Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-08-12
FLYING OVER RAILS.
TIM FAMOUS "rLyrSa scorcHxAS "
OuTDONE.
a Test Of speed on Tive Great English Bail
reads--A Rate ofseventy-hve Miles
An Hour.


road speed, not only for England, but in
The railway word 10 general. This was
the first day OF toe great aOO-mlie race
between two OF The biggest English COM
panies, and the faster train OF the two
fraversed the greater part OF that dis
lance at speed OF n mile aminute.
Competition between the Great North
ern and West Cost Companies began 10
grow lively year ago when the former,
by adding third-class compartments 70
its Edinburgh limited express, took
away the third-clsss passengers which
the Northwestern had hitherto carried
on trains going at - somewhat slower
speed. Since that time the contest for
Edinburgh travel has been active.
For the summer traffic. which is
always very large, the Great Northern
In June reduced its schedule time Ia
eight and half hours. The West-Coast
Line met this figure July let Compe-
tition in England always cuts time and
never cuts rates. Two weeks ago the
Groat Northern made further cut TO
eight hours. and ITS rival followed SUIT
Great Northern Trans began running In
on the new schedule last wednesday.
but the West Coast did not begin until
to-day. As the "Flving Scotchman
on The Did nme-hOuT schedule was the
fastest train in tho world the interest
taken in to-day's race between the two
trains, When both we're sent through
in eight hours, was naturally great IN
railway circles and everywhere else.
In company with Assistant-Snperln-
tendout Iurnbull. Of the West-Cosst
Line. and William AcworIh, railway e1-
pert Of the London Times, / entered
first-class compartment at Euston this
morning lest before 10 O'Clock. The
West Coast was The better line 10 90 by
IL only Ind TO get through III the same
time e. wln, rs its longer route conpels
il 90 make one nile per boar moro than
the " Scotchman. The two trains pull
cd ont at the same moment, the "Scoich-
man from Kings Cross and the
West Coast from Euston. Every
body in our compartment iiourlshed
watch. We could not time the riyal tram,
but we were sufficiently interested III
keeping view OF our own iron horse, as
that capable animal probably travelled
faster than any locomotive ever did be
fore for continuous run. The engine
bad a single pair Of driving wheels,
feet 6 inches IN diameter, and weighed
- tons. 1t burned 24 pounds of coal
Der mile during the run. The tender
loaded. weighed % tons. Behind Ii
were four coaches filled with passen-
gers. making u weight OF ~ tons each,
or 80 tons in all. We started slowly
The run t. Tring was up grade, the
stecpest portion being rise OF l foot
in 70. This distance, 81 miles, was
covered in forty minutes. Once over
the hill the engineer woke up and be-
gan 20 show his mcttle. The speed was
increased steadily until our hair began
10 stand on end. TeleFrAph-pOles began
20 seem like fence-pOsts and the road
side q medley Of objects hard to dis
tincuish. We knew We were going over
So miles an ho1r. hut we're not prepared
for the announcement that the speed
was - miles. Mle-post after milc-post
was registered at 30 seconds 10y our
watches, and the II miles from Irlng TO
Bletchlcy took exactly II minutes and
80 seconds With speed varying be
tween - miles and That, We few over
the falkland, the spirits of the party
naturally heightened by the novel expe-
rience after the inst tendency to hang on
10 something wore of.
Fears now began to be entertained
that We were going 10 stop ut Rugby, AS
is usual with this train. The general de-
sire was TO keep straight on TO Crewe,
Us miles, without halt, according to
schedule, and the fears OF stop at
Rugby arose only from the fact that We
were several minutes ahead Of time.
Rugby WAS passed without halt, how
ever, the 81. miles from EustOn having
been done in 90 minutes. The same
speed was kept up and Tamworth, 10
miles. was reached in two hours. The run
OF % miles from firing TO Tamworth was
made in 100 minutes, which WAS consid-
cred pretty good. From Tamworth TO
Crewe took 5S minutes for IS miles, and
we ran into the latter station at 1888,
two minutes ahead of the schedule time.
This run Of lJS miles, without bait,
in 2 hours SO minutes, Is the longest
known 10 any schedule, being II miles
longer than the Fort Wayne and Chicago
run. Water was, Of course, taken in
from the track.
At Crewe We spent five minutes ex-
changing our single-wheel driver for q
32-ton engine with two pair of driving
wheels. The moment We pulled out OF
the station il became evident that the
engineer proposed to show what he could
do. The landscape began to fly by us at
an VI precedented rate, and watches be-
gan TO register from as TO as seconds
for the following miles. This meant
from 49, to Is miles per hour.
This speed was kept up for eight
or ten miles, when the engineer,
contented with his squirt, essed down to
sixty miles an hour. From Hartford TO
Warrenton We ran twelve and querter
miles in eleven and half minutes. War
rington 10 Wigan, twelve miles, we did
in eleven minutes. The engineer was al
lowed fifty-elght minutes to make tue
run Of hfty-one miles from Crewe to
Preston, but he cut under the schedule
and ran into Preston in exactly tifty-one
minutes, an average OF mile minute
from platform to platform.
We spent 20 minutes at Preston for
luncheon, leaving there at 2:lS. Once
out of town We clapped spurs to our
animals and rose TO 70 miles per hour.
The run from Preston to Oxenholme, 40
miles, was made in AZ minutes, the last
10 miles being up grade. A heavy grade
Of 70 feet was met at Teebay junction,
but We did tho FIVE and a half miles to
Shap Summit in eight and a half
minutes, this being at the altogether
miserable run of 37i miles per hour.
Once over Shap, however, We began
to do ~ miles al hour again, and
few along down grade at this
rate for 10 miles, when we slowed
down and lounged along at the com
Portable pace of 60 miles. A little
rise caused further diminution, but
the 81 miles from Shap to Carlisle was
done in 81 minutes. At Carlisle 10
minutes were spent and the engine
changed for another with one pair Of
large drivers AS before, this Was an
Ill te.1 and nh.