Wichita eagle., 1890-03-11
ON EMERGENCY TRAINS
THAT'S WHEN TIE IRON HORSE
PERFORMS WONDERFUL FEATS.
ANYBODY with Money Enough Can Have q
SneciaI-Ther. the Occasion Warrants
Evervthiry Must Give Way to the Fly
ers on the Raii-o ad.


speciaI-wher the Occasion Warrants
Evervthing Must Give Way to the Fly
| ers on the Railroad.
| Half q century ago the man who was in a
hurry to 20 to Washington or New York had
to content himself with slow going stage
coach that logged him over the road at pace
| that would exasperate business man OF to-
| CAV to the verge OF insanity. Nowadays,
| however. a man can whirl away to either
| city in wheeled palace at speed and with
| degree of comfort at a cost that never en-
| tered the most fanciful dreams OF travellers
| fifty years ago And if anybody is in too
| much of hurry 10 wait few hours for
| regular train it is an easy matter to procure
! a special train and be dragged away at hair
! lifting rate of speed.
! Special trains a few years ago were a lux
ury to be enjoyed only by railroad officials
| in cases of emergency or by parties who cared
| to pay extra fare and made their arrange
ments with the railroad company some days
| in advance. With the development OF rail-
reading science even the most crowded rail-
way is now able to send out a special on
| few moments warning. And these trains
are usually within the reach Of any man who
! Gred dollars, SO that it is only n matter Of
money that stands between a man and the
! fulfillment of the most pressing engagement
The result most desired and secured by a
| special train is the avoidance of delay through
| loss of connection at junction points. To the
man who has need for a special train it is not
SO essential that he should outstrip the time
| of fast express as that he should be able to
|
/ for the next regularly scheduled train. Most
of the emergency trains are run on this basis,
and their value is usually based upon their
| ability to start upon few moments notice.
READY IN SIX MINUTES.
An illustration of this character is fur
nished by a well known Philadelphia lawyer
who had occasion to visit Lancaster upon
I legal business of great Importance He made
an effort to catch the Pennsylvania railroad
train leaving Broad street station at 2:4O p.
H.. but missed it by few minutes. The
next train did not leave until $40, and would
not bring him into Lancaster until 7:4o
| O'Clock. which would be too late for the
transaction of his business on that day. 1t
was a case of urgent necessity, and important
interests were staked upon his arrival In Lam
caster, so he applied for special train. In
| six minutes from the time that he made his
| application car and a locomotive were at
his disposal, he willingly paid the SIS that
was asked, and was whirled away to Lancas-
ter in time to fulfill his engagement.
When Gen. Sheridan lay in Washington
suffering with his last illness DR.. William
Pepper made frequent visits to his bedside,
and usually Travelled by special train over
the Pennsylvania railroad. Most of his trips
We're taken at night, when the tracks were
comparatively clear Of passenger trains, and
| he generally gave ample notice to the railroad
people. On one occasion he sent a messenger
to Broad Street station to ask upon how short
| notice ne could have train If he should want
it later that night, and the messenger had
hardly left the station with the reply that
twenty minutes would be ample notice, when
DIR. Pepper himself appeared in the station
and said that he desired to start Immediately.
The crew that had been kept waiting his in
structions had just been sent home, but an
other was quickly found, and thirteen min
utes later DR.. Pepper was whizzing away
toward Washington.
One of the best examples of quick work
that has been done in this line was furnished
by the Philadelphia and Reading railroad,
when member Of the banking firm of
| Thomas A. Biddle 6 Co. made use of spe-
cial train to deliver several hundred shares
of stock of the Western National bank OF
New York in that city. 1t was necessary,
in order to make good the sale of the stock,
to get it to New York in hurry, and, on
twenty minutes notice, the Reading Rail
road company furnished a car and engine
for the purpose. The fifty-five miles between
Wayne junction and Bound Brook were COW
cred in fifty-three minutes, and the run from
Ninth and Green streets to Jersey City, a
distance of ninety miles, was made in 10l
minutes
THREADING THE CROWDED TRACKS.
While the celebrity with which special trains
are made ready in case OF emergency may
strike uninitiated persons as something of an
achievement, the start is really an insignif.
cant element in this kind Of railroading. The
most remarkable feature is the manner in
which a special and unscheduled train is sent
out on few moments notice over railway
system crowded with moving trains. Before
"a special train can be dispatched every sigma
station and operator along the line must be
notified of the coming train, the number OF
its locomotive and the time upon which it i:
running. Every train in the path of the spe
cial must be notified at the first station il
reaches thst there is special train on the
way, and if it is an urgent case every regular
train must keep out of the way.
All of this is accomplished by the free ust
of the telegraph, and it takes but few mo
ments to inform every signal operator, sta
ton agent and all the trains concerned that
special is coming. Every passenger or freigh
train in the path of the special must keep ou
of the way Of the coming train and leave
ample time and distance to prevent all posi-
bility of accident or delay to the special. Or
a two track line, where freight and passenger
trains use the same track, the freight train!
ere usually ordered TO pull off at the frs
siding and leave the track clear for tht
special, and the regular passenger train
must keep sharp watch Of the approach o
the special, and take a siding il ample time
TO allow it to pass. At each station the con
ductors Of the regular trains learn Of the pc
sition of the special behind them, and govern
themselves accordingly.
The cost of special train sent out on shor
notice varies greatly according 10 the distanc
that Is to be run and the character of th
emergency. When the service rendered i
essentially Of a public character, as was tn
case with the trains that conveyed medica
attendance to Gen Sheridan. President Gar
field and in numberlesS similar instances. III
railroads rarely make any charge Fu
purely personal and private business purpose
the charges vary greatly, AID there is n,
fixed schedule In the absence of any specia
considerations train for New York or Wash
ington from this city would cost anywher
from s75 to $50 philadelphia Record.
THE CLEARING HOUSE.