The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1891-11-05
A FEAT IN RAlLROADING.
Passengers Whizzed Across New
York State at Unexampied Speed.

: NC Ouatte IA press VI Tie I'VE
YORK Central Railroad, on it's first tri
last week, a despatch from Buffalo say
demonstrated its right to be called th
fastest train in the world by traversin
the 40 miles between New York and Blu
Ialo IN hours and AT minutes, and j
achieved besides, at one stage of tn
Journey speed perhaps never before al
tanned by SO heavy train The at
tempt to run regular passenger trail
between the two cities named in hour
and 40 minutes, is d result of the famou
trip OF September IA, when the unparal
leled record of 40 miles in 433 minute
and A seconds was made.
The train was composed of combina
ton buffet, smoking, and library car
the Wagner buffet drawing-room car
Luxor, two New York Central coaches
and President H. Walter Webb
private car Mariquita, which carried thu
officials of the road and the reporters
The train pulled out of the Grand Cen
! trail Station, New York, at one minute
| and fifteen seconds after o'clock, anG
reached the station at Buffalo at forty
three minutes after 5, which was one
minute and three-quarters behind the
regular schedule time. From New York
to Albany the Empire State was drawn
/ by Engine No 870 with Archie Buchan
an as the engineer This engine is a
perfect monster, and weighs with its
tender 100 tons. The driving wheels oil
this colossus are 6 feet 8 inches in height
All the way to Albany, Buchanan kept
his engine from half minute to three
minutes ahead of his schedule time, and
between lrvington and Tarrytown he
made her get along at milesa- minute
gait. At every town ON the road crowds
lined the tracks and cheered and waved
their hats as the express rushed by.
AT Albany another engine-No. 976,
with Thomas Dormody as it's engineer
was taken on. It is similar to the first
engine, but the drivers are only feet
10 inches in diameter. By some unfor-
tunate mistake the coal used on this en-
CINE was very poor, and Dormody could
not get the speed out of his machine
and it lost time slowly all the way to
Syracuse.
The excitement was greatest at SYRIA
cuse. There was a perfect jam at the
station, and altogether probably 5000
Syracusans turned out. Here scores of
people put small coins on the rails to be
smashed into momentoes The train
was eight and three-quarter minutes
late at Syracuse, but still there were
hopes, for was not Engineer Charles Ho-
gan, of many famous runs, sure to make
up the lost time with fast engine No
1862 Hogan's feelings were probably
not cheerful when the train was turned
over to him nearly nine minutes late, to
be landed on time in Buffalo, 149 miles
away, when the regular shedule called
for something like mile a minute.
But Engineer Hogan and his fireman
were determined tx. get there if there
was any virtue in coal, and they spread
such an impenetrable mantle of gloom
~upon tef1g reGreating landscape that the
watchers in the rear Of Vice President
Webb's car were rarely able to see more
than the fieeting mile posts and an oc-
casional CLINT of the rails. It was a big
load to pull, though. With VicePresi-
dent Webb's car the train weighed 179
tons, and the engine brought the total
up to wo-hundred and seventy eight
That was forty>seven tons more than the
intended weight on ordinary occasions.
When an especially good stretch Of
track lay ahead, engine No. 1862 did
miles In SO, SO and 81 seconds.
Between Batavia and West Batavia
the engineer made a mile in fifty-six
seconds which is at the rate of sixty-four
miles an hour. By judicious coaxing he
did little better between Crittenden
and Wende, and got out of his monster
a mile in ffty-three seconds, which is at
the rate of sixty-seven and nine -tenths
miles an hour. This was kept up for
several miles, and then he got the best
speed out of her during the whole trip,
a mile in fifty one and q half seconds,
equivalent to seventy miles per hour.
When Mr.. Angus Sinclair and Mr.. Leon
ard who were timers, gave this out,
there was cheer in the car, because it
was the best time ever made in the
the world with such a weighty train.
Engineer Hogan had pulled up in the
station at Buffalo at 5:43 O'clock three
minutes after the schedule time F.; but the
train had started minute and quar-
ter late, and he thought minute and
three quarters out of the way in run
of 40 miles ought not to count, and his
passengers agreed with him.