The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-09-23
RAPID TRAVEL.

There is no modern improvem ent in
which the public take livelier interest
than in the accelerati0n Of travel. Steam
ships have attained an average speed OF
mile in three minutes, in rough seas and in
all kinds of weather. This record may be
beaten, but for awhile ip-builders will
probably take a rest. Meanwhile, railroad
managers are studying how to drive trains
at an increased rate of speed, and this is
especially the case with the roads over which
visitors to the Chicago Exposition i'll have
TO be carried.
At the present time the fastest train in
this country, the limited express on the New
York Central, between New York and
Chicago, does not quite travel at the rate OF
40 miles an hour, including stops, while the
Flying Scutchman," which carries The
mail from London to Edin burgh, travels at
the rate of 5l.6 miles per hour, including
stops. To show what can be done in this
country, the Royal Blue Limited Express,
between Washington and New York, lately
covered the distance between those cities at
the rate of 5l.9 miles per hour, and train
was run from New York to Buffalo over
the New York Central sat very nearly 90
miles an hour, including stops. No such
speed has ever been attained before.
The problem Of speed OH railroads de-
ponds on four fac tors-the power of the
locomotive, the quality of the coal consumed,
the weight of the ballast in the road-bed,
and the absence of steep grades. Ii any
one OF the four is wanting, the highest
rate of speed cannot be attained. On ~"
level lines of the New York Central and the
Pennsylvania roads the bed is ballasted as
heavily as that of any English line. Cars
can be hauled at almost any rate of speed,
without risk of jumping the track. Those
companies, likewise, have the most power
full locomotives, and they are abundantly
supplied. at moderate prices, with tie best
kind of anthracite coal, which is unsGr-
passed as a generator OF steam. There is
thus no reason why they should not run
special trains as fast as the English trains,
say at 80 miles an hour, which would reduce
the journey from New York to Chicago to a
few minutes under 20 hours, including
stops.
No such sIeed can be attained on this
side OF the continent at least for some years
to come. Our roads are not sufficiently bal
lasted for the purpose; high speed would
lie dangerous; anything over 10 miles an
hour would be likely to entail accidents.
This will be remedied in course of time,
when more money is spent on the road
beds; but on the transcontnental lines, tue
steep grades will remain an obstacle to
high speed.
Ii the three roads over which the pas
senger travels FROM San Francisco to Chi
cage were under one control, so that the
trains could be pushed over the level por-
tons Of the journey to make up for slow
time in the mountain divisions, it might be
possible to average something like 10 miles
an hour on the whole trip of 1923 miles,
which would make COZ hours from terminus
to terminus; add 20 hours for the trip from
Chicago to New York, and the continent
would be crossed, on line 1904 miles long,
in soy hours something less than three
days and nine hours.