Lake Shore IN this
city. Vanderbilt not the present own
or of the Lake Shore, but his father.
who had left New York the previous
evening on their special train. He had
telegraphed TO some of the officials
here that he would arrive at Z o'clock
4 the following night. The special train
met with bad luck the first twelve
hours of the trip. Up the Hudson
River division the way trains and ac-
commodations persisted in getting in
front OF it, and Albany was reached
forty minutes behind the schedule ar
ranged for the trip. The trip from Al
bany to Buffalo was hardly more salts
factory. Hot boxes, danger signals. or
blocks kept the train continually
changing speed. There was something
the matter at Utica, something more at
Rochester. and something else at SYRIA
cuse. Buffalo was reached at few
minutes late. and here the party
stopped for dinner. The special finally
pulled out of that city at 3 o'clock and
headed for Erie. This run was also
made under disadvantages, and Erie
was reached at exactly $50 o'clock.
1t had taken two hours and thirty min
utes to make the ninety miles between
Buffalo and Erie, when it had been ex-
pected that it could be done IN thirty
minutes less at least. My engine was
waiting in the Erie depot to bring the
special to Cleveland. and we had on
great head of steam. john said the
conductor to me, the old man wants TO
reach Cleveland at 7 o'clock. Make it
if you can l backed down and
hitehed on, the conductor waved his
hand, and ut precisely ) 81 we pulled
out of the depot There were two cars,
the special and long, heavy baggage
car put on to steady the train. We
went out of the station at great rate
and started for Girard, fifteen miles
away. We reached it in fourteen min
utes precisely, and had climbed up hill
q portion of the way. Then We
skipped for Ashtabula, twenty-six miles
further. Here We went for all we were
worth. The old engine rolled, tossed,
and leaped around, and the cars
swayed back and forth like boat IN
storm. ! expected every minute to
hear the bell ring TO slow up, but it
didn't. Round curves and over bridges
we went at the same aw III speed, and
slowed up ut Ashtabula at precisely
COG. We had come forty-one miles in
precisely thirty-five minutes. 1t took
us about minute and half to drop
enough water in the tank to last us I'M
til we could get to Cleveland, and my
watch recorded 6 :0S o'clock when we
pulled away from Ashtabula. The
track was clear. Away we rushed, re-
gardless 81 everything but fast time.
We had hny-four miles to make in
ffty-two minutes, including the stop at
the target in Painsville. There was a
great h al Of steam Oh and the throt-
tie was wide open. 1t seemed as if the
wheels didn't touch the track more
than half the time 1t was balmy
day in May, without a breath OF air
stirring, bat The current created by the
speed of the tram was terrific. Stones
VIC Si~S Va {" AAShOi hut "SAS NoNShp
up and whIrled against the buildings
with great force. and the whole train
was covered with dense cloud of black
smoke, dust, and cinders. We passed
gainesville at 80. and after losing a
minute at the crossing, headed for
Cleveland. 1t was a race against time.
i had promised to get here on schedule
time if it could be done, and was de-
termined TO do it, We came up the
home stretch at lively gait. The
track is Tretty straight and there are
few he - grades. / don't think /
would la failed reaching Cleveland
by Z o'elL if 500 would have pre-
vented il, an yet we were doing some
thing lat lad never been attempted
before. Ninety-five miles in eighty
five minutes was what we started out
TO do, with three stops in our way. We
didn't slow up much when we reached
the city limits, and sailed through the
yard at rate OF speed that made some
of the men think it was a runaway
train. When L brought the train to
standstill in the depot here, the station
clock pointed TO exactly $50 Wander
Gilt was as happy as q child. There
was quite a party of railroad men
with him, and lie wanted them to know,
as he knew, that the Lake Shore was a
daisy. | guess that was the fastest
time every made on that road. Cleue-
land Leader.
80 en- -