The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-11-18
THE FIRST MILE A MINUTE TRAIN.
1t Was on tho Boston and Maine Railroad
NcnrIy Half u Century Aro.

Neurly Half II Century Ago.
II say, boys, how many of you can tell
where and when the first mile q minute
train was rum"
They were trainmcn. They had assem-
pied Mt popular down town resort in
honor of the birthday of one of their par
ticular "chums," and SO, as they enjoyed
the fragrant 'domestics," they had, in
their free, jolly way, begun to spin warns
ana tell "reminiscences of the rail and the
iron horses which have aided so materially
in the upbuilding of Chicago. The "boys, -
all old men, by the way, We're not going to
spoil story if they could help it, so each
protested ignorance when thus questioned.
and insisted upon hearing all aboutit. The
story as told was rs follows:
You would scarcely believe that trains
had performed the feat of going Il mile n
minute long before the telegraph was dis.
covered, but it is Il fact. The first event OF
the kind recorded took place OH the Boston
and Maine railroad away back in ISIS.
Mr. Minot, the superintendent at that
tiihc, WAS n progressive man. always on
the alert for Improvements that should
make his line stand among the first in the
country. One day in lSiS lie conceived the
ldea OIL running mile Il minute, and
when once the thought entered his head
u.
He had lotion engine built to order at
the Boston works of Hinklay s. Drury,
and named it the Antelope 1t had s;nple
drivers, six feet in diameter. Mr. Minot
declared the engine should run Il mile "A
minute or go back to the shops.
Lawrence, station twenty-sx miles
from Boston, was chosen us the terminus
of the trial trip. Choosing day for the
trip, men were sent over the road to spike
down all the switches and see that every
thing was in perfect order 1t was before
the introduction of the Morse telegraph.
and to run mile minute, a speed until
then unheard of, required the utmost fore.
thought. All trains were either side
tracked or taken off the road for the trip.
Representatives of the Boston papers were
invited to accompany the superintendent,
and when the day arrived they, with few
other guests, were given possession of the
only eur that was to make the RIM.
"a large crowd gathered ut the station.
and amid cheers and waving of hats the
engineer pulled open the throttle while
Mr. Minot stood by his side. Boston was
soon left behind, and the 'Antelopei
plunged into the open country with the
feetness of the wind. Everything worked
to n charm. On they sped, dashing by sta.
tions filled with n wondering crowd, whose
cheers could be heard but n second by the
passengers. Half way to Lawrence Mr..
Minot looked at his watch.
Fourteen minutes he said. That
won't do, Pemberton; we are n minute be.
hind The engineer threw the throttle
wide open and the Antelope increased the
speed.
"As the train neared Lawrence Mr..
Minot stood with his watch in his hand.
and just rs the engineer brought the train
to standstill tho timcpiece marked
twenty-siX minutes.
"A great crowd awaited the Antelopc's
arrival, eager to know whether the much
talked of deed had been accomplished.
"'Did you make it?' cried an excited on
locker.
Yes, shouted Mr. Minot in return, and
then cheer after cheer arose for the men
who had first driven an engine mile a
minute. Everybody congratulated the
superintendent and engineer, and for n long
time crowds tloclled from far and near to
look mt the engine that had accomplished
the run."-Chicago Tribune.