The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1890-12-09
SPEED IN RAILWAY TRAVEL
The Modern Miracles of steam
and Steel-AstOnishing Facts
and Figures.

People who reside in Sedalia or
any other railway centre become so
accustomed TO the goirg and coming,
the rush and rumble, Ih- fiery nOsirlls
aud smoky plumes of The multi,udi-
nous trims, that they are likely to lose
sight Of many marvellous facts and
figures associated with the service 1t
Is something of an instance where
daily familiarity b inds one to what
may not urreasouably be termed the
romance of iron rails and cushioned
cars.
The current number Of
the Forum magazine con-
uains an intensely interesting srti-
Gle by Prot r. Ill. Thurston, entiled
"Speed in Railway Travel" and it is
the purpose of the brief paraGranhs
.L-. 81 80 e, e. a synopsis or the
more striking statements therein.
However tamihar a person may he
with the science a. u the ar, with the
theory aud the practice, of modern
engineering; however well he may
under>t md the cOnstruc ion and Oper-
alton OF the locomotive and OF the
railway, he Can hardly stand unmoved
beside the track and watch The sp-
prOach OF swift train. 1t grows, in "a
nome mt almost, from a black, silent
speck IN the far distance, to q ruth
ing, roaring monster. tearing past
with the speed of a whirlwind. Carry
ing with il a cloud of dus., while The
trees bow from tue sides of the track
toward this irresistible modern giant,
which, IN another instant, diminishes
to black point again, in the opposite
far distance, sweeping on with the
force OF thousand horses
The ia test existing ''trotter," evol-
we'd by scien ,ifs pro esses from the
older stuck. can hsrliy att in a speed
of 81 m les an hour. Flying Chill
ders," tn swftest running horse that
ever emulated the fabulous griffin,
never, even by report, exceeded
81 miles an hour. The
fight of the common field birds aver
sge probably about . miles an hour,
and the velocity of the larger ami
fas er migrating birds, when they are
traversing long routes, is probably
not often more than 80 or so miles,
though it is sometimes reported to be
much higher.
The speed of The flying train far
exceeds that Of the fastest horse, and
rivals that of the swif,est birds. The
power OF its engine is rated by the
engineer ct not fsr from that of a
thousand horses: while it possesses
between l, 200 and l 800 actual horse
power, as measured by the known
strength of the ordinary working
animal on the streets. Moreover, it
can exert its enormous strength con-
tinually, hour after hour, without
respite; while the animals must be
worked In relays, resting at least two
thirds OF the time. 1t would thus be
evidently necessary to keep up a
stable of from 5000 to 5000 horses
for every such engine, to insure
equally continuous service. Were
these horses capable of making the
speed at all, ''string team" six miles
long would be required to haul the
train.
Forty miles an hour is two-thirds of
a mile, or 3, 500 feet in a minute, and
nearly go feet in a second. The
speed is about that which would be
attained by body falling freely from
the top of tower so feet high, or
from the roof of fve-story
house. The collision of two
trains going at this speed
would produce results equivalent to
hose of fail of nearly $50 feet
about the height of Bunker Hill mon
lment- The danger and the damage
ire proportional TO the square of the
speed.
The dangers of railway travel are
reduced TO such p int that but one
raveler in millions is killed, and any
me Individual must travel, ON the
lverage, 30 million miles, or nearly
lalf as far as to the sun, to incur loss
# life. If he should confne his
ravels to New England, liz
must Journey Ten times as far, and
must attain greater age than Me-
husaleh, before he encounters a
atal accident. II
Of al lives lost, those of passengers i
onstitute but fraction, the majority t
the killed being but trespasser. on |
ne tracks and men employed in the |
lore hazardous labor Of the roads. Q
Professor Thurston is certain that a
'eed o. 200 miles an hour could cas-
y be attained by following out cer-
I'm engineering and mechanical COZ.
Itlons not now In vogue. but whom